Ferroglobe PLC, a global producer of silicon metal and ferroalloys, and Coreshell, a U.S.-based battery technology company, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of producing the first battery-ready metallurgical silicon for the development of low-cost, high-range EV batteries in compliance with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. 

The partnership will enable the leapfrogging of silane-based silicon and the replacement of graphite in EV batteries, which have bottlenecked the auto industry since the introduction of electric vehicles, creating cost and range limitations. 

Electric vehicles suffer from significant cost disadvantages for consumers and automakers alike, with batteries comprising 30%-40% of the total cost of electric cars. Car manufacturers are interested in using silicon in batteries because it can store up to 10 times more energy in the anodes than graphite. This could potentially result in a 30% increase in driving range.

Coreshell’s proprietary battery technology, featuring a unique nanomaterial electrode coating, is the only proven solution to mitigate the degradation of micrometric silicon, preventing its rapid loss of life while still allowing lithium ions to pass through. Ferroglobe’s proprietary metallurgical purification process to produce up to 99.995% silicon is cost-effective and does not use any chemical reagent, a key technology for producing affordable silicon active material. These innovations enable, for the first time, the development of lithium-ion batteries with metallurgical silicon dominant anodes that meet product requirements for lifetime across a range of applications.

“We believe battery-grade, micrometric silicon is the fastest path to decarbonizing the mobility industry,” said Benoist Ollivier, chief technology & innovation officer of Ferroglobe. “When the right battery technology partner and the leading supplier of silicon to the U.S. come together, breakthroughs can happen. 

“The issue to date is that no one has been able to unlock the power of metallurgical silicon, and the high cost and scaling challenges of highly engineered or silane-based synthetic Silicon anodes have prevented the industry from benefiting from its true potential.,” said said Jonathan Tan, CEO of Coreshel. With Ferroglobe’s silicon and Coreshell’s technology, we have unlocked that power. We are simplifying silicon and stripping out the costs so we can deliver the lowest cost, long range EV batteries in existence.”