6K raises $51M to accelerate battery materials development and AM powder business
September 22, 2021
6K, North Andover, Massachusetts, USA announced that it has closed a $51M Series C financing round. With this investment, the company intends to complete its Battery Development Center of Excellence, adding 3,066 m2 of product development space and doubling its 6K Energy team. Funding will also enable a tripling of production capacity for Additive Manufacturing metal powders at its 6K Additive division, increase the portfolio of powder product offerings, and expand its commercial sales activities globally. The financing round was led by Volta Energy Technologies, joined by new investors Catalus Capital and S Cap/Prithvi Ventures, and existing investors Anzu Partners, Launch Capital, Material Impact, and RKS Ventures.
“This round of capital is a validation of 6K’s model to replace wasteful legacy production technologies with the UniMelt® platform, enter scaled production, meet customer needs, move toward profitability, and transform industries,” stated Aaron Bent, CEO. “We are joined by world-class investors who are aligned with our vision to transform the way performance materials are produced. And in doing so, we are teaming to solve critical needs of the US and the planet, addressing climate change, supply chain security, and reducing the demand on our fragile and limited resources.”
6K intends to use the proceeds of the financing to expand product development and commercial activities across its multiple divisions. At 6K Additive, plans are laid for production to set up sales & distribution in Europe and Asia and expand the production by additional 600 tons/year.
6K has announced its intent to invest $25M over twenty months in 6K Energy’s Battery Development Center of Excellence, enabling partnerships for rapid product development and deployment. The Center will be fully capable of pilot production with UniMelt capacity equivalent of 400 MWh. 6K is currently sampling customers, and developing products across NMC cathode, LFP, silicon-dominant anode, lithium, solid-state electrolyte, and recycled cathode materials.
In response to demand from companies across the performance materials spectrum, 6K intends to invest in the identification and development of performance and electronic materials that can be produced cost effectively and sustainably with its UniMelt plasma production system. 6K has established an advanced R&D team for the development of performance materials including those for a variety of applications, ranging from semiconductors to electronic packaging to bio-ceramics.
Zander Arkin, Volta’s Chief Investment Officer, has also joined 6K’s board as director, alongside members such as Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Mark Little, previously CTO at GE.
Arkin commented, “Our investment strategy focusses on technologies that bring a positive impact to the environment and contribute to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy on the grid. Not only does 6K and its UniMelt platform align perfectly to our investment strategy, but the company is well poised to impact advanced material manufacturing for electric vehicle batteries with a solution that changes the dynamic of sustainability in the supply chain for battery materials.”
