Stellantis Invests in Lyten Inc. for its Lithium-sulfur EV Battery Technology
The automotive group Stellantis has a lot of large goals for the rest of the decade. Detailed in its business strategy, Dare Forward 2030, Stellantis is already working on the future of its electrified lineup, beginning the construction of its batter-electric vehicle (BEV) battery gigafactory in conjunction with Samsung SDI, and planning to construct a total of five gigafactories in Europe and the U.S. to produce 400 GWh of capacity by 2030. With goals to also reduce its carbon footprint and ultimately become carbon neutral, Stellantis announced a new investment with Lyten Inc. as a part of its corporate venture fund, Stellantis Ventures. With a shared goal of enable enhanced vehicle performance and consumer experience while decarbonizing the transportation sector, Stellantis will benefit from the technologies and materials Lyten Inc. produces.
“We are delighted that Stellantis Ventures, as the venture investment arm of a global automotive innovator, has demonstrated a strong belief in our company and our Lyten 3D Graphene decarbonizing supermaterials…Among the automotive product innovations being transformed by Lyten 3D Graphene are lithium-sulfur batteries with the potential to deliver more than twice the energy density of lithium-ion, payload-improving lightweighted vehicle composites, and new modes of sensing that do not require chips, batteries or wires. We are committed to advancing each of these applications to Stellantis and the automotive market.” – Dan Cook, president and CEO of Lyten
The new investment in Lyten is aimed at the commercialization of Lyten 3D Graphene applications for the mobility industry. Most notable among these is the LytCell lithium-sulfur EV battery, its lightweight composites, and novel on-board sensing. A pioneer of 3D Graphene, the venture will be mutually beneficial. Not only will this help push the development of BEVs by Stellantis, but Lyten’s tunable materials platform is also known for its significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that can aid in the automobile group’s movement towards sustainable mobility.
A little background information –Lyten is a materials innovation and applications company known as the pioneer of the Lyten 3D Graphene materials platform. A proprietary, tunable decarbonization supermaterial engineered from natural gas, Lyten 3D Graphene is an unrivaled electrically reactive material that is known for its three-dimensional morphology. Basically, it’s a large jumping off-point for future Stellantis BEV models. Namely so because Lyten’s proprietary lithium-sulfur battery Lytcell uses Lyten 3D Graphene to create a higher-performance battery with more than twice the energy density of normal BEV batteries and able to extend the driving range compared to today’s conventional EV batteries. Modern applications for BEV power come from lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, but these rely on expensive and scarce nickel or cobalt to be produced. Being more carbon efficient, the LytCell has an estimated 60-percent lower carbon footprint than best-in-class lithium-ion, and an estimated 40-percent lower carbon footprint than solid state batteries.
The lightweight composite materials that will help make BEVs lighter and faster is known as “LytR”. Pronounced exactly as it sounds (lighter), this unique thermoplastic material is infused with Lyten 3D Graphene to provide strong, high-performing materials while reducing the weight of such materials by half. Thanks to the tenability of Lyten 3D Graphene, when paired with LytR material, the carbon footprint is further reduced up to 55-percent, requiring less polyethylene material, thanks to the thermoplastics’ chemical and physical properties.
This investment is just part of the $321,964,500 budget of Stellantis Ventures, targeting early and later-stage startup companies developing cutting-edge technologies for the automotive industry. Want to stay up to date with what Stellantis is working on? Follow us on Aventura Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram social media.