Volta Energy Technologies

A great write up by Yusuf Khan in the The Wall Street Journal of Volta Energy Technologies following the latest close of our second fund, VESFII, which has raised $131m to date. We are at a crucial tipping point in EV adoption, where mass market EVs are on the cusp of being lower cost than internal combustion engine vehicles. Now is the time to invest in the new technologies that will be key to reducing costs further, and brining mass market EVs to all. As Jeffrey Chamberlain put it “There is a tipping point where things have to move from policy and regulations to economics", that time is now! https://lnkd.in/dRmEN6e3 #EV #battery #lithium

What. A. Week for BOLD Voodoo + Partners. Well done to Volta Energy Technologies for closing its round, as reported by Yusuf Khan from The Wall Street Journal “There is a tipping point where things have to move from policy and regulations to #economics,” Volta co-founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey Chamberlain said. “That turning point is upon us now. Vehicles from China, Korea, Europe and the U.S. are now cost competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles. This drop in costs is going to accelerate.” James Frith Fiona Howarth Christina Hess Octopus Electric Vehicles Amy Rennison Sacha Dench GDI Rob Anstey Circulor Douglas Johnson-Poensgen Jessica Green Ellen Carey Luise Müller-Hofstede Rhys Mason John Gardiner Charlotte Sheffield Quentin Willson FairCharge Allye Jonathan Carrier Jonathan Pollock Elbow Beach Capital Aterian plc Charles G. Bray David Brocas S C Insights Andy Leyland NTT DATA James Woodward Bill Esterson Ieuan Lewis Felix Mann Sarah Maryssael Fastned Hannah Fairley https://lnkd.in/dRv2azyq

It was a pleasure to sit down alongside Jeffrey Chamberlain and discuss some of the areas that Volta Energy Technologies has been investing in with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence's Henry Sanderson. If I had to summarise the conversation, I would say that the key takeaway is that the 2020's will be the decade of the anode. For the last 30 years, graphite has been the material of choice for the anode of lithium-ion batteries, but years of R&D is beginning to pay off and we are now seeing new anodes being commercialised. The work being done by Volta's portfolio companies in this space is phenomenal: Echion Technologies is opening up new markets for lithium-ion batteries in high power applications, with initial adoption expected in mining equipment and stationary storage. OneD Battery Sciences is developing the only silicon anode supply chain in North American dedicated to EVs, as part of this development it will soon be opening its pilot plant in Moses Lake. NanoGraf Corporation has commercialised a silicon oxide solution that allows soldiers to carry more kWh while reducing the weight of their equipment. Read the full article here -> https://lnkd.in/d9ThjyTc #EV #battery #lithium #nickel #cobalt #anode #vc

An absolute belter of an article on true ‘Friends of the Trend’ Volta Energy Technologies’ Jeffrey Chamberlain and James Frith Thanks to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’ Henry Sanderson There has been a lot of innovation in battery cathodes over the last decade or longer, is now the time for innovation in anodes? James: “When we look at the kind of innovation that happened in that 2010 period, the 2010 to 2020 period, we really see the automakers pushing for an increase in energy density and a reduction in cost. And I think the first base that they turned to to achieve that was really through slight tweaks to the cathode material. “… but now we’re at a point where there are still some improvements that can come from the cathode side, but they’re not quite so easily won if you’d like. “Whereas on the other side, you really haven’t had any changes to the anode material since the commercial introduction of lithium ion cells in the early 1990s by Sony, it’s really just graphite that’s been used.” Jeffrey: “The industry has been focused on replacing graphite with silicon for well over a decade. And unlike solid state batteries silicon is bound to happen. It’s already happening. It’s unclear whether solid state batteries will happen in a universal sense, but it is certain silicon will.” Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/ehm9T9dT Fiona Howarth Octopus Energy Greg Jackson Octopus Electric Vehicles GDI Rob Anstey Raymond M. John Gardiner Karen P. Circulor Douglas Johnson-Poensgen Imran Khatri Gregory Yakovlev Amy Rennison Andy Leyland Aterian plc Charles G. Bray Simon Rollason Paul Smith Nick Carey Rachel Morison Simon Jessop Cecilia Keating Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran Roger Atkins Ade Thomas James Woodward Allye Jonathan Carrier Rob Durrant Ed Conway Theo Leggett Jeff Townsend

Great to see James Frith' reaction to the Eve Energy Co. Ltd. rumours used in this coverage by Kallanish Commodities' Gabriela Farhangi: “The government must now support the growing UK battery start-up ecosystem, to make sure that while foreign companies are building capacity, it is UK technology that is used in the batteries these facilities will produce,” comments James Frith, head of European operations at Volta Energy Technologies. The US-based venture fund focuses on the global #battery #supplychain. Jeffrey Chamberlain S C Insights Andy Street Andy Leyland Derrick Allott FairCharge Ben Kilbey Quentin Willson Roger Atkins Ade Thomas Ginny Buckley GDI Rob Anstey Richard L. Raymond M. Circulor Jessica Green Luise Müller-Hofstede John Meyer Matthew Howard Louise Gould Richard J B Robinson Lauren Pamma Pam Thomas Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Ian Constance Imran Khatri https://lnkd.in/eemd-3vf

Great work by 'Friend of the Trend' James Frith, Volta Energy Technologies European head. Full quote: James Frith, Head of Volta Energy Technologies’ European Operations: “It is reassuring to see more investment in the UK’s battery supply chain, this will help Britain to maintain a viable automotive industry in the future and build on the needed battery technologies. "However, it is notable that it is once again an overseas company, adding to investments by India’s Tata group who own Agratas and China’s Envision group who own AESC. The government must now support the growing UK battery startup ecosystem, to make sure that while foreign companies are building capacity, it is UK technology that is used in the batteries these facilities will produce.” Volta is a U.S. based VC fund focused on the battery supply chain. Jeffrey Chamberlain S C Insights Andy Street Andy Leyland Fiona Howarth Circulor Jessica Green Gill Nowell Laura Magee Laura Hardy Laura Harvey Ieuan Lewis James Woodward James W. Octopus Electric Vehicles Aterian plc Charles G. Bray Paul Smith Jennifer Channell Matthew Howard Ian Constance Roger Atkins Ade Thomas

Industry reaction to Chinese EV battery maker UK gigafactory investment talks Professionals from the clean transport and energy sectors have reacted to the news that EVE Energy is in talks to invest more than £1 billion in the West Midlands Gigafactory project. According to a report in the Guardian, the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries employs 28,000 staff worldwide and is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands. The project could create up to 6,000 jobs in partnership with local councils and Coventry airport, where the plant will be located. Read the thoughts of James Frith, Jonathan Carrier and Quentin Willson in the Transport + Energy article below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eDJbjSMQ FairCharge, Ben Kilbey, Volta Energy Technologies, Allye West Midlands Gigafactory, Dr .Benjamin Silverstone, Prof Colin Herron CBE, Shamala Gadgil MSc, MTICE, FCIHT, FIHE, PWI, IOSH,PMI

A great article from C&EN by Matt Blois on why the electrolyte supply chain is moving to the US. Electrolyte salts like LiPF6, and finished electrolytes, have a relatively short shelf life of around 6 months. This complicates the logistics of shipping hundreds of thousands of tons of material from Asia to the US, where any delays in shipping times or clearing customs could lead to the products going bad. This short shelf life means it makes more sense to produce these materials locally. However, the production of LiPF6 in particular is problematic in Europe and the US, as it requires the use of HF, an incredibly powerful and dangerous acid. Getting permitting for new facilities using or producing HF will be difficult, which makes the work being done by FluoRok so interesting and exciting. Full article here -> https://lnkd.in/d8Ha8pih #EV #Battery #Lithium #Salt Volta Energy Technologies