Washington Will Be a Launch Pad for Silicon Technology to Boost Electric Vehicle Batteries
Washington State will be a hub for Silicon Technology to boost electric car batteries. Group14 Technologies and Sila, an Alameda, California, company that is partnering with Mercedes-Benz, plan to open large-scale plants east of the Cascades in Moses Lake. The plants will benefit from federal tax credits signed into law by President Joe Biden this summer. . ... In the U.S., more than 20 companies launched in a global quest to improve the lithium-ion battery by including more silicon.
Sila's technology will boost electric car battery range by 15 to 20%. Sila plans to start producing silicon product from Moses Lake to send to Mercedes-Benz in the second half of 2024. Silane gas is a global commodity shipped around the world in seagoing vessels. The Moses lake plant will reopen in 2023 to produce solar panels in U.S. and some of the silane output will be dedicated to making those panels. The Maltby plant has the annual capacity to make 120 metric tons of silanes. Group14's Luebbe plans for the MosesLake plant to eventually produce up to 100 times that amount.
