Nexeon Scales up to Production Capacity
We are proud to report that this month, Coller IP’s client, Nexeon, has received £40M round C funding for the next stage of development of its rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology.
Nexeon plans to use the new funding to establish a world class manufacturing facility, scaling up the production of its latest silicon anode materials to around 250 tonnes per annum, representing a commercial supply level.
Use of silicon anodes in Li-ion batteries produces a significantly higher performance and overcomes the limitations of present-day technology. Batteries with higher energy density can offer longer time between charges, higher power output, smaller size or a combination of these benefits. They are eagerly awaited for application in cell phones, laptops and many other consumer devices, as well as having important application in electric vehicles and in storage of renewable energy.
The latest funding was led by existing investor Imperial Innovations Group and included Invesco Perpetual and brings the total raised by Nexeon to £55 million. The company will now accelerate application development and increase support to its customers. The investment comes at an ideal time for Nexeon as strong progress is being made in commercial negotiations and customer-led projects. Customer traction is now being gained with major global companies in the fields of consumer electronics and automotive in particular.
Nexeon’s technology has reached unprecedented levels of performance in the last year, and the company recently announced that it had it produced sample cells with significantly higher capacity for their size than the best current commercial equivalents. As Nexeon expands the scope of its activities it will be looking to create and fill a number of key commercial, technical and supply chain positions.
“This is the next step in an amazing journey for this exciting UK start up”, says Nexeon Chairman Dr Paul Atherton, who founded the company back in 2005 with Professor Mino Green of Imperial College. “It’s a superb example of UK high value manufacturing involving sophisticated advanced materials, and this funding will enable Nexeon to establish the first in a series of manufacturing plants that will be needed to serve demand worldwide.”
“We are naturally delighted at the support shown by our investors who see the potential of our silicon anode technology and the excellent progress being made by our team”, said Dr Scott Brown, CEO of Nexeon. “With the strong financial backing of Innovations and Invesco Perpetual, we are well placed and very much on track to meet our customers’ needs and to achieve our commercial ambitions.”
Last month, Nexeon was presented with the Green Technology award at Venturefest in recognition of the company’s innovative technology and demonstrable commercial potential; a technology that is underpinned by its growing portfolio of patents and know-how, which are key assets for the business.