COLORADO | Front Range Development Thread #2

[TakeFive]

How cool would this be?

Colorado battery maker gets major investment from Hyundai, Samsung funds
Sep 11, 2018 By Greg Avery – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

The funding for Solid Power Inc. will pay for completing construction of the company’s first production line establishing the commercial production of company’s battery technology — a line that should be fully operational in 2019, the company said.

“It’s hard to overstate how significant it is to have this in Colorado,” he said. “This would be a big deal in Silicon Valley, but to have it happening here is really something.”

What is the Big Deal?

Venture Capital funds associated with Samsung and Hyundai are among the investors putting $20 million into a Louisville startup creating solid-state batteries meant to replace lithium-ion batteries in electric cars and other uses.

Solid Power was formed in 2012 and based on technology licensed from the University of Colorado-Boulder and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It’s among a handful of companies pursuing solid-state batteries, which have the potential of being lighter and more powerful than the lithium-ion batteries commonly used today.

Such batteries also wouldn’t be at risk of puncture damage, leaks and explosions that are concerns with the liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries. The technology has been drawing investment to startups from large industrial players.