Business Description

Overview Solid Power is a U.S.-based leader in solid-state battery technology and manufacturing processes. Our core technology is a sulfide-based solid electrolyte material, which replaces the liquid or gel electrolyte used in traditional lithium-ion battery cells. We believe our electrolyte technology has the potential to enable a step-change improvement in battery cell performance beyond what is currently achievable in conventional lithium-ion battery cells, including improved energy density, battery life, and safety performance. We are currently targeting the battery electric vehicle (“EV”) market due to the size and perceived demand for next generation battery technology but believe our technologies can have a broader application as the technologies mature. Commercialization Strategy Our commercialization strategy is to manufacture and sell electrolyte to Tier 1 battery manufacturers and automotive original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) that choose to produce their own battery cells. We also intend to pursue licensing arrangements for our cell manufacturing processes and cell designs. This business model distinguishes us from competitors who are, or plan to be, commercial battery manufacturers and allows us to focus on our core strength of electrolyte development and production. Since we do not plan to produce commercial battery cells, we expect to have significantly lower capital requirements than cell manufacturers. Technologies and Pilot Manufacturing Our electrolyte is a sulfide-based material comprised of lithium sulfide (“Li2S”) and other inputs. We believe most OEMs and battery manufacturers have a technology roadmap that includes sulfide-based, solid-state cell products that can utilize our electrolyte. Our electrolyte is made from abundant materials produced at industrial scale in multiple geographical locations, except for the Li2S precursor material. Since we anticipate our Li2S need to significantly increase upon commercialization, we are taking a two-pronged approach to secure supply: sourcing from multiple global entities as well as pursuing development of in-house processes to produce material. We believe sulfide-based solid electrolytes have the best-known balance of conductivity ( i.e. , the ability to move lithium ions quickly) and processability ( i.e. , the ability to allow cells to be produced on industry-standard roll-to-roll battery manufacturing equipment) out of all solid electrolyte classes. We develop our materials for stability and conductivity within each layer of the cell while also optimizing for areas such as cost and compatibility with conventional lithium-ion processing. We are also using customer feedback to tailor our electrolyte to meet customer requirements. We currently produce electrolyte on two pilot manufacturing lines using a batch manufacturing process. The electrolyte we produce is used for customer sampling and internal cell development. By the end of 2026, we expect to commission a pilot electrolyte line using a continuous manufacturing process. The continuous manufacturing line is expected to provide proof-of-concept of production-intent electrolyte manufacturing processes before proceeding to mass production. Our current cell design is a multi-layered stacked pouch design made with a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (“NMC”) cathode, silicon-based anode, and separator, each of which contains our electrolyte. We produce cells in sizes ranging from 0.2 Ah to 60 Ah. While our cell research and development efforts are focused on electrolyte product competitiveness, our research and development teams are also working on lithium metal and anode-free cells. Longer-term, we may pursue the development of a nickel- and cobalt-free battery cell design that could remove certain costly materials. Each of these technologies are significantly earlier in development than our current NMC-silicon cell design. We currently produce our solid-state cells on pre-pilot and pilot cell manufacturing lines. Our cell manufacturing processes were developed around industry-standard lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing processes and equipment. We currently manufacture all of our cell designs ourselves, including our cathodes and anodes, using materials sourced from external suppliers. We source other input materials from both industry-leading and emerging suppliers.…