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Graphene and battery maker Lyten has raised $15.7 million from the Luxembourg Future Fund 2, the company tells Axios. 

Why it matters: The European country has been backing companies that can help build out a next-gen battery supply chain in Europe. 

Zoom in: San Jose, Calif.-based Lyten, founded in 2015, established its European headquarters and manufacturing in Luxembourg. 

The Luxembourg Future Fund 2 is a partnership between Luxembourg's sovereign wealth fund and the European Investment Fund. 

The funding kicks off of an extension of Lyten's $200 million Series B round, which it announced last September and included Prime Movers Lab, Stellantis, FedEx, and Honeywell. 

Lyten says it's already shipped samples of its lithium-sulfur batteries to automakers and will begin selling its batteries for non-automotive applications, like the space sector, later this year. 

Catch up quick: Lyten makes a crumpled form of graphene they call 3D graphene. 

The company is using the graphene for three initial applications: for a high-energy lithium-sulfur battery; to make a lightweight material; and as part of an ultra-sensitive sensor. 

Its lithium-sulfur battery is drawing much of the funding and attention. 

How it works: Lithium-sulfur batteries have been under development for years with the promise that they could be both cheaper and more energy-dense than current lithium-ion batteries. 

Lithium-sulfur batteries don't contain cobalt, a metal with a problematic supply chain, or nickel, which is supply-constrained. 

But the chemistry has been tricky as both sulfur and lithium can be volatile. 

Lyten's graphene acts as a cage, holding the sulfur in the battery and also acting as a conductor. 

The big picture: Like the U.S., European countries are investing in building a domestic supply chain to make EV batteries and break China's dominance. 

European countries are also trying to invest in energy technologies, like storage, that can help them diversify off of Russian natural gas. 

In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act has unleashed both government and private capital for domestic battery manufacturing for EVs. 

What's next: Lyten is in the challenging phase of scaling up its manufacturing so it's repeatable and at a commercial level. 

Exclusive: Luxembourg backs battery firm Lyten

The company uses crumpled graphene to make a lithium-sulfur battery

Three batteries as the bars of a bar chart, each one increasing in height.

Batteries

Graphene and battery maker Lyten has raised $15.7 million from the Luxembourg Future Fund 2, the company tells Axios. Why it matters: The European country has been backing companies that can help build out a next-gen battery supply chain in Europe.

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Exclusive: Luxembourg backs battery firm Lyten

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