Illinois’ success in landing an electric vehicle battery plant came from defeat.

Nearly a year before China’s Gotion Hi-Tech chose Manteno for a $2 billion battery assembly plant, it picked Michigan for a similar factory. Gov. J.B. Pritzker set about persuading lawmakers to authorize a $400 million deal-closing fund and extend the state’s incentives, primarily payroll-tax credits, to last as long as 30 years. The legislation passed in December and January.

President Kurt "Chip" Breitenkamp sees a dual business model of manufacturing silicon-based battery materials and the cells themselves as a catalyst for long-term growth.

NanoGraf Corporation has developed a novel high-energy density Si-based anode material that has the long-term potential to replace graphitic-based anodes in lithium-ion batteries for a range of applications, from consumer electronics to electric vehicles.

Connor Hund says NanoGraf aims to onshore production of its silicon-anode material at a new Chicago facility beginning in Q2 this year. The company, whose backers include the Department of Defense, claims to have created the most energy-dense 18650 cylindrical cell yet, at 3.8 amp-hours. The technology key is a pre-lithiated core that allows an anode silicon percentage as high as 25 percent, versus cells that typically top out at 5-to-7 percent silicon.

AZoM talks with Francis Wang, CEO of NanoGraf, to discuss their new lithium-ion battery technology and the onshoring of production in the Midwest.

NanoGraf, a lithium-battery startup, has raised $65 million to help it build up its Chicago production facilities, joining a wave of investment that has poured into US battery manufacturers.

Volta Energy Technologies and CC Industries led the round, which brings the total amount raised by NanoGraf to about $100 million, the company plans to announce Tuesday.

Q&A with NanoGraf COO Connor Hund

Graphite, a pure form of carbon, is a critical material for battery anodes. Graphite’s physical structure allows it to store lithium ions, which merrily migrate to the anode when the battery is charged. Unlike cathodes, which can be composed of various combinations of chemicals (cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, iron, phosphorus et al), all current anodes used in EV batteries are composed mainly of graphite.

Battery-technology startup NanoGraf has raised $65 million to ramp up production at a West Side factory that will open later this year. Warrenville-based Volta Energy Technologies and CC Industries, the Crown family's holding company, led the investment. TechNexus and five other investors also joined the round, with existing backers, including Hyde Park Angels and Evergreen Climate Innovations.

Start-ups hoping to commercialize silicon materials for battery anodes raised nearly half a billion dollars in the final quarter of 2022. The money is intended to help them build factories and incorporate their materials into mass-market electric vehicles in the next few years.