On Friday, the UK-based company Anaphite announced that it had raised £4.1M, or about $5 million, in a Seed round of funding. This was for their technology that uses graphene in next-generation lithium-ion batteries.
Deeptech Labs, Zero Carbon Capital, Blue Wire Capital, OION, Silicon Roundabout Ventures and Elbow Beach Capital all participated in the investment led by Elbow Beach Capital.
Jon Pollock says the green energy shift requires development in lithium-ion battery technology. He believes Anaphite Technology’s potential is significant because of the already rapidly growing electric vehicle market. As a result, Pollock joined Anaphite’s Board of Directors after completing this deal.
Capital Utilisation
Anaphite plans to use the funding they receive to start negotiations with material suppliers or cell manufacturers. They will also use the money to build a demonstration reactor with a 100 kilograms per day production volume.
Anaphite reports that they plan to validate their battery prototype with an Original Equipment Manufacturer by the end of 2023. Furthermore, the company claims its technology will be used in commercial electric vehicles by 2028. Anaphite claims its ambition is due to testing possible niche markets for their technology such as drones and e-bikes. Additionally, the company plans to build a line showcasing low-energy battery manufacturing through roll-to-roll coating.
Alexander Hewitt, COO and co-founder of Anaphite, believes his company has the ability to greatly impact the fight against climate change. He says, “I believe we have a great opportunity to dramatically increase the adoption of electric vehicles with our fast-charging graphene technology.”
Joe Stevenson began working as a Commercial Director for Arcola Energy and Ballard Motive Solutions. However, he will begin working as the CEO of Anaphite in September 2019. Over the course of his career, Stevenson worked as a Director of Corporate Strategy at Johnson Matthey. His extensive experience in both business and technical fields makes him the ideal candidate to oversee Anaphite’s growth.
Powering The Sustainable Energy Revolution
Anaphite was co-founded in 2018 by Sam Burrow and Alex Hewitt. Its goal is to increase the adoption rate of electric vehicles that use batteries as a power source. In order to accomplish this, Anaphite develops and licenses technologies that increase battery charging speed, range and cost.
The company claims to have methods for applying self-assembling graphene to cathodes and coating Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles.
In 2035, the US, UK and Europe will ban all new sales of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Consequently, this will drive up the demand for electric vehicles that are affordable and reliable. By 2050, it’s expected that more than half of all vehicles in the UK will be electric.
The substance graphene is a special material with superior electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as exceptional strength. It was discovered in 2004 and can be useful on its own, but its capabilities are maximized when it’s combined with other substances. Anaphite’s technology uses inexpensive methods to integrate graphene into battery materials via processes that can be implemented on existing production lines. This allows batteries to benefit from improved conductivity, lower internal resistance and higher energy density.
Anaphite believes that improving lithium-ion batteries for the automotive sector can drastically reduce the costs of electric vehicles. They claim that batteries account for roughly 30% of the expenses of electric vehicles. Anaphite’s technique can decrease battery costs by about 10%, which they say could reduce charging time by 50%. Their technique would also increase battery capacity and charging speeds.
