Anthro Energy has broken ground on a battery materials factory in Louisville, Kentucky, that is designed to produce 25 gigawatt-hours of electrolytes annually, enough for more than 300,000 electric vehicles. The facility is scheduled to begin production in 2028 and is intended to supply U.S. battery manufacturers seeking materials that are not tied to Chinese-controlled suppliers.
CEO and co-founder David Mackanic told TechCrunch that Anthro expects to serve domestic customers that need high-specification electrolytes compliant with U.S. foreign entity of concern rules. He said the Louisville location also puts the company within a 12-hour drive of about 70% of existing U.S. battery production facilities.
Federal and State Funding Support the New Factory
Anthro received a $24.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and another $18.4 million in investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Kentucky also approved $2.3 million in tax incentives tied to the creation of 110 permanent jobs.
The factory will initially be able to produce several types of electrolytes, including formulations developed by other companies. That setup will allow Anthro to begin supplying customers before they have fully validated its own polymer electrolyte, Proteus.
Mackanic said the company eventually wants a larger share of the plant’s output dedicated to Proteus. The material is designed to work with existing battery manufacturing lines with relatively few changes.
Proteus Targets Solid-State and Semi-Solid Batteries
Proteus enters a battery cell as a liquid, allowing it to penetrate the anode and cathode in a similar way to conventional liquid electrolytes. It later hardens inside the cell, helping bind the components together.
Mackanic said cells using Anthro’s electrolyte can be 10 to 15 times stronger than those using a conventional liquid electrolyte, depending on the formulation. The material can also support flexible cells, which Anthro sees as potentially useful for electric vehicles, drones, and robots.
Solid-state batteries are being developed as an alternative to conventional lithium-ion designs because they can offer higher energy density and reduce reliance on flammable liquid electrolytes. They can also help prevent dendrites, sharp growths that can form between electrodes and cause short circuits.
Manufacturing durable solid-state cells at large scale and competitive cost remains difficult. Chinese battery companies including CATL and BYD are reportedly targeting trial production of solid-state batteries in 2027.
Anthro says its manufacturing approach could help address some of those production challenges while remaining compatible with existing battery lines. Mackanic said the new factory and federal support will help the company move from smaller-scale production into the volumes required by larger customers.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.