GM Leads $39M Series B for 3D Printed Battery Startup Addionics

GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Detroit auto giant, has co-led a $39 million Series B round into Addionics, an Israel- and UK-based company that makes 3D current collectors for lithium-ion  automotive batteries. Israeli VC firm Deep Insight was the other leader of the round, which also saw participation from Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania.

According to an article in Materials Today Chemistry, “The main function of a current collector is to conduct and bridge the flow of electrons between the active material and the external battery terminals.” By using electrochemical deposition, a form of additive manufacturing (AM), Addionics produces current collectors with 3D shapes, described in TechCrunch as “copper and aluminum foils that are laced with tiny holes and riddled with undulating peaks and valleys.”

Addionics claims that its method enables an up to 60 percent reduction in both copper and aluminum used for current collectors. Ultimately, concerning the battery packs they’re a part of, this makes them both lighter and cheaper to produce. Perhaps most significantly, Addionics’ method can be incorporated with existing battery production techniques. The company will use the funding to accelerate delivery of its current collectors, building on the company’s announcement earlier in 2024 that it plans to make $400 million in investments into US production capacity through 2032.

In a press release about the investment, Addionics CEO and co-founder Moshiel Biton said, “Working with true partners who understand the urgency of what Addionics has set out to accomplish is a privilege. As the global demand for higher performing batteries grows, so too has the demand for our product. With the new funding, we will be able to begin commercial production by the end of the year, delivering our technology to battery manufacturers and enhancing battery performance globally.”

Anirvan Coomer, Managing Director of GM Ventures, said “GM’s investment supports our broader mission of identifying, investing in, and developing the right technology that will enable our all-electric future. Addionics’ current collector design shows promise in enabling improved battery performance at a lower cost. We are eager to support the company’s growth and look forward to continuing to explore opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

Especially in the US, the existence of an EV market is largely still as much of a goal as it is a reality. Nevertheless, despite some near-term pessimism, the long-term investments from both the public and private sectors make it clear that this market is getting built.

Companies like Addionics, which, as the company itself points out, aren’t inventing new technologies but rather new ways to commercialize them, will play a vital role in determining how quickly and easily that market’s growth is stabilized. For the AM industry, the interest in Addionics demonstrates how indispensable it is in for companies to fit their solutions into the existing manufacturing landscape, if they want to scale up quickly.

Images courtesy of Addionics