The critical detail is that the material was designed to take the place of graphite in without needing to change the battery manufacturing process or equipment. Sila Nano has developed a silicon-based anode that replaces graphite in lithium-ion batteries. Graphite is commonly used as the anode in commercial lithium-ion batteries. Typically, an electrolyte sits in the middle and acts as the courier, moving ions between the electrodes when charging and discharging. There’s an anode (negative) on one side and a cathode (positive) on the other. We know from our experience building our production lines in Alameda that investing in our next plant today will keep us on track to be powering cars and hundreds of millions of consumer devices by 2025.” The techĪ lithium-ion battery contains two electrodes. “For any new technology to make an impact in the real-world, it has to scale, which will cost billions of dollars. “It took eight years and 35,000 iterations to create a new battery chemistry, but that was just step one,” Sila Nano CEO and co-founder Gene Berdichevsky said in a statement. Materials produced at the plant will be in electric vehicles by 2025, the company said. Sila Nano said it plans to start production at the factory in 2024. While the company hasn’t revealed the location of the factory, it does have a timeline. Sila Nano plans to use the funds to hire another 100 people this year and begin to buildout a factory in North America capable of producing 100 gigawatt-hours of silicon-based anode material, which is used in batteries for the smartphone and automotive industries.