The company is transforming electrode production in lithium-ion batteries and beyond
- Anaphite offers an industry-leading solution to the challenges of dry coating cathodes with its chemical compositing process to make dry coating precursor powders.
- The patented technology has the potential to make EV battery manufacturing 30% less carbon intensive and 40% cheaper, and the UK-based company is already working with global car and battery cell manufacturers.
- This Series A funding round is co-led by World Fund, Europe’s leading climate VC, and Maniv, a globally renowned transportation-focused fund – along with a cohort of top decarbonisation investors to enable the company to scale-up production at a commercial facility and make key hires.
- Deployed at scale, Anaphite’s technology can save carmakers billions of dollars annually and drive down the cost of EVs for consumers, accelerating the global adoption of EVs and other modes of electrified transport.
Anaphite, which specialises in production technology for battery electrodes, today announced that it has raised a $13.7 million (£10.4 million) Series A round. The funding was co-led by World Fund, Europe’s leading climate VC, and Maniv, a global early-stage VC investing in the decarbonisation of transportation and digitisation of its value chains. A cohort of top climate investors also joined, including EEI and Nesta, with further participation from existing investors Elbow Beach Capital and Wealth Club.
Anaphite, launched in 2018 by chemist Sam Burrow (CTO) and physicist Alexander Hewitt (COO), has patented chemistry-based technology with the potential to make EV battery manufacture 30% less energy intensive and up to 40% cheaper. This represents a breakthrough for the battery sector, and Anaphite is actively working with leading battery cell manufacturers and car OEMs to implement this technology. Delivered at scale by manufacturers worldwide, Anaphite’s technology would reduce the cost of EVs for consumers – thereby helping to accelerate the global adoption of EVs and the transition to an eco-mobility future.
The funding round was co-led by World Fund and Maniv, with participation from Elbow Beach Capital and Wealth Club, who significantly extended their respective shareholdings in the business. EEI, Japan’s leading venture capital firm exclusively focused on the environment and energy sectors, also participated. The round represents EEI’s first investment in a UK-based company. Nesta, the UK innovation agency, also invested for the first time.
The fresh capital injection will enable Anaphite to scale-up and expand their in-house dry coating capability, and fully commission a plant with the capacity to deliver tonnes of the company’s patented composite cathode material. The funding will also support extensive new hires and further R&D investment to expand its technology portfolio.
A dry coating revolution: Why Anaphite’s technology represents a breakthrough for the EV battery sector and our planet
Improving batteries and making them cheaper to produce is one of the greatest manufacturing challenges of our era, and Anaphite’s technology represents a breakthrough.
Electrode manufacturing has historically been challenging and expensive, representing a major cost driver in modern battery production. Anaphite introduces a unique chemical compositing process, delivering a proprietary “precursor powder” that ensures reliable dry coating for high speed, high performance electrode production. Dry coating with Anaphite technology has the potential to save about 30% of the energy usage and 15% of factory floor space traditionally used in cell manufacturing – all of which greatly reduces the cost and environmental impact of making a lithium-ion battery. Moreover, by dramatically reducing the energy required for electrode manufacturing – up to 90% – Anaphite will fundamentally alter the carbon profile of electric vehicles.
How Anaphite got started
Anaphite started out as a student passion project for Hewitt and Burrow, who met at the University of Bristol. They initially worked on developing methods of homogeneously incorporating graphene into metal oxide composites, and soon identified lithium-ion batteries as an ideal application for their technology.
In 2018, the duo filed for their first patent, raised £60,000 in pre-seed funding and moved into an incubator lab, Science Creates, to work on developing their process. By 2021 they had applied their technology to lithium-ion battery cell electrodes, secured a further £2.7 million in seed and grant funding, and proven the application of their composites in dry coating feasibility trials with the University of Warwick. Following the close of another £4.1 million fundraise in mid-2022, the team hired experienced CEO, former Johnson Matthey commercial strategy director, Joe Stevenson. Over the past 18 months, the company has commissioned pilot-scale manufacturing and pivoted to focus solely on the dry-coating of electrodes for lithium-ion cells. The company will now use its fresh funding to secure global car manufacturing clients and commercialise the technology at scale.
“We have the opportunity to create the new global standard for EV battery electrode production, and there is a huge appetite for it” – Alexander Hewitt, Anaphite Co-founder and COO
Alexander Hewitt, Anaphite Co-founder and COO, said: “This funding will help Anaphite scale up and become a partner of choice for the global market. Li-ion battery electrodes have been produced at scale the same way for decades, and with the advent of the sustainable energy revolution, there is an acute hunger for change and improvement in the industry. Our technology has the power to revolutionise the electrode production process while lowering costs and emissions for EV and cell manufacturers, and we can’t wait to see it in action.”
Anaphite CEO, Joe Stevenson, said: “Securing capital from investors that are renowned specialists in mobility, energy, and environmental investment around the world, is a huge validation moment for Anaphite, and affords us the resources to extend our technical lead in the market. We are thrilled that transportation expert Michael Granoff has joined the company’s board, and that we are EEI’s first UK-based investment. We look forward to working with all our new partners as we take this next step in our global journey.”
Sam Burrow, Co-founder and CTO at Anaphite, commented: “There are two key steps in the production of a dry coated cathode. A mixing step, followed by a coating step. One of the major unsolved challenges in the successful commercialisation of dry coated cathodes is the mixing step. We’ve applied advanced physical chemistry to this materials handling problem, and we’ve achieved things the industry has previously thought impossible. Our unique approach and technology portfolio give the EV supply chain the flexibility it needs, removing many barriers to high-yield manufacturing and battery design. It’s exciting to be applying chemistry to such a meaningful manufacturing challenge”
Craig Douglas, Partner at World Fund, said: “Anaphite’s unique technology and smart, tenacious, market-savvy team are set to disrupt the global EV market. Their technology is genuinely market-leading, and will help the world transition to an eco-mobility future. The team has already made breakthroughs in lithium-ion battery production, and their technology will be applicable to a wide range of new battery technologies, including sodium-ion and solid state. Anaphite has the potential for exponential growth, and we at World Fund are proud to be supporting them as they grow.”
Michael Granoff, Founding Partner at Maniv, commented: “While the cost of batteries has declined precipitously over the last two decades, the raw materials, supply chains, and assembly have all become anomalously concentrated in a single country, China.”We are confident that Anaphite’s proprietary technology finally moves the needle towards a more distributed and resilient battery supply chain, helping Western battery companies and automakers compete in the decades ahead.”