Lyten is revolutionizing clean energy with its innovative lithium-sulfur battery technology, offering a sustainable and scalable solution for global electrification
Founding Vision: What sparked the idea for Lyten, and how did you start working on lithium-sulfur batteries?
Honestly, Lyten started with an accidental discovery in 2015. The team was looking into using technology from the semiconductor industry to turn methane into clean Hydrogen. They achieved this, but in the process they had to deal with the bi-product, carbon. The team discovered they had a new form of graphene called 3D Graphene that exhibited high strength, light weight, high conductivity, and many additional unique properties. The company was formed to commercialize 3D Graphene.
Lyten spent a few years evaluating the wide range of applications where they could use 3D Graphene and one of the most promising was unlocking the potential of lithium-sulfur batteries. This is a battery that can reduce the weight of batteries by 50%, eliminate the need for mined minerals like nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite, and can be made with incredibly low cost, widely available materials. We immediately saw the opportunity for lithium-sulfur as the battery than can unlock mass market electrification across the globe.
Unique Technology: How does Lyten’s use of 3D Graphene enhance lithium-sulfur battery performance compared to traditional lithium-ion?
Lithium-sulfur has been known for decades as a battery chemistry that theoretically can hold up to 5 times more energy than a traditional lithium-ion battery. The reason you don’t see sulfur batteries today is that sulfur breaks down too quickly. We have engineered our 3D Graphene to address this problem. We use 3D Graphene as a scaffolding structure to keep the sulfur in place. Second, the 3D Graphene is conductive, therefore increasing the ability for sulfur to transmit ions for charging and discharging. The inclusion of 3D Graphene makes lithium-sulfur a commercial reality today, many years ahead of prior projections.
Environmental Impact: Could you explain how Lyten’s choice of locally sourced, abundant materials reduces environmental impact and supply chain issues?
One of the biggest barriers to mass adoption of batteries is that high energy density batteries today require mined minerals like nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite. Meeting the projected demand for batteries by 2035 would require nearly 400 new mines. This has enormous environmental implications. Lithium-Sulfur can reduce the required mines by >80% because it utilizes abundantly available materials. Sulfur is an industrial bi-product, 3D graphene can be sourced from bio-methane from landfills and farms, and lithium is found in brines all over the world. The end result is reducing materials supply chains from 50k+ miles to hundreds of miles and reducing the carbon footprint of building a battery by 80+%.
Key Applications: What industries or markets are you prioritizing, and how do you see these batteries changing sectors like transportation or aerospace?
Longer term, lithium-sulfur batteries are perfectly suited for EVs and eTrucks. Lyten investors include Stellantis, the world’s 3rd largest auto OEM, and FedEx for last mile delivery vehicles. The design in time for any new battery in automobiles is 3-4 years and we started that process in early 2024. In the very near term, we are seeing strong demand from drones, satellites, defense, micromobility, and stationary storage. For the mobility applications, there is huge demand for lighter weight batteries that can power applications further. We are integrating with our first drone customers now and have been selected to demonstrate lithium-sulfur on the international space station next year. Additionally, the massively growing micromobility sector in Southeast Asia and India is demanding lighter weight batteries with simple supply chains.
For stationary storage, weight still matters, but the biggest interest is to secure batteries built with abundantly available materials. Additionally, lithium-sulfur actually improves in performance in hotter temperatures, which is not true for LFP and NMC. 40% of the world’s population lives in the tropics and that is the fastest growing population on the planet.
Challenges and Innovation: What challenges has Lyten faced in developing and scaling lithium-sulfur technology, and how have you tackled them?
Bringing a new battery chemistry to the market is a 5+ year exercise, so its fair to say there are challenges. The biggest hurdle we had to overcome is how to reduce the degradation of sulfur to increase the lithium-sulfur cycle life. We have proven our 3D Graphene material can address this challenge on an automated product line. Lithium-Sulfur is actually a highly manufacturable battery that utilizes existing lithium-ion equipment and processes. This is a big advantage for scaling.
Team Contributions: How does your leadership team, particularly with industry experts like Celina Mikolajczak, shape Lyten’s development?
Many of the new batteries currently being developed are led by researchers and teams often coming out of university or R&D labs. Lyten tooks a very different approach. We have built our team, led by Celina Mikolajczak, with experts in manufacturing. Celina led engineering at Panasonic’s Gigafactory in Nevada, scaling production from 0 cells to more than 2 billion cells. We have brought on experts from Panasonic, Tesla, Rivian, Dow, and many more organizations. Building a team with strong manufacturing experience means that every innovation we make must be manufacturable on standard lithium-ion equipment and economic. This is absolutely a constraint we have put on the team to ensure we have a strong, cost effective commercial product.
Sustainability Goals: Could you share some specific practices that help Lyten achieve a reduced carbon footprint in battery production?
The audacious target we have set for ourselves is to build a carbon neutral battery. A typical battery today produces > 100 kg CO2eq per kilowatt of storage capacity. The number 1 driver is mined materials like nickel, cobalt, and graphite. The number 2 driver is power consumption. We have designed the battery to eliminate nearly all mined minerals. Additionally, we run our current manufacturing on renewable energy and we plan to continue that practice in our expansion facilities. Our current sourcing and manufacturing plan can reduce the carbon footprint of making a battery by 80%. To get to carbon neutral we need to further clean up our lithium supply chain, which is a major focus for Lyten right now.
Manufacturing Strategy: How is Lyten preparing for large-scale production in both U.S. and EU markets?
We have announced the location of timeline for the world’s first lithium-sulfur gigafactory in Reno, Nevada. This facility is set to come online in 2027. Additionally, we have recently acquired Northvolt’s (Cuberg) manufacturing facility in California. We plan to scale this facility to 200 MWh per year of capacity.
We are taking advantage of our ability to manufacture lithium-sulfur on existing equipment to pursue converting existing battery making facilities to Lithium-Ion.
This asset conversion strategy factored heavily into our Northvolt asset acquisition and we believe additional distressed assets will continue to come onto the market over the next 24 months.
Competitive Edge: What makes Lyten’s batteries uniquely competitive in the industry?
We believe for any new battery chemistry to successfully compete with NMC and LFP, they will need a big moat. We believe we have that moat with Lithium sulfur. This is a battery that will be half the weight of lithium-ion and LFP. This is a battery built with local materials and simple supply chains, entirely eliminate the link to Chian, This is a battery that can compete on costs right away because of the low cost materials
Strategic Partnerships: Are there any important collaborations contributing to Lyten’s growth and innovation?
We have formed important collaborations with key stakeholders, including industry leaders like Stellantis, FedEx, and Honeywell. These partnerships provide us with valuable insights, resources, and market access, helping us accelerate our growth and innovation. Additionally, we partnerships with the US Department of Defense and Department of Energy.
Future Roadmap: Beyond lithium-sulfur batteries, what future technologies or applications is Lyten exploring?
Beyond lithium-sulfur batteries, we are exploring other cutting-edge technologies and applications. This includes advancements in high-strength composites and next-generation sensors. We are working with many of our partners on these applications. Our goal is to continue innovating and expanding our product portfolio to address diverse market needs and drive sustainable growth.
Industry Outlook: What major trends in the battery industry do you foresee in the coming years?
2024 has been a tough year for batteries and EVs to say the least, but I think it is important to look at this the ups and downs of multi decade cycle toward electrification. Energy storage has moved from energy transition and climate issue to now an economic and national security issue. This is an important step for the battery industry as there is now full recognition of the impact they have on our lives well beyond EVs. This also means that geopolitics are for the first time becoming a top issue for energy storage, with the world trying to catch up with China.
Imagine a world where one country had monopoly control of oil production. This would create dramatic instability and vulnerability for nearly every country in the world. Today, this is what we have in batteries and we project the rest of this decade will be focused on nations around the world developing policy and strategies to diversify battery sourcing. It will certainly not be a straight line, but the trends are still incredibly strong for continued rapid growth in battery demand.
Advice for Startups: What advice would you give to other founders in cleantech or advanced materials?
First, cleantech companies tend to be hardware driven and take many years to fully scale in the market. So a cleantech company must be built to weather multiple economic cycles. Times are great when capital is flowing during an economic boom, but the timelines to profitability are long enough that you will almost by definition have to weather downward cycles, so you have to build a business and team ready to take advantage of these cycles.
Second, and maybe my most important learning over the last 7 years in cleantech. Green alone does not sell. We must build products that clearly perform better, at a cost that is equal to or less than what is currently on the market, and that have a decarbonizing impact. If you can achieve all three, then you have a product that can really scale. If you only have two, then the road is tougher. And if you are just cleaner, its tough to build a business.
Better performing, lower cost, and cleaner is the formula. Its incredibly difficult to do, which is why this needs to be a strategy from the start as it impacts what technologies you focus on all the way back at the R&D stage.
Picture: @Lyten
Thank you Keith Norman for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
