The leader in lithium metal batteries is about to go public!

On January 11, information from SES Massachusetts Solid Energy stated that Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp. and SES jointly announced that the registration statement in Form S-4 previously submitted by Ivanhoe regarding the merger of the two parties' businesses has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will officially take effect on January 10.

The business combination is expected to be completed concurrently with a private placement of approximately $275 million of common stock. The parties expect that the combined company’s Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols “SES” and “SESW,” respectively.

Hu Qichao, founder and CEO of SES, said: "I am very pleased that the business combination with Ivanhoe has come at an important time. After obtaining the approval of Ivanhoe shareholders, SES will be officially listed. As a listed company, this business combination will create better conditions for us to implement our strategic planning and further accelerate the commercialization of lithium metal batteries . At present, we have received support from the world's five largest automakers, General Motors, Hyundai Motor, Geely, SAIC and Foxconn."

"SES hybrid lithium metal battery technology can create excellent performance and safety performance verified by third-party testing agencies. Its compatibility with traditional lithium-ion production processes also makes lithium metal batteries highly manufacturable. It is precisely because of these advantages that we have received support from many leading global automakers, and we are full of confidence in the future of SES," he added.

According to the information, SES, the full name of which is Solid Energy System, is a manufacturer of hybrid lithium metal batteries for electric vehicles , while Ivanhoe is a publicly listed special purpose acquisition company. In July 2021, SES announced its merger with Ivanhoe and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange through the SPAC model. Ivanhoe will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on February 1, 2022, Eastern Time, to review the business merger of the two parties. After the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders is reviewed and approved, SES will be officially listed.

In November 2021, SES released a lithium metal battery called Apollo, which shocked the entire lithium battery industry. According to reports, the Apollo lithium metal battery has a capacity of 107Ah, weighs only 0.982Kg, and has an energy density of 417Wh/kg and 935Wh/L. It is said to be the world's first publicly displayed single-cell lithium metal battery with a capacity of over 100Ah, and is also the world's largest single-cell lithium metal battery.

Image source: SES

Industry insiders pointed out that the energy density of ternary lithium batteries used in electric vehicles is generally around 160Wh/Kg, with only a small number exceeding 200Wh/kg. The energy density and volume of Apollo's lithium metal battery are major technological breakthroughs.

According to SES founder and CEO Hu Qichao, the Apollo battery showed extremely high capacity and energy density in 10-hour, 3-hour and 1-hour discharge tests at room temperature. Hu Qichao said that judging from the data, the performance of hybrid lithium metal batteries is far better than that of solid-state batteries.

SES said that the materials used in the positive electrode and separator of lithium metal batteries are the same as those of lithium-ion batteries . However, in the negative electrode, lithium metal batteries use special electrolytes and lithium metal. Compared with lithium-ion batteries, the hybrid lithium metal battery technology route can improve both energy density and safety.

SES expects to be able to provide A samples of lithium metal for electric vehicles in 2022, C samples in 2024, and start production in 2025.

It is worth noting that SES's investors include General Motors, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Geely Holding Group, SAIC, Tianqi Lithium , Foxconn, etc. Lithium mining giant Tianqi Lithium holds 9.34% of SES's total share capital before issuance, which also means that Tianqi Lithium has seized the initiative in the field of metal lithium batteries through SES.