Stellantis N.V. has invested in Lyten Inc. to accelerate the commercialization of Lyten’s 3D graphene applications including its lithium-sulfur electric vehicle (EV) battery.
The move continues the growing relationships forming between automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and battery and raw material vendors as the automotive sector conducts its largest transition in its history to electrification. The move follows Ford’s flood of moves to make deals with raw material vendors to secure supplies of lithium for its EVs and General Motors making significant investments to secure its own supply in EnergyX and Lithium Americas Corp.
Automotive OEMs are securing supplies of lithium raw materials as well as battery technologies due to potential shortages on the horizon and possibly increasing prices of these battery technologies as demand continues to skyrocket as these vendors expand fleets of EVs.
Lower emissions
Lyten plans to use its 3D graphene to enable enhanced vehicle performance for developing systems that help to decarbonize the transportation sector, Stellantis said. The materials have been demonstrated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to advance sustainable mobility, the company added.
The lithium-sulfur batteries do not use nickel, cobalt or manganese and results in about 60% lower carbon footprint than current batteries, paving a way for the lowest emissions for EV batteries on the market. Additionally, Stellantis said the raw materials for lithium-sulfur batteries can potentially be sourced and produced locally in either North America or Europe.
The batteries hold the potential to deliver more than twice the energy density of lithium-ion, payload-improving lightweight vehicle composites and new modes of sensing that do not require chips, batteries or wires.
The goal is to cut Stellantis' carbon footprint in half by 2030 on a path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038 with a single-digit percentage compensation of the remaining emissions.
“Unlike two-dimensional forms of graphene, the production of our tunable Lyten 3D Graphene has been independently verified to be carbon neutral at scale,” said Dan Cook, president and CEO of Lyten. “We are converting greenhouse gases into a new class of high-performance, high-value carbon materials and are incorporating these tuned materials into applications that will decarbonize the hardest to abate sectors on the planet.”
EV batteries using 3D graphene technology is one of the planned technologies, but Lyten said it plans to also use the 3D graphene-infused composites for specialty markets beyond transportation with more announcements planned for later this year.
