GM Invests $10M in Forge Nano’s EV Battery 3D Printing Tech

GM Ventures, the investment arm of the Detroit auto giant, has invested $10 million into Forge Nano, the original equipment manufactuer (OEM) of atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment used for additive manufacturing (AM) of EV batteries, among other applications. Forge Nano previously closed a $50 million Series C round in June 2023.

Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor ALD system utilizes nanoscale coatings to optimize the performance of batteries made from a range of materials including graphite, silicon, and nickel alloys. In addition to batteries, the company’s technology has viability for a diversity of other industries, including magnetic products, semiconductors, and even pharmaceuticals.

Diagram of the ALD process. According to Forge Nano, “…chemical reactions caused by the precursors leave behind a one-atom thick coating. Repeating this process can build up multi-layers on nearly any surface.”

This is at least the second investment that GM has made in the last few months, into startups developing AM technologies for EV battery applications. In July 2024, the company led the $39 million Series B round for Addionics, an Israeli/UK company that makes 3D current collectors for EV batteries.

In a press release, the managing director of GM Ventures, Anirvan Coomer, said, “GM Ventures’ primary goal is to bring disruptive technology into the GM ecosystem to improve products and processes. Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor technology has game-changing potential for our battery materials at significant scale. They have already demonstrated the ability to expand cathode capabilities, which is the most expensive battery cell component. This could unlock benefits for customers and the business.”

Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano, said, “Forge Nano’s mission is to make better materials for a better world. General Motors’ investment will allow us to further enhance battery material performance and durability, while allowing us to expand our footprint in other areas — like semiconductors. We look forward to working closely with GM to enhance battery cell performance for future [EVs].”

The increasing interest in AM applications for EV battery production is something to keep an eye on, as both automakers and the US federal government continue to pour investments into building up a Western EV supply chain, despite the market’s current rockiness. It is worth noting that on the same day that Forge Nano announced GM Ventures’ investment, GM also announced it would be investing over $600 million in a joint venture with Canadian miner Lithium Americas Corp., a company that GM invested over $300 million into in 2023.

Processing all of those raw materials — not to mention all the other vehicle components required for EVs — will require a commensurate amount of investment into manufacturing equipment and workforce development, and I think AM is a good candidate to capture a significant chunk of that investment. The smaller scale of production and more agile output schedule required for EVs means AM may be a better fit for EVs than it is for ICE vehicles.

Additionally, the fact that the EV supply chain in the West is still more or less starting from scratch means that AM can be built into the process at the foundation, rather than being grafted onto an existing, entrenched way of doing things. AM stakeholders at the strategic level would do well to look at the EV market not only as a milestone opportunity, but also as a potential model for the kind of industries that AM companies should be targeting as partners.

Images courtesy of Forge Nano