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Sila Raises $300 Million to Expand Washington Anode Plant
Battery materials startup Sila secured $300 million to scale its Moses Lake factory. The expansion targets production of silicon-carbon anode material sufficient for more than 100,000 electric vehicles per year.
Jul 21, 3:36 PM·1m read1 source
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Sila announced Tuesday that it raised $300 million to expand its factory in Washington State, TechCrunch reported. The investment will increase output of the company's silicon-carbon anode material to tens of gigawatt-hours annually, enough to supply more than 100,000 electric vehicles. The Moses Lake plant began production in September and currently produces up to 2 gigawatt-hours of material.
Sila has spent 15 years developing the anode, which stores up to 40 percent more energy than traditional graphite versions and charges faster. The company previously raised about $1.3 billion. The round was led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and funds advised by T.
Rowe Price Associates Inc. Sila has supply agreements with Mercedes and Panasonic and sells material to Whoop, drone makers, and satellite companies. Chinese firms control about three-quarters of the global lithium-ion battery supply chain, according to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence.
Global EV sales rose 27 percent year over year, the firm said. Sila's founder and CEO Gene Berdichevsky previously worked at Tesla as its seventh employee.
