California-based Sila announced a new lithium-ion battery chemistry with 20% more energy storage potential is being deployed in batteries in a new fitness wearable, WHOOP 4.0.
Sila, with 250 employees in Alameda, Calif., said it developed the new silicon anode material over 10 years with 55,000 iterations. The engineered silicon anode material is used to replace traditional graphic anodes in Li-ion batteries that are broadly in use.
Sila CEO and co-founder Gene Berdichevsky said in a blog that the company plans to build a plant to produce material for hundreds of millions of batteries for mobile phones and table, as well as tens of thousands of electric cars from customers that currently include BMW and Daimler, although others have not been named.
The company currently operates a production facility in Alameda to serve consumer electronics, while the upcoming 100 GWh plant will serve smartphone and auto customers. Production is expected to begin at the new plant as early as 2025.
Sila estimates that it will take 2,000 GWh of global production of batteries per year in 2030 to meet the demand for EVs and and 30,000 GWh by 2050, up from 2,000 GWh in 2010.
WHOOP used the Sila material and was able to add new features without any battery compromise. “Sila technology has the potential to enable exciting design innovation in other categories and products,” said John Capodilupo, co-founder and chief technology officer at WHOOP, in a statement.
Sila claimed its silicon anode chemistry innovation is the most significant breakthrough in Li-ion chemistry in 30 years, going back to Sony’s introduction of Li-ion batteries commercially in 1991.
Sila has $925 million in series F funding with investors that include 8VC, Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), Bessemer Venture Partners, Chengwei Capital, CPPIB (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board), Baimler, In-Q-Tel, Matrix Partners, Next48, Sutter Hill Ventures and T. Rowe Price Associates.
WHOOP 4.0, from WHOOP based in Boston, includes upgraded sensors and can be connected to a WHOOP Body smart apparel to enable users to wear WHOOP 4.0 on multiple locations across the body such as the torso, waist and calf for greater fitness inputs. The company sells the device for a $24 per month subscription. The cost of new apparel ranges from $69 for boxers, $79 for a sports bra and $109 for leggings.
WHOOP said its use of Sila technology improved battery storage capacity by 17% over the previous generation, allowing users a five-day battery life. The Sila-based battery takes up about half the space in a wearable device, according to Craig Weich, vice president of business development at Sila in an email to Fierce Electronics.
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