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Battery materials company Sila has closed a $375 million Series G round to finish building out its Washington state factory.  

Why it matters: The factory is an important part of building a domestic battery supply chain. 

Zoom in: The company was already one of the most well-funded climate tech startups and has now raised over $1 billion across its lifetime.

The round was led by existing investors Sutter Hill Ventures and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates. Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, and Perry Creek Capital participated. 

Sila says the company will be on track to start shipping its battery anodes to automaker customers like Panasonic and Mercedes in Q4 of 2025. 

Three additional undisclosed customer contracts will also buy the anodes produced in the factory, the company says. 

Catch up quick: Sila was co-founded in 2011 by Gene Berdichevsky, who was the seventh employee at Tesla and the principal engineer on the Tesla Roadster battery. 

The Alameda, Calif-based company closed a series F round in 2021, led by Coatue and including T. Rowe Price. The Series F valued the company at $3.3 billion.

Sila was awarded a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy out of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build the factory in Moses Lake, Washington, part of an effort to carve out EV battery supply in the U.S.

How it works: Most of the world's lithium-ion batteries use a graphite anode, which is largely sourced from China.

Sila makes a silicon-based anode that can juice up an EV's battery, adding energy density, which can mean a battery with greater range or a vehicle with lighter weight.

Sila's first customer, Mercedes, plans to use the silicon anodes from the Moses Lake factory in its G-Class series vehicles.

The intrigue: Series G rounds have historically been uncommon but with exits hard to come by, more companies have been staying private longer. 

In general, the more equity companies raise, the more early investors can be diluted. 

Without its commercial factory online, Sila wasn't likely ready to be a public company.

The Washington factory is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2025.

The big picture: If Sila can grow into an American battery success story, and deliver its anode to customers like Mercedes, it would do a lot to secure next-gen battery tech in the U.S.

Sila raises $375M to finish battery materials factory

The factory is expected to ship materials to Mercedes and Panasonic in Q4 2025

A rendering of Sila's battery materials factory in Moses Lake, Washington

A rendering of Sila's battery materials factory in Moses Lake, Wash. Image courtesy of Sila

Batteries

Battery materials company Sila has closed a $375 million Series G round to finish building out its Washington state factory. Why it matters: The factory is an important part of building a domestic battery supply chain.

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Sila raises $375M to finish battery materials factory

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