Investment to Progress use of Silicon in Batteries

WACKER Chemie AG and Nexeon – a company developing and supplying battery materials for rechargeable Li-ion batteries – have increased their strategic partnership which has seen the globally active chemicals company investing an undisclosed sum in UK-based Nexeon, while taking a 25% stake in the business.

Silicon is being used in place of carbon in the anodes of rechargeable Li-ion batteries and is on the road map of most of the world’s automotive OEMs and consumer devices companies. Silicon based anodes provide higher cell energy density leading to greater vehicle range and higher performance.

“WACKER is well aware of our technology and its potential, so this expansion of our partnership is strong validation of our approach”, said Dr Scott Brown, CEO of Nexeon. “The expertise of a strong manufacturing partner is especially useful as we plan the ramp up of our materials supply in volume and speed terms. We look forward to working even more closely with our partners in the coming months.”

“The agreement is a key step in renewing our partnership with Nexeon and intensifying our research activities into silicon based anode materials for next-generation batteries”, said Christian Hartel, responsible for R&D on WACKER’s Executive Board. “We are ideally positioned to develop and produce these innovative materials, given our decades of in-depth expertise in silicon chemistry.”