Batteries are key to automakers’ multi-billion-dollar plans to create electric vehicle lineups over the next several years. Aly Song/Reuters
Batteries are key to automakers as they electrify their lineups over the next several years.
The battery industry is full of opportunities, from new technologies to supply to recycling.
Here’s a look at the many startups racing to lead in the battery space.
The future of the auto industry hinges, now more than ever, on batteries.
Batteries are critical to automakers’ multi-billion-dollar plans to create electric vehicle lineups over the next several years. They’re important as automakers seek to differentiate themselves and their offerings from one another. And they’re crucial as the industry seeks to put its gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting past behind — but only if batteries can be developed in efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable ways.
There’s also money to be made: The EV battery market could hit $340 billion by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
At Insider, we’ve looked at white-hot EV battery technologies that give automakers the EV performance they need at the price their customers want. We’ve investigated how automakers are securing enough battery supply, especially amid the call for domestic sourcing brought on by requirements in President Joe Biden’s climate bill. And we’ve talked to startups working to recycle these batteries well after they’re spent.
Below, you can read more about battery startups to watch, the battery metal shortages the industry is facing, and how automakers are navigating this important part of their business. You can also read more on the types of battery technologies that are winning in the industry.
Key players to watch
Automakers and nascent EV manufacturers are relying on dozens of outfits in the battery space to help them out.
As a result, new startups are emerging to tackle various bits of the battery chain, from supply to new chemistries. Established companies are also pivoting their business strategies to prepare for the upcoming demand.
Securing enough supply of EV battery materials, especially lithium, is top of mind for auto executives. Startup Lithium Americas could help. Lithium Americas
Shortages
The crisis in Ukraine shed a light on the impact that a shortage of a key battery metal — nickel — could have on the auto business. Cobalt and lithium are starting to be a crisis for the industry, too.
Securing enough supply of these materials is a huge problem standing in the way of the industry’s electrification plans. Automotive execs need massive amounts of materials at the right price that can be secured in an environmentally- and financially-responsible way.
It’s not easy, and getting this part of the EV supply chain right is perhaps the toughest challenge facing battery execs today.
The CEO of Rivian, for example, has warned the looming battery shortage will make the chip shortage feel like it’s “a small appetizer.” Rivian
How automakers are navigating the lithium problem
Automakers across the globe are betting their entire futures on electric products. But those bets look riskier with a looming EV battery supply shortage, particularly in lithium.
Some are pursuing partnerships to secure enough supply of lithium. Some are making huge investments in the space. Some think their approach to batteries could help them surpass range records to date. And some worry the impact of these shortages will only get worse.
Startup Ample says its battery tech could solve Uber’s biggest electric car challenge. Ample
Specific battery technologies
Range anxiety is just one of the reasons customers are hesitant to go electric. But a battery’s chemistry and technology can help bolster range, performance, and even vehicle safety. So startups in the space are experimenting with the best tech that can give their product — and their customers — a leg up.
Energy-dense solid-state batteries, hot-swapping batteries on the go, and technology that claims to double a Tesla’s range are all on the table as startups pursue every way to get a competitive advantage in the business.
Porsche led a $400 million Series C round into a startup making lithium-silicon batteries as EV battery startups continue to be attractive to investors. Porsche
Startups raising rounds
The uncertain macroeconomic environment over the past year has been challenging for startups in every sector as they look to raise funds at a critical time for their businesses.
But companies in the world of batteries are still bringing in a ton of capital these days, and the industry expects that to continue. That’s because automakers are going to need a variety of solutions for their battery needs in the coming years. Startups are raising across battery chemistry, mining, and even swapping.
Auto companies need millions of electric-vehicle batteries in the coming years, and battery recycling is a key way to return materials back into the supply chain. Ford
Battery recycling
Battery materials, chemistry, and technologies are crucial — but so is figuring out what to do with these batteries once they can’t be used in a vehicle any longer.
Recycling is taking off, and companies are working hard to ensure the materials put into an EV battery get returned to the auto supply chain.
But that’s not the only option. Various stakeholders are experimenting with repurposing or refurbishing these batteries for second-life use cases, like energy storage.
