Battery maker BrightVolt raises millions in funding from Caterpillar, NSV

BrightVolt Inc., a U.S.-based company engaged in the design, development, and manufacturing of solid-state lithium-Ion batteries, said it has closed the first portion of a $16 million Series B financing round with investments by New Science Ventures (NSV) and Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc.

The fresh funds will be utilized for development of larger form factor products targeting industrial electrification and e-mobility markets.

“BrightVolt’s core polymer matrix electrolyte technology (PME) has demonstrated a lot of promise in terms of its performance, and we’re excited to participate in this investment round,” said Jihad Salahuddin, Caterpillar Senior Investment Manager. “BrightVolt’s innovative approach to manufacture solid-state lithium-Ion batteries, utilizing their PME technology, is compatible with existing roll-to-roll lithium-Ion manufacturing lines requiring very minor capital refinements, while achieving a considerable improvement in several performance metrics.”

Caterpillar Venture Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. The company supports customers looking for a reduced-carbon future through investments in new products, technologies and services. Caterpillar currently offers battery-powered equipment for the mining, construction, energy and transportation industries and recently announced seven sustainability goals to achieve by 2030, including that 100% of Caterpillar’s new products through 2030 will be more sustainable than the previous generation.

“Caterpillar has a long-standing commitment to sustainability. We are excited to collaborate with them on developing next-generation, solid-state lithium-Ion batteries as another step on their path to help customers achieve their climate-related objectives,” noted Todd Peters, CEO and chairman of BrightVolt.

The industrial battery market was estimated at $9 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to grow to $30.8 billion by 2030.

“BrightVolt has taken a unique approach to developing a novel polymer solid-state electrolyte for lithium-Ion batteries,” said Somu Subramaniam, managing partner at NSV. “With a strong leadership team in place, the company is targeting commercialization of lithium-Ion batteries utilizing its proprietary polymer electrolyte technology in several key applications that have realized their theoretical limitations with use of traditional Lithium-Ion batteries like e-mobility.”

With a Research and Development Center in Newberry, Ind., and corporate headquarters in Redmond, Wash., BrightVolt said it is constantly challenging the limits of chemistry, physics, and manufacturing science to support safer, healthier and more powerful new product innovations.

The company’s rechargeable solid-state batteries can power a broad range of applications including hybrid and electric vehicles as well as consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops, e-readers, drones, medical and wearable devices along with other IoT products.

To date, BrightVolt reportedly has sold more than 15 million primary solid-state batteries in a wide variety of industries including medical, automotive, industrial and consumer products.