Wacker increases stake in UK silicon battery maker Nexeon
Nexeon extended its silicon anode material supply deal with Wacker, including an undisclosed investment in the company for the 25 percent stake. The company has so far publically raised £70m, and Wacker is the only industrial investor alongside Woodford Investment Management, Imperial Innovations and Invesco.
The two companies have worked together intensively in the recent past after Wacker invested in the startup in 2013. The deal is key for Nexeon’s increasing customer engagement and scaling for higher manufacturing volumes of its silicon based anode materials.
Silicon is being used in place of carbon in the anodes of rechargeable Li-ion batteries, and is on the road map of most of the world’s automotive OEMs and consumer devices companies. Silicon based anodes provide higher cell energy density leading to greater vehicle range and higher performance.
“Wacker is well aware of our technology and its potential, so this expansion of our partnership is strong validation of our approach”, said Dr Scott Brown, CEO of Nexeon (above). “The expertise of a strong manufacturing partner is especially useful as we plan the ramp up of our materials supply in volume and speed terms. We look forward to working even more closely with our partners in the coming months.”
“Today’s agreement is a key step in renewing our partnership with Nexeon, and intensifying our research activities into silicon based anode materials for next-generation batteries”, said Christian Hartel, responsible for R&D on Wacker’s Executive Board. “We are ideally positioned to develop and produce these innovative materials, given our decades of in-depth expertise in silicon chemistry.”
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