Stellantis invests in lithium-sulfur battery maker Lyten for better range, payload

The venture capital arm of the maker of Jeep SUVs, Ram pickup trucks and other vehicles said Thursday it's investing in a California-based lithium-sulfur battery startup that says its technology could double the energy density of current electric-vehicle batteries, benefiting range and payload.

The investment into Lyten Inc. is the 10th by Stellantis Ventures, which has been allocated $323 million (300 million euro) to help the automaker achieve its goals to double its revenue by 2030. Lyten's technology, executives say, presents opportunity for lightweight batteries with readily available materials as the industry worries about shortages and affordability. The hope is the batteries could go in Stellantis EVs in the latter half of the decade.

Financial details of the deal weren't shared, though the investment is a part of Lyten's "oversubscribed" Series B funding round that CEO Dan Cook said is larger than its $160 million Series A round. Stellantis is just one investor of several crossing into logistics, industrial construction and defense.

Stellantis' investment will help speed Lyten's technology to market. Its LytCell lithium-ion sulfur batteries don't use the nickel, manganese and cobalt found in many lithium-ion batteries in EVs nowadays; those materials represent half the battery material cost because of their limited availability. Lyten will help Stellantis' "holistic, but focused" approach to its portfolio.

"We're behind technology," said Adam Bazih, head of Stellantis Ventures, "that enables this affordability, not only from a manufacturing standpoint, but really also from a customer standpoint, as well."

Instead of those pricier minerals, the LytCell uses the company's 3D Graphene, a product made from graphite with patented reactor technology that helps to tune materials like sulfur, which offers greater energy density. This can help to keep sulfur atoms in place and increase its conductivity for better battery performance.

Sulfur is a widely available byproduct from industrial processing and mining and can be found naturally. That means it can be sourced from North America, while the supply chain for other materials is reliant upon China and places where child and forced labor are a concern. This also contributes to 60% fewer carbon emissions to make the LytCells versus lithium-ion batteries. Lyten is working on a plan for possible carbon-neutral batteries, as well.

Lyten has a facility in San Jose, California, where it's headquartered and is ramping up production of its batteries to test. The pilot plant has a capacity for 200,000 cells a year. Lyten's latest funding round will help it to invest in its first battery factory, or gigafactory, that Cook says will be approximately 5 gigawatts. That's about the size of LG Energy Solution's lithium-ion battery plant in Holland prior to the announcement last year of its plans to quintuple its size.

Lyten is focused on producing cylindrical and pouch cells, though prismatic could come in the future long-term. Stellantis' EV platforms are flexible to accept multiple types of cells, said Oliver Gross, Stellantis' senior fellow of energy storage and electrification.

Gross added the company also will want to leverage existing battery manufacturing facilities when Lyten's technology is ready to be put into vehicles. The startup estimates it would take 10% to 15% of the direct costs in the manufacturing line to convert it to support the lithium-sulfur architecture, Cook said.

There are other challenges with lithium-sulfur batteries. One is their ability to last as long as lithium-ion technology. Keith Norman, Lyten's chief sustainability officer, said the company is working with Stellantis on quarterly targets in the area, though he declined to share the paraments the companies are pursuing. Regulatory bodies also play a role in determining the lifecycle requirements, Gross said.

Additionally, lithium-sulfur batteries are less profitable to recycle because its materials already are disposed as waste. Lyten has commitments from major recycling companies that they would take a look at its batteries to assess how they might be recycled, Norman said.

In addition to batteries, Lyten is working on lightweight composites for internal car body components and "battery-less, wireless and chip-less" sensors, Cook said.

"Our goal really is to decarbonize the entire mobility value chain," he said, "and we're again excited to begin joint development work with Stellantis and its key automotive suppliers to this end."

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble