What the business is
California startup making lightweight lithium-sulfur batteries for electric vehicles, plus Internet-of-Things sensors
The bet
Lithium-sulfur cells, free of nickel, manganese, cobalt and graphite, can be made at scale despite their shorter life, and be lighter and cheaper than lithium-ion
Starting capital
$200 million Series B led by Prime Movers Labs
How it started
Lyten aims to produce lightweight lithium-sulfur batteries for EVs. On 12 September 2023 it announced a $200M Series B led by Prime Movers Labs, the venture firm of OpenGov co-founder Dakin Sloss, with strategic backing from Stellantis, FedEx and Honeywell.
What happened
Lyten said the money would pay for an automated pilot line in San Jose, California, where it planned to start shipping EV batteries in 2024. TechCrunch noted that lithium-sulfur batteries could store more energy and lighten EVs, and sulfur is cheaper than nickel, manganese, cobalt and graphite, but the chemistry has generally had shorter life spans and scaling up production is a challenge.
What has to be true
Investors were showing a serious appetite for EV battery startups, with Ascend Elements' $542M and Redwood Materials' $1B rounds that month
A pilot line in San Jose needed capital before batteries could ship in 2024
Dropping nickel, manganese, cobalt and graphite offered a cheaper, lighter alternative to lithium-ion
Strategic investors from automotive, logistics and smart-home sectors signalled interest in the chemistry
What can be applied
A new battery chemistry's pitch is cheaper, lighter cells; the proof is whether its short life and scale-up problems get solved on the pilot line, not in the funding round.
Aftermath
As of 2023-09-12 Lyten had announced the $200M round and planned to start shipping EV batteries from its San Jose pilot line in 2024. TechCrunch's report gave no production or customer results yet.
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