Dutch company LeydenJar Technologies is to build its first battery factory. The factory will be located at the Eindhoven business park Strijp-T. The first batteries should roll off the production line in 2026.
LeydenJar is a Dutch company that develops batteries that can hold significantly more energy than batteries currently available. The company was founded in 2016 and has since been working on a silicon-based anode, a key component of a battery. Silicon can store significantly more energy than graphite, which has so far been widely used in batteries.
Counteracting swelling of silicon
A major challenge in using silicon anodes is the fact that silicon swells during lithiation. In practice, this means that only a small proportion of modern anodes consist of silicon. This also limits the positive impact on energy density.
LeydenJar tackles this challenge by using a porous and flexible silicon anode. This behaves like a sponge, mitigating the swelling that occurs during lithiation. This makes it possible to use more silicon, thus increasing the energy density more.
50 to 70% more energy
As a result, the batteries LeydenJar is working on can store 50-70% more energy than conventional lithium-ion batteries. This can yield gains in various applications. On the one hand, it is possible to increase the battery life of applications. On the other hand, it is possible to develop batteries with lower weight without compromising on battery life.
Initially, LeydenJar will focus its batteries on applications in consumer electronics. These include laptops, smartphones, wearables and drones. Eventually, the company also wants to produce batteries for electric vehicles.
Less impact on the environment
Among other things, LeydenJar points to the environmental impact of battery production. The use of silicon reduces this impact by up to 85% compared to conventional graphite-based anodes.
Eindhoven-based company will set up in the 270-metre-high TX building at Strijp-T. This is a former Philips production site. GEVA Vastgoed is currently renovating the building.
PlantOne
The factory will be called PlantOne and should open its doors in 2026. It will have an annual production capacity of 70 MWh of silicon anode foil. According to the company, this is enough to produce four million batteries for smartphones. At the plant, LeydenJar will use self-developed production tools.
The construction of the factory is not unexpected. The company already raised EUR 30 million in funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the project in December 2022.
Synergy
"Eindhoven's dynamic environment promotes synergy between universities, research institutes and industrial companies, which we can benefit from in our current growth phase," explains LeydenJar CEO Christian Rood.
Paul van Nunen, director of Brainport Eindhoven: "This is an important step for the ambitions of the Dutch battery ecosystem. Companies and organisations on a national scale will benefit from unique competences clustered in Brainport, which will enable our country to develop the next generation of batteries and the production processes needed to do so."
Rood added: "When I founded this company, my dream was to have silicon anodes in all battery applications to accelerate the transition to green energy. PlantOne is an important step towards using our silicon anodes in consumer electronics and we foresee growth in the electric vehicle market in the future."
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Dean Simone via Pixabay
