Porsche AG Takes the Lead in Group14 Technologies' $400M Raise to Accelerate Global Production of Lithium-Silicon Battery Materials

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May 04, 2022, 06:00 ET

Group14's Series C supports Porsche AG to electrify its models and meet the demand of the global EV market
Diverse set of institutional investors back the latest fundraising, including OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners (a partnership between Temasek and BlackRock), Riverstone Holdings LLC, Vsquared Ventures and Moore Strategic Ventures complementing battery industry strategics
Porsche subsidiary, Cellforce Group, has been named as a Group14 customer
Group14 will leverage the latest financing to break ground this year on its second U.S. Battery Active Materials (BAM) factory in Washington state

WOODINVILLE, Wash., May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group14 Technologies, a global manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon-carbon technology for lithium-silicon batteries, today announced it has raised $400 million in Series C funding led by Porsche AG with participation from OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners, Riverstone Holdings LLC, Vsquared Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, and other large institutional investors. To deliver to customers including Porsche subsidiary Cellforce Group, Group14 plans to break ground on its second commercial-scale BAM factory in the U.S. to stay ahead of demand from markets reliant on high-performing batteries.

To meet fast-approaching targets worldwide for vehicle electrification and EV adoption, Group14's next-generation materials help lithium-silicon batteries deliver 50% higher performance than traditional lithium-ion batteries, eliminating range and charge anxiety. As automakers pledge to electrify fleets, OEMs are turning to lithium-silicon technologies, which are fully compatible with existing manufacturing facilities and processes, over other industry alternatives to bring premier performance and reach cost-parity with internal combustion engines.

For more than 70 years, Porsche AG has been committed to creating unique and sustainable sports cars. An industry leader in performance, Porsche has expanded its automotive offerings into electric vehicles, marrying a legacy of iconic vehicles with today's new clean energy standards. "Despite all global challenges, we are driving forward on our future projects consistently including digitalization and electrification," said Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman and member of the executive board of Finance and IT at Porsche AG. "Our investment in Group14 is an important step for Porsche's M&A activities. We have been actively investing in ambitious companies since 2016 and through our venture capital unit Porsche Ventures, we have gained a deep understanding of the venture capital world and are excited to lead this round."

Cellforce Group is set to produce high-performance lithium-silicon battery cells in South Germany beginning in 2024 to be installed in electrically powered Porsche models. "The battery cells are the combustion chamber of the future. We are investing in the development of new high-performance cells with Cellforce and in the production of battery modules," said Meschke. "As a result, Porsche has decided to partner with Group14 Technologies."

Joining Porsche AG is a combination of domestic and international financial and strategic investors including OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners, Riverstone Holdings LLC, Vsquared Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, and other large institutional investors whose expertise help to herald the next frontier of automotive performance and sustainability.

In the past 12 months, Group14 has launched a commercial-scale Battery Active Materials factory in the U.S. and broken ground on a joint venture factory with SK Group in South Korea – both to continue its mission to deliver on the electrification of everything from EVs and aviation to consumer electronics and more. To meet rising energy storage demand globally, Group14 is poised to accelerate delivery of its mass-market, drop-in ready technology, SCC55™, which is capable of turning any gigafactory into a 1.5GW facility overnight. Already validated in EV-scale batteries and for extreme fast charging applications, Group14's technology helps leapfrog significant barriers to high-performing battery applications.

Group14 co-founder & CEO Rick Luebbe adds, "Group14 is well-positioned to elevate all batteries by enabling the transformational performance of silicon in today's lithium-ion and tomorrow's solid-state applications. We have been laser-focused on scaling our factories to deliver commercial quantities to customers in a mission to eradicate charge anxiety as fast as possible. With incredible support from a consortium of strategic and institutional investors led by Porsche that believe in our vision and roadmap, we can continue to advance the batteries that breathe life into the electrification of everything."

Citi and Nomura Greentech acted as joint placement agents on this transaction.

About Group14 Technologies
Founded to enable the coming electrification of everything, Group14's breakthrough technology for silicon batteries elevates the performance for all applications to accelerate the global transition to an all-electric future. Group14 currently operates a commercial-scale Battery Active Materials factory in Washington state with two forthcoming factories: one in South Korea as part of a joint venture with SK Group (coming online in 2022) and a second U.S. factory (coming online in 2023). To date, Group14 has raised $441 million in financing from Porsche AG, OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners, Riverstone Holdings LLC, Vsquared Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), BASF, Cabot Corporation, Showa Denko, OVP Venture Partners and SK materials, and is advised by Citi and Nomura Greentech. Visit us at www.group14.technology.

About Porsche AG
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, with headquarters in Stuttgart (Germany), is one of the most profitable car manufacturers in the world. In 2021, Porsche delivered more than 300,000 vehicles of the 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Cayenne, Macan, Panamera and Taycan models to customers worldwide. Thereby, Porsche's operating profit amounted to 5.3 billion euros. The sports car manufacturer employs approximately 36,000 people. Porsche is committed to innovation, many of the technologies have their origins in motorsport. In 2030, Porsche aims to be CO2 net neutral across the entire value chain and the life cycle of the newly sold vehicles.

About OMERS Capital Markets and OMERS
OMERS Capital Markets is the capital markets investment division of OMERS, one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans. Capital Markets' diverse programs, flexible investment strategies and specialized teams, including across public equities, private credit, and structured investments, enable it to pursue opportunities that don't fit into traditional categories. Through its global Capital Solutions team, it identifies and executes on complex opportunities across a number of themes, including decarbonization, clean-tech and life sciences. Founded in 1962, OMERS manages $121 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2021. OMERS has employees in Toronto and other major cities across North America, the U.K., Continental Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information on OMERS, please visit https://www.omerscapitalmarkets.com.

About Decarbonization Partners
Decarbonization Partners is a partnership between Temasek and BlackRock focused on late-stage venture capital and early growth private equity investing in next-generation companies that provide solutions and technologies to help accelerate global efforts to achieve a net zero global economy by 2050. Decarbonization Partners combines Temasek and BlackRock's expertise in sourcing and underwriting private investments, portfolio and risk management, and sustainable technology and analytics. Decarbonization Partners looks to invest in a wide range of companies that have proven technology but need capital to scale. The partnership targets multiple sectors, including: Energy, Mobility, Manufacturing & Materials, and the Built Environment. The partnership reflects BlackRock and Temasek's shared commitment to help build more sustainable and resilient portfolios, while also contributing to consistent, long-term financial returns that benefit their clients and stakeholders.

About Riverstone Holdings LLC
Founded in 2000 by David Leuschen and Pierre Lapeyre, Riverstone Holdings LLC is an asset management firm that invests in the private markets primarily within energy, power and infrastructure. Since inception, the Firm has raised $43 billion of capital to invest across the capital structure and in all major components of the industry's value chain. Riverstone's low-carbon investment franchise began 16 years ago, and has invested more than $6.6 billion in the renewable infrastructure and decarbonization categories since inception. During this time, the Firm has established industry leading, scaled companies. Within the last two years alone, Riverstone has raised more than $3 billion for over a dozen transactions involving differentiated companies that are decarbonizing critical industries. For more information on Riverstone, please visit www.riverstonellc.com.

About Vsquared Ventures
Based in Europe's deep tech hub Munich, Vsquared Ventures is backing entrepreneurs and startups that solve some of today's and tomorrow's most pressing problems by engineering seemingly impossible breakthrough solutions. Vsquared Ventures identifies and funds tech-driven companies with the potential to become global leaders in the biggest existing markets or create entirely new industries. Vsquared's portfolio includes companies such as Isar Aerospace, IQM Quantum Computing, Zama.ai, Customcells, and Group14. By forming alliances with key players from industry, science, finance, and the global startup ecosystem, Vsquared Ventures enables founders to push for game-changing innovations for a better future.

About Moore Strategic Ventures
Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC is the privately held investment company for Louis M. Bacon, Founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management, LP.

Media Contacts
Mission Control Communications for Group14 Technologies
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SOURCE Group14 Technologies