The U.S. company Factorial Energy announced that it has concluded investment agreements with European car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis in order to commercialize its solid battery technology.
Daimler and Stellantis are planning a strategic investment in the production of solid batteries, Factorial Energy reports, without giving financial details of the agreement.
“With our new partners, we can develop batteries that will enable safer and longer driving and will be compatible with conventional environments for lithium-ion battery production,” said Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang.
Rigid batteries are more attractive to car manufacturers because they are more energy dense and less prone to self-ignition than lithium-ion batteries, but they are prone to cracking and their production is more expensive.
Stellantis has already agreed to work with Australian lithium maker Vulcan Energy Resources, and Daimler has joined a recent capital raising cycle organized by the Ionity electric vehicle charging network.
Ionity is a joint project of BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen and Ford, and in November last year it was joined by Korean Hyundai.
Demand for electric vehicles should gain momentum in the process of green transition, and Daimler and five other car manufacturers have pledged to completely exclude fossil fuel vehicles from supply by 2040.
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. have also signed a joint partnership with Factorial Energy, Reuters reports.