Europe and the United States are experiencing "stuck neck" for the first time and have taken a detour to develop silicon-based batteries.

Israeli startup StoreDot is a typical example of the rapid development of silicon-based batteries. In 2018, BP invested US$20 million in it. Companies such as Daimler, VinFast, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Ola Electric, Samsung and Japan's TDK have also been attracted by StoreDot's ultra-fast charging silicon-based battery plan and have given financial support to it.

StoreDot's technology shows that silicon-based batteries perform better and charge faster than traditional graphite batteries.

The company's near-term goal is to charge 100 miles (roughly 161 kilometers) in five minutes, and it expects the charging time of its electric vehicle batteries to drop to four minutes in about two years, with the ultimate goal of two minutes by 2032.

The company has unveiled a new battery architecture that more efficiently assembles cells into battery packs, which should help speed up production and reduce costs.

In March, Huizhou Yiwei Lithium Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yiwei Lithium Energy) and StoreDot signed a "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" in Huizhou, Guangdong to establish a strategic partnership and put its silicon XFC batteries into commercial production.

StoreDot said: "In the future, StoreDot will be produced by Yiwei Lithium's highly advanced production lines and delivered directly to electric vehicle manufacturer customers."

The company will also license technology to Yiwei Lithium Energy and continue to pursue licensing agreements with other third parties while establishing its own global exclusive production capacity.

As for silicon, that's no ordinary silicon.

Refusing to reveal too much, StoreDot explained that the company's silicon is "synthesized with a proprietary small molecule organic compound to create a highly efficient active material that can withstand changes in silicon, such as volume expansion when a battery is charged." , energy attenuation problem, can better limit the rate performance and further improve safety."

In 2023, China implemented new export restrictions on graphite, giving the United States a taste of being stuck. American companies began to look for suitable graphite substitutes, and the synthetic graphite and silicon-based battery industries developed rapidly.

In March, Ferroglobe, the world's leading silicon metal and iron alloy manufacturer, and Coreshell Technologies, an American nanomaterials R&D and manufacturer, announced a cooperation to jointly develop silicon-based batteries and produce them in the United States.

Coreshell Technologies is a developer of liquid-deposited nanolayer coatings dedicated to improving battery production processes.

The two parties stated: "They will jointly produce the first battery-grade metallurgical silicon for the development of low-cost, long-range electric vehicle batteries and are eligible for subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act."

The project combines Coreshell's proprietary electric vehicle battery technology with Ferroglobe's proprietary low-cost silicon purification process. "These innovations will extend the service life of silicon anode cells for the first time," the parties explained.

“Silicon stores 10 times more energy than graphite in sufficient quantity and quality,” Coreshell CEO Jonathan Tan said in a press statement. “This is the only viable way to achieve low-cost, long-range electric vehicle batteries. Can scale quickly with a 100% local supply chain."

"We are simplifying the silicon and lowering the cost so that we can deliver the lowest-cost, longest-range EV battery," he added.

Research and development on silicon-based batteries is continuing to innovate.

Recently, a research team from the Chemistry Department of Pohang Institute of Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea proposed a new approach to gel-based silicon electric vehicle batteries.

"They have cracked the code and developed a next-generation high-energy-density lithium-ion battery system using microsilica particles and gel polymer electrolytes," POSTECH explains.

The “code” here refers to a balance between the cost of silicon-based cells and the size of the silicon particles. Nanoscale particles can prevent silicon batteries from aging during charging cycles, but they are expensive. Microparticles can increase energy density while reducing costs, but batteries are prone to degradation.

To deploy larger particles without sacrificing performance, POSTECH's research team proposed a gel-type electrolyte that can be combined with microsilica particles.

"Unlike traditional liquid electrolytes, gel electrolytes exist in a solid or gel state and are characterized by an elastic polymer structure that provides better stability than liquid electrolytes," POSTECH explains.

POSTECH said: "The results are very remarkable. Even using micro-silicon particles (5 microns) that are 100 times larger than traditional nano-silicon anodes, the battery shows stable performance."

On October 20, 2023, China announced that it would strengthen export controls on graphite, which caused an uproar in the battery metal market.

As a raw material for many strategic emerging industries and an important component of new energy batteries, graphite's resource strategic position is receiving more and more attention.

China plays an important role in the global graphite industry, producing an estimated 60% of the world's natural graphite (mined from the ground) and 69% of synthetic graphite. Nearly all the high-purity graphite used in lithium-ion batteries is refined in China.

"China refines nearly 90% of the world's graphite, which is the basic material for almost all electric vehicle battery anodes. Last year, China produced 79% of global supply, while North America contributed only 1.2%." Global leader Supply chain management company GEP noted.

GEP also noted that electric vehicle batteries can be recycled, which could also provide more options for the graphite supply chain. GEP advises: “Procurement teams should explore the possibility of recycling and reusing graphite from end-of-life batteries, as well as scrap and scrap from the battery production process.”

"This will reduce reliance on primary graphite and lower the environmental impact of battery manufacturing and processing," they added.

The synthetic graphite market is also beginning to take shape. Norwegian startup Vi Anode is working towards full-scale synthetic graphite production for electric vehicle batteries, aiming to enter the European and US markets by 2030.

In the United States, Illinois startup Anovion has plans to invest $800 million in a new factory in Georgia to produce synthetic graphite anodes for electric vehicle batteries, receiving $117 million from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law of assistance.