The Sawtelle-based energy storage product company announced Aug. 10 it had raised $64 million in Series D funding. The investment will be used to open new headquarters in Amsterdam and develop a high-volume manufacturing facility in Reno, Nev., where it will expand product development and ramp up production.
“We’ve spent more than seven years diligently creating new materials to improve battery storage capacity and safety, and are now moving into a new phase of production at industry-level scale,” Jack Kavanaugh, chief executive, chairman and co-founder of Nanotech Energy, said in a statement.
The funding was led by Taiwan-based investment holding company Fubon Financial Holding Co. The round triples Nanotech Energy’s previous funding to $94.9 million from $30.9 million. The company now has a valuation of $550 million. It did not disclose other investors in the round.
The Reno facility is expected to open in late 2022, the company said, bringing “hundreds” of jobs to the area. Nanotech Energy will also use part of the funding to increase capacity and production at its facility in Chico.
“We are excited to play a role in helping Nanotech Energy transform the future of battery technology and energy storage,” Richard Tsai, chairman of Fubon, said in a statement.
Founded in 2014, Nanotech Energy manufactures graphene, a single-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms used to create graphite. The company’s products are generally used in electric vehicles as well as other energy storage products, such as nonflammable batteries, conductive inks, adhesives and silver nanowires.
Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel, 97% transparent, lightweight, flexible and stretchable. Nanotech Energy owns the world’s first graphene patent, filed in 2002.
The company was founded by Kavanaugh and UCLA scientists Richard Kaner and Maher El-Kady.
Nanotech Energy develops the purest graphene on the market. In September, the company announced it had developed a process to produce 90% pure graphene, making it the first and only producer to break the 50% pure barrier. The company broke its own record in March, reaching 95% pure graphene and said it is “fast approaching 98%.”
“The purity of our graphene now can provide manufacturers and product developers with the confidence they need to expand technological development of higher-quality, safer products that will ultimately benefit consumers and change lives,” Kavanaugh said in a statement in September.
