Investors put 22 million euros into LeydenJar Technologies to develop a sustainable 'super battery'. The company plans to use the money to scale up its manufacturing facility and further develop its battery technology.
LeydenJar Technologies is working on a battery with an anode made of 100% silicone. This enables a thinner anode. The 'nanoporous structure' of the silicone anode enables high capacity. This composition increases the energy density of li-ion battery cells by up to 70% to 1,350 Wh/l. This can offer a variety of benefits, ranging from increased range for electric cars to longer battery life for smartphones.
More range and longer battery life
In doing so, LeydenJar points to the impact that higher energy density can have. For instance, the company expects electric vehicles to gain up to 70% extra range thanks to its technology. The battery is also capable of fast charging, and should be able to charge a vehicle sufficiently within 15 minutes to continue its journey. Another application LeydenJar points to are home batteries, including for storing renewable energy. Higher energy density leads to lower kWh costs of storage capacity.
At the same time, the company wants to achieve an 85% reduction in the carbon footprint of battery production compared to li-ion batteries. "The ultimate goal is to accelerate the energy transition with innovation battery technology," LeydenJar writes in a press release.
Accelerating energy transition
"With this investment, we can take a big step forward towards accelerating the energy transition. Because battery technology is still often the bottleneck for electrifying cars and many other applications. In the future, we will increasingly use batteries for all kinds of purposes. It is therefore imperative that they are produced in a sustainable way. We are proud to have secured support from a strong consortium of investors and look forward to further developing this technology in collaboration with our customers. On to the super battery!", says Christian Rood, founder of LeydenJar Technologies.
The 22 million euros the company is raising from investors the startup plans to use to further develop its technology. This includes increasing battery life. The company will also prepare for mass production, including by scaling up its production site in Eindhoven. Finally, the company wants to save on cost price.
Both Dutch and US investors
Both Dutch and US investors are putting money into the company. New investors include Catalus Capital, YARD ENERGY, Invest-NL, ING Sustainable Investments and Somerset Capital Partners. Existing investors such as BOM, Stichting Doen and PVS Investments are also reinvesting. In addition, LeydenJar will receive a grant of over five million euros from the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO).
LeydenJar emerged in 2016 as a spin-off from TNO. The company has about 25 employees. With the new investment, the company expects to grow to at least 70 FTE in the coming 18 months. The company opened a pilot plant in Eindhoven in early 2020.
The startup sets itself the goal of finally becoming a kind of 'mini-ASML', Rood told the FD earlier. LeydenJar wants to be a supplier of machines that other companies can use to make these super batteries.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
