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Sila, an advanced battery technology company, announced that it has received a conditional loan commitment of up to $1.4 billion from the United States Department of War through its Office of Strategic Capital (OSC). The financing would support the expansion of Sila’s silicon-carbon (Si/C) anode manufacturing capacity at its Moses Lake, Washington facility as well as the buildout of a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility. The OSC’s conditional commitment comes on the heels of a recent $300 million equity round led by Sutter Hill Ventures and Atreides Management.
The United States currently faces a significant technology sovereignty challenge, with a structural deficit in domestically produced battery materials and high-performance battery cells. China controls over 90% of anode material processing and over 80% of global battery cell production, leaving American manufacturers of critical defense technology – from drones to autonomous systems – exposed to a single point of failure. A trade dispute, an export restriction, or a supply disruption would stall production across multiple critical technologies at once. This investment is a direct step toward building that capacity domestically.
“We solved the hardest problem in battery materials with the invention of the modern silicon anode. But invention is only the first step – manufacturing it at gigascale, here in America, proves that technology sovereignty is possible,” said Gene Berdichevsky, Sila Co-Founder and CEO. “By scaling our manufacturing at home, we are ensuring critical technology sectors have the supply chain security they need to thrive.”
Expanding Domestic Battery Technology Production
The loan is intended to facilitate a dramatic expansion in production capacity at Sila’s Moses Lake plant using its next generation of modular manufacturing technology, designed to scale rapidly with demand. The funding is also intended to allow Sila to build out a silicon battery cell facility for specialty applications with rigorous performance requirements - such as industrial, agricultural, and military drones, an initiative to help the company push the limits of its Si/C anode technology, Titan Silicon®.
As demand for batteries outside of China is set to triple in the next five years, Sila remains the only next-generation battery technology company in North America with GWh-scale operations. High-performance, U.S.-produced battery cells are vital for strategic industries, including aerospace, drones, eVTOLs, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and AI data centers. From AI to orbit, the 21st century will run on batteries. Sila is ensuring that America’s critical industries have the energy and supply chain security they require to succeed.
Following receipt of OSC’s conditional commitment, Sila must satisfy certain financial, legal, technical, and other conditions before entering into definitive financing documents.
