The investment by Clean Energy Ventures and Energy Foundry will enable Volexion to scale its cathode technology to meet market demand for high energy density solutions.
CHICAGO, IL, April 8, 2021 – Volexion, the developer of a graphene coating for lithium-ion batteries that dramatically increases energy and power density, as well as cycle life and safety, today announced the closing of the $1.1 million first tranche of its $2.2 million seed financing led by leading climate tech venture capital firms Clean Energy Ventures and Energy Foundry.
Volexion’s proprietary graphene coating acts as a protective layer around battery cathode materials to suppress material and electrolyte degradation. Battery cells with Volexion’s coating can see a 30 percent increase in energy density, 40 percent increase in power density, and run twice as long as conventional lithium-ion batteries. Volexion-coated cathode material is “drop-in”, integrating directly into any manufacturer’s existing processes, and is complementary to advanced anode technologies.
“The lithium-ion battery market is growing rapidly, with many innovations and new ideas, yet relatively few innovations have focused on the cathode. Volexion’s innovation is special because it improves the performance of a very wide range of battery chemistries,” said David Miller, Managing Director and Co-founder of Clean Energy Ventures. “We believe Volexion’s innovation will accelerate the performance improvements of lithium-ion batteries
by as much as 10 years and enable the additional reduction of over 2.5 billion tons of CO2e by 2050 through the more rapid adoption of electric vehicles.”
Uncoated particle 
Volexion-coated particle
Volexion already has nine collaboration agreements in place with cathode and battery producers as well as automotive original equipment manufacturers. The technology can unlock performance improvements for consumer electronics and grid storage sectors as well as for electric vehicles.
“By innovating on the cathode, Volexion’s technology can work in conjunction with many of the new, emerging battery chemistries and anode innovations. Promising technologies like cobalt-free batteries could potentially enter the market even sooner when combined with Volexion’s technology,” said John Carlisle, Director of Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory, where Volexion has been developing their technology with support from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
“Volexion is uniquely positioned for success,” said Sara Chamberlain, Managing Director of Energy Foundry. “Not only have they launched an incredibly promising technology platform, but their roots include talent from Northwestern University, validation from Argonne National Laboratory, and early customers across the Midwest.”
“With this new funding we’re accelerating rapidly to scale our technology and improve battery performance for battery cell manufacturers for a variety of devices,” said Damien Despinoy, CEO of Volexion. “Both Energy Foundry and Clean Energy Ventures have deep operational experience and a successful track record in the energy space that will be a strong asset to us as we commercialize.”
About Volexion
Volexion is a battery technology company working to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries globally. Volexion’s proprietary graphene coating for lithium-ion battery cathodes dramatically improves energy and power density while reducing costs. Volexion was founded by Prof. Mark Hersam, Director of the Northwestern University Materials Research Center and a MacArthur Fellow, who discovered that coating battery cathodes with graphene can improve battery performance. Volexion was formed in 2018 to explore the commercialization of this solution. Learn more at volexion-inc.com.
About Energy Foundry
Energy Foundry, a Chicago-based venture capital platform, invests in today’s most promising energy innovators, and works with the world’s leading energy companies to build and scale new ventures. Their approach merges venture capital with the perks of partnership and includes an arsenal of essential tools and relationships to help bring great ideas to market. www.energyfoundry.com
