Powering the Industries that Power Our Lives
Last week, the Inflation Reduction bill was signed into law, setting the foundation for domestic supply chain infrastructure and energy independence. Eclipse portfolio company Enovix is already making significant headway in developing energy alternatives
The Inflation Reduction bill, introduced by the Biden administration earlier last week, has passed. This bill includes $370 billion dollars in initiatives tied to advancing domestic supply chain infrastructure for critical materials and clean energy — potentially becoming one of the most important domestic manufacturing and climate-focused bills in U.S. history. Furthermore, the bill underscores the need for energy independence, with a significant portion of the budget allocated toward building domestic supply chain infrastructure to help bolster the production of batteries.
This bill is the most recent example of the unfolding Industrial Evolution, in that it emphasizes two of the key tenants of the Eclipse Ventures thesis: the need to strengthen our domestic supply chain, and an increasing desire to regionalize and reshore manufacturing and production. This alignment between strategic national priorities and the underlying Eclipse Ventures theses is further indication of the seismic transformation taking place throughout the world’s physical industries.
The bill’s emphasis on investment in battery production and EV manufacturing also highlights a concerted effort to move toward energy efficiency and away from reliance on fossil fuels. This is already in motion, with existing investments from the administration into a variety of forward-focused companies – a trend that will only continue to grow. Other government agencies have jumped on this bandwagon as well, with long-standing interest from the U.S. Army in battery innovation by way of investment into Inventus Power. As a part of this investment, Eclipse portfolio company, Enovix is working directly with Inventus Power to design a battery for use in military vests worn in the field.
Based in Fremont, California, Enovix is a leader in advanced silicon-anode lithium-ion battery development and production. Earlier this month, Enovix was awarded a follow-on contract to build and test custom cells for use within the U.S. Army soldiers’ central power source, called the Conformal Wearable Battery (CWB). The Enovix cell has the potential to nearly double the energy density of the current CWB, which could result in substantial operational advantages including a longer lasting battery. Another key advantage for the Army is BrakeFlow™ technology, a breakthrough in battery safety, made possible due to the company’s unique battery architecture.
Enovix has developed a proprietary architecture that allows for improved energy storage capacity, safety, and fast charging. Today most lithium-ion batteries use graphite to store lithium-ions as the battery is charged. However, silicon can store many times more energy than graphite, ultimately resulting in a battery with significantly higher overall capacity. Yet, there are many challenges of integrating 100% active silicon into the anode of the battery. Enovix’s key breakthrough was to develop an entirely new architecture for the battery that solves these challenges in a commercially viable battery
This breakthrough innovation enables high energy density without compromising safety. In turn, the implications this has on industries, such as defense, edge computing, mobile, wearable and EV (to name a few), is profound. Not surprisingly, the evolution of lithium-ion battery technology has been a major driver behind technological innovation across multiple industries, allowing for more efficient development and iteration of products.
On the heels of their 2022 Q2 earnings report, Enovix’s rapid ascension from public listing to a total revenue funnel of $1.5 billion paints a story of a company that is set to accelerate the course of how we advance our technological potential and bolster the use of cutting-edge technology. Eclipse Ventures Partner and Enovix Board Director, Greg Reichow explains, “The history of the human race has been defined by our ability to capture and use energy. We need greater flexibility, resiliency and sustainability in the industries that define our national economy. Enovix is poised to power the technologies that power our lives.”
Digital transformation is no longer a buzz word for management consultants’ reports — it’s an imperative for physical industries. With an experienced executive team, industry leading technology, and alignment with the U.S. administration, Enovix stands to dominate its space for years to come.
To learn more about Enovix and the incredible strides they’re making in the lithium-ion battery industry, be sure to visit: https://www.enovix.com/ You can also hear directly from CEO, President and Co-Founder Harrold Rust here: Enovix Overview Part 1
