6K makes $25M investment in battery materials

The company will invest $25 million over the next two years to triple the size of its facility in North Andover, MA, with as many as ten UniMelt systems dedicated to the full-scale development and pilot production of battery materials. 6K Energy will expand the size of its product development team, enhance world-class material testing capabilities and help the US to lower supply chain risks with clean energy production of critical battery materials.

Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III and 6K Board member said: “The new administration’s executive order clearly outlines a commitment for the United States to lead clean energy technology especially in the area of batteries for electric vehicles. The new order also calls for a review of supply chains and ensuring the domestic supply of four key areas, one of them being battery production.

“The new Center of Excellence will not only allow 6K to address the administration’s concerns, but it enables 6K’s key partners and players in the battery production space to take advantage of a scalable, green process based in the US to fulfill the US supply chain requirements.”

The new 33,000 sq/ft facility will accommodate ten UniMelt systems that can produce as much as 100 tons of material from each system annually. This will support full scale development of materials such as high energy density and single crystal cathode, solid-state electrolyte materials, Silicon Anode for fast-charging and many more.

The expansion will create 6K Energy pilot production capabilities to fully support partner qualification, providing a gateway direct to domestic production. The Center of Excellence will also allow 6K Energy to offer dedicated UniMelt systems to customers, enabling the rapid commercialisation of battery materials, which could have major implications for the cycle life and safety of future NMC-based EV products, making smaller, lower cost batteries a reality, without giving up vehicle range.

6K CEO Dr Aaron Bent added: “Production of advanced materials for batteries is virtually non-existent in the United States. The investment we are making in infrastructure and team will accelerate our time-to-market to deliver lower cost, next generation battery materials produced on US soil. The UniMelt platform’s sustainability benefits, and the scale of the new Center of Excellence, means that 6K Energy can deliver the advanced materials the market requires for next generation batteries and the administration’s mandate for improvements in the supply chain for battery materials.”

6K’s UniMelt platform offers multifaceted sustainability benefits like no other battery material production platform in the world. As an example, if a legacy battery cathode production plant was replaced with 6K’s UniMelt platform, 100% of wastewater would be eliminated, energy usage and greenhouse gas generation would be reduced by up to 70%, and water usage would be decreased by 90%.