Nexeon has established itself as a leading industry innovator, developer and manufacturer of advanced silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which will play a fundamental role in achieving a more sustainable future.
The company’s battery materials enable a significantly higher cell energy density which, in turn, allows for the design of much smaller and more cost-effective batteries for electric vehicles, where range and charging times can be dramatically improved.
Founded in 2006 the company now operates globally with an Application Engineering and Customer Support centre in Yokohama, Japan, and has started construction of its first commercial volume production site at Gunsan in South Korea.
“Nexeon was spun out of Imperial College, London in 2006 and then relocated to Oxfordshire in 2008 and has been at Milton Park, which is close to Oxford, since 2010,” explained Scott Brown, the company’s CEO, who had just returned from a business trip to Japan. “The company has always been focused on silicon anode materials and their production and we have successfully completed several funding rounds to grow the business.
“Over the past 15 years, we’ve grown from just 15 people to almost 200 and have recruited some very talented battery engineers from the likes of LG, Sony and Samsung. We have a very capable team in place.”
Brown joined Nexeon as CEO in 2009 and brought with him a strong track record of IP management and licensing. His previous senior management roles were at Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and Dow Corning and he has worked in the US and Japan alongside many of Asia’s leading electronics companies.
Since joining Nexeon Brown has successfully led the company through a significant commercial transformation. Its most recent funding round was oversubscribed enabling it to invest in the new Gunsan facility.
“As a business we’ve always been very focused on manufacturing and scalability,” explained Brown. “We’ve had to broaden our shareholder register and our key investors now include major international chemical companies as we’ve moved into a more capital-intensive large-scale manufacturing phase at the company. There’s still a lack of appetite when it comes to risk in the UK so that was another reason why we looked for international investors.
“We’ve been able to create a product that enables a step change in energy density and fast charging for lithium-ion batteries. We’ve managed to double the size of the organisation and have secured our maiden supply agreement with a Top 5 global cell manufacturer, Panasonic. Our commercial site in Gunsan will supply commercial volume material to Panasonic’s Kansas gigafactory next year.”
For Brown the site in Gunsan signifies a significant step up in the commercialisation of its silicon anode materials.
“We’ve established a secure supply chain having signed an exclusive partnership agreement with South Korea’s OCI, one of the world's largest manufacturers of silane outside of China, and with this state-of-the-art production facility now on the horizon, the business is poised to revolutionise the lithium-ion battery landscape. It’s been a very fast build and we’re expecting to start production at the end of 2024 or early 2025.”
When Brown had worked with Dow Corning and CDT, he had built up a close working relationship with Panasonic which was a key customer at the time.
“Those kinds of relationships are fortuitous. When I joined Nexeon many of the companies l had worked with had started to shift resources to energy storage away from displays so once I met with them and explained what we were doing at Nexeon we started working together on various projects. Those relationships paid dividends and certainly helped us to ‘crystalise’ several commercial relationships.”
Brown explains that while the company’s Oxford facility is home to materials development and piloting and manufacturing is located in Gusan he would consider operating in both North America and Europe if a suitable supply chain could be put in place.
Flagship products
The company’s flagship products NSP1 and NSP2 have been developed to ‘unleash the full potential of silicon across all lithium-ion battery types’ and are suitable for both the automotive and consumer markets.
“Our focus is primarily on NSP2,” explained Brown. “As unlike NSP1 it mitigates expansion in the battery. Silicon loves lithium but the volume change seen in NSP1 batteries can lead to battery failure, even if that can be mitigated by using small amounts of graphite. NSP2, by contrast, gives the silicon space to expand and enables higher loading which can deliver a 90 per cent increase in energy density.”
Silicon anode enable the creation of smaller, lighter and more efficient batteries for both vehicles and consumer electronics. For example, while lithium-ion batteries tend to be one of the biggest contributors to overall weight in EVs, silicon-anode batteries can enable much lighter battery packs for the same energy capacity that are not only able to deliver improved performance but critically can lower costs.
“NSP2 addresses all the key issues that worry people when it comes to adopting electric vehicles,” suggested Brown. “EV range, charging times, and cost are all pain points for consumers and NSP2 really does address all of those. Energy density is greater, charging times are reduced - taking ~11 minutes to go from 20 to 80% state of charge - and fewer cells are needed in the battery pack. Smaller battery packs using silicon-anode technology means that car manufacturers can promote sustainability and reduce the environmental impact – lighter batteries require less energy to transport, produce, and maintain throughout the product’s lifespan.
“In terms of sustainable manufacturability we commissioned a report that analysed the whole production process of NSP2, and it found that whether it was CO2 emissions, the use of water, the production of particulates or the use of fossil fuels we had a compelling story to share.”
While the company’s product and technology are agnostic of application type a significant portion of the demand for global cells is obviously being driven by the automotive industry and the move to EVs.
“Nexeon is working with several significant potential customers in the cell manufacturing and automotive OEM industries globally,” said Brown, “and while the EV market has slowed demand for our technology continues to grow.”
Silicon-anode batteries can deliver the competitive edge that car companies need but the industry remains relatively conservative, according to Brown.
“I thought the industry would be faster to adopt our technology, but one of the things I’ve learned is that it is very cost focused, and change tends to be incremental. But the opportunity for our technology is massive.”
Market research has suggested that demand for NSP2 materials could exceed 400,000 tonnes by 2035 and Brown is determined that Nexeon will have a sizeable share of that market.
“I’m a chemist by profession and the opportunity that Nexeon affords is once in a lifetime. Our technology will have a significant impact on the adoption of EVs, but batteries will be everywhere from robots to wearable devices. We can have a massive impact on the quality of peoples’ lives and that is an amazing opportunity for the business and it’s a big driver for me personally.”
According to Brown his ambition for the company is to see it more global, operating bigger manufacturing plants and supplying at least a third of the 400,000 tonnes being forecast for 2035.
“We need to revolutionise battery technology in order to deliver a more sustainable future, and the opportunities for this business going forward are immense,” concluded Brown.
