According to the latest news, General Motors has announced that it has led a $60 million Series B round of financing for Mitra Chem, a battery materials startup. The investment is aimed at helping GM improve battery manufacturing for future electric vehicles, making them more affordable and accessible.
Currently, most batteries are made of nickel and cobalt, however, as these resources become increasingly depleted and prices continue to rise, it is particularly important to explore new battery materials. GM's partnership with Mitra Chem will focus on developing advanced "iron-based cathode active materials" for use in GM's new electric vehicle platform, Ultium.
The platform is seen as the cornerstone of GM's electric vehicle plans and will power a range of future all-electric vehicles. It is reported that Ultium not only includes a new battery design, but also uses simulation and physical machine learning techniques to accelerate the development of battery formulas, and can simultaneously evaluate battery life and other related work.
Mitra Chem has a unique "atom-to-ton acceleration platform" in its laboratory, which uses simulation and physical machine learning techniques to accelerate the development process of battery material formulations. With this platform, Mitra Chem will be able to more quickly develop and commercialize batteries with iron-based cathode materials that can not only power electric vehicles, but also be used in electrified energy storage and other fields.
Vivas Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Mitra Chem, said GM's investment will not only help in the development of economical battery chemistries, but will also facilitate the development, deployment and commercialization of batteries with iron-based cathode materials. He believes that these batteries will play an important role in the future development of the industry and power the development of electric vehicles and other fields.
By partnering with Mitra Chem, GM is demonstrating its commitment to new battery technologies as it seeks to take the lead in electric vehicles. As the world pays more and more attention to clean energy and sustainable development, the potential of the electric vehicle market is huge. General Motors hopes to promote the development of electric vehicle technology through continuous innovation and cooperation, and provide consumers with reliable and efficient electric vehicle solutions.