BMW, Ford invest in solid-state battery maker Solid Power for future EV supply

London — Automakers BMW and Ford have invested in solid-state battery maker Solid Power's $130 million Series B investment round to secure batteries for their future electric vehicles, or EVs.

Solid Power said May 3 that Volta Energy Technologies, a venture capital firm spun out of the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, had also participated in the investment round, which positions the battery maker to produce full-scale automotive batteries, increase associated material output and expand in-house production capabilities for future vehicle integration.

It did not provide a breakdown of how much each company invested.

The company currently produces 20 Ah multi-layer all solid-state batteries on its continuous roll-to-roll production line, which utilizes industry standard lithium-ion production processes and equipment.

Solid Power formalized its commercialization plans after delivering hundreds of production line-produced battery cells that were validated by Ford and the BMW Group in late 2021.

Solid Power CEO Doug Campbell said the company was planning to start producing automotive-scale batteries at its pilot plant production line in early 2022.

In addition to the investment, BMW and Ford also expanded their existing joint development agreement with Solid Power, which Campbell said gave them "leading positions in the race for all solid-state battery-powered EVs."

The investment comes after BMW announced April 20 that it aimed to develop a solid-state battery for use in EVs by the end of the decade, with the first demonstrator vehicle using the battery expected before 2025.

Ford also announced April 27 that it plans to open a $185 million battery-development center in southeast Michigan in 2022 and eventually plans to manufacture its own lithium-ion battery cells for EVs.

Solid Power will deliver full-scale 100 Ah cells for automotive qualification testing and vehicle integration to both BMW and Ford beginning in 2022, with the all solid-state platform technology allowing for the production of cell designs expected to meet performance requirements for each automotive partner.

Solid Power said its all-solid cell designs achieved higher energy densities, were safer and were expected to cost less than the current best-performing lithium-ion battery cells.

Ford's manager of Electrification Subsystems and Power Supply Research, Ted Miller, said Ford was investing directly in Solid Power, as solid-state battery technology was important to the future of EVs.

"By simplifying the design of solid-state versus lithium-ion batteries, we'll be able to increase vehicle range, improve interior space and cargo volume, deliver lower costs and better value for customers and more efficiently integrate this kind of solid-state battery cell technology into existing lithium-ion cell production processes," Miller said.

Member of the Board of Management BMW AG, Development, Frank Weber, agreed that "the development of all solid-state batteries is one of the most promising and important steps towards more efficient, sustainable, and safer EVs.

Volta Energy Technologies CEO Jeff Chamberlain said Volta had decided to invest early in Solid Power due to the promising technology, and fundamental focus on manufacturability and would ramp up the investment due to the fact that Solid Power was already producing multi-layer all solid-state batteries using industry-standard automated commercial manufacturing equipment.

"The company's partnership with BMW and Ford will further accelerate the full commercialization of Solid Power's batteries and position both car companies to be among the first to have EVs on the road powered by safer, affordable, high-energy solid-state batteries," Chamberlain said.