3.5 GW capacity US plant to make ultra-thin lithium films for domestic battery production

Elevated Materials, a developer and manufacturer of ultra-thin lithium films for next-generation batteries, has been selected by the US Department of Energy for $50 million in federal funding to help develop a new advanced battery materials facility.The proposed $100 million plant will be built in the United States and is expected to have an annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 3.5 GW. Elevated Materials announced the project from Santa Clara, California, although it did not disclose the facility’s planned location or construction timeline. The expansion is intended to take the company’s ultra-thin lithium-metal films and prelithiated materials to gigawatt-hour-scale production. These materials could support batteries with greater energy density and faster charging while expanding domestic manufacturing capacity and reducing dependence on overseas supply chains. Elevated Materials manufactures its ELi ultra-thin lithium-metal films using proprietary roll-to-roll vacuum deposition platforms. The company describes ELi as the industry’s highest-quality ultra-thin lithium-metal film. The films are designed to support next-generation anode architectures across electric vehicles, consumer electronics, defense, aviation and grid-scale energy-storage applications. According to the company, demand has been particularly strong for lithium-metal anodes, where its material can improve battery performance and safety. Over the past year, Elevated Materials said it had recorded its highest output of ultra-thin lithium-metal films. It shipped more than 250,000 meters of material to over 30 customers worldwide during that period. The planned facility is expected to accelerate the company’s effort to commercialize a domestic supply of lithium-metal films and prelithiated materials at a much larger scale. Strengthening US battery production Elevated Materials was one of seven companies selected to receive funding through the Department of Energy’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Grants program. The selected projects are set to share a combined $500 million in federal funding. The company’s $50 million selection will support half of the proposed facility’s estimated $100 million development cost. The project also aligns with the department’s effort to expand battery manufacturing within the United States and secure domestic access to critical materials. “The United States has made advanced battery manufacturing a national priority, and securing a domestic supply of critical materials that significantly increases energy density is central to that effort,” said Jim Cushing, CEO of Elevated Materials. From California research to gigawatt scale Elevated Materials developed its lithium-film technology in California with support from Department of Energy research and development programs. The latest funding would help move the technology beyond its current production level and toward substantially larger commercial volumes. “We developed this technology in California with support from DOE R&D programs and are proud to have been selected by the Department of Energy to now ramp it up to gigawatt scale,” Cushing said. Elevated Materials is part of the TPG Rise Climate portfolio and was carved out of Applied Materials. The company is now focused on scaling its battery materials to support US competitiveness and the electrification of industries ranging from transportation and electronics to defense and energy storage.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Atharva is a full-time content writer with a post-graduate degree in media & amp; entertainment and a graduate degree in electronics & telecommunications. He has written in the sports and technology domains respectively. In his leisure time, Atharva loves learning about digital marketing and watching soccer matches. His main goal behind joining Interesting Engineering is to learn more about how the recent technological advancements are helping human beings on both societal and individual levels in their daily lives.