The Future of Carbon Policy Forum Is where you want to be on January 4th at Amazon’s Seattle Campus
“Big things are happening fast”, says Group14 Technologies CEO and co-founder Rick Leubbe in an interview with Seattle Inno.
The company commercially manufactures a silicon-carbon anode powder to replace the traditional graphite powder found in most batteries today. The goal is to make batteries cheaper, smaller and longer lasting.
Group14 is one of three finalists for this year’s David & Patricia Giuliani Clean Energy Entrepreneur Award:
We profiled First Mode the other day, and will look at Modern Hydrogen next. But first, here’s more about Group14:
Group14 says,
“Its flagship commercial product, SCC55™, delivers unmatched performance to lithium-ion batteries for all applications, from electric vehicles to aviation to smartphones and beyond. While traditional lithium-ion batteries today are powered by graphite on the anode side, Group14 has developed a process to harness silicon, an abundant commodity that packs 10x the capacity of graphite by mass and enables 50% greater performance, translating to greater range and extremely fast charging.”
To our question, “Does your project benefit highly impacted or overburdened communities?”, Group14 answered,
“At its core, Group14 is committed to helping democratize access and accelerate the pathway for EVs to reach cost-parity with internal combustion engines in the near future – especially across communities that traditionally have lacked the resources to properly adopt clean energy.
At the same time, Group14 is dedicated to driving the future of Washington’s workforce. In recent months, the company has embarked on a scholarship program with Bellingham Community College, offering a tailored training program for students studying Process Technology. Group14 also participates in the Frazier Scholars program, providing underrepresented men of color and students who experienced foster care or unstable housing as minors with a hands-on opportunity to learn at the company and develop skills to enter a career in energy storage.”
Having raised more than $600 million from investors and another $100 million grant from the US Department of Energy as part of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, Group14 is building its second commercial Battery Active Materials factory (BAM-2) in Moses Lake, following the launch of its first commercial factory in Woodinville in 2021. The company expects the factory to be the world’s largest for advanced, active silicon battery materials.
A rendering of the Group14 factory being built in Moses Lake, WA. When completed, it will be the world’s largest producer of advanced silicon battery materials. (Group14 image)
CEO Rick Leubbe says, “The single most important thing I think silicon-based batteries are going to do is enable extremely fast charging. You can get that energy back in that battery as fast as you can refill your gas tank. That is going to change the way we think about using electric vehicles. Charge anxiety goes away. When charge anxiety goes away, range anxiety goes away.”
It’s in recognition of meaningful advances in Washington-based clean energy innovation such as this, and in the spirit of our founder, that the 3rd annual David & Patricia Giuliani Clean Energy Entrepreneur Award will be presented on Thursday January 4th at the Future of Carbon Policy Forum.
The inaugural winner was Kenworth Trucks, presented by Governor Jay Inslee. The second winner was Myno Carbon, presented by Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz.
Join us at Amazon HQ in Seattle on January 4th for the Future of Carbon Policy Forum and the presentation of this year’s David & Patricia Giuliani Clean Energy Entrepreneur Award.
EVENT SPONSORS
