Battery tech developer secures $955k from 500 Startups, others

Hong Kong-based nanotech startup Volt14 Solutions raised S$1.3 million (about US$955,000) in seed funding to speed up the development and deployment of its high capacity battery material.

Photo credit: Pxhere

The round was led by US-based VC firm 500 Startups’ Southeast Asia-focused 500 Durians, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks venture arm HKSTP Ventures, and startup enabler Entrepreneur First.

Volt14 plans to use the proceeds from the raise to further refine their material for consistent mass production and support the manufacturing trials with battery cell producers it currently has in the pipeline.

The company develops battery materials that can be used to replace graphite, which is currently used in lithium-ion batteries. It differentiates itself by focusing on innovations in the materials for existing battery cells instead of inventing a “new battery.”

The company claims that its technology can help smartphone batteries last nearly 85% longer and enable electric vehicles to be 10% to 15% cheaper.

According to Volt14, its technology involves incorporating pure silicon in the anode component of a lithium-ion battery (or the terminal from which electrons flow into the device it powers), allowing the battery to store more energy. While silicon suffers from instabilities when used as a battery material, the startup claims that it has developed a way to address this. Over the last five years, the use of silicon has gained traction among battery manufacturers like Tesla and Huawei, notes the startup.

Volt14 said it has received significant interest in its technology from the lithium-ion battery cell and automotive industries, and it hopes to commence industrial-scale production trials by next month.