We covered Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s visit to the Group 14 Technologies battery plant in Woodinville last year. Now the Group is getting attention from Porsche, among other funders. The startup company announced raising $400 million from investors including the Teutonic automaker. According to Reuters, part of those funds will be used to build a second battery materials plant in eastern Washington State. The company is now valued at over $1 billion, money which will help expand battery materials production for the silicon-lithium cell market. Silicon is a desirable material in batteries, capable of storing more energy than lithium or other metals. It has a major drawback, though. In expanding and contracting during charge-discharge cycles, it eventually deteriorates, crumbles, and brings the battery’s usefulness to an end. Dr. Yi Cui of Stanford University has tried various methods over the years to prevent such crumbling. His firm, Amprius, has developed a silicon nanowire anode that enables a battery with 450 Watt-hour …
