World’s Largest Lithium-ion Battery Maker Invests in Graphene Manufacturer

XG Sciences, Inc. (XGS)has closed on a strategic investment led by Samsung Ventures Investment Corporation (Samsung Ventures). Philip Rose, XG Sciences CEO, said the investment will be used to fund additional research and development of the company's advanced materials. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

“The investment from Samsung is a real honor for XG Sciences,” Rose said “and it represents another significant milestone in our progress toward commercialization of large-scale graphene applications. A number of applications for our advanced graphene and battery materials have been demonstrated in the electronics industry, and a partner like Samsung will help us move these applications to market faster than we could on our own. We look forward to formalizing our development work with Samsung SDI in a joint development program aimed at next-generation batteries for consumer electronics and other devices. Samsung’s shareholding will reinforce our leading position and help serve all our customers better.”

“Our investment in XG Sciences is consistent with our strategy to work closely with established market leaders.” says Michael Pachos, Senior Investment Manager at Samsung Ventures. “XGS is a technology leader and has built a significant business in the graphene and energy storage spaces. The company has demonstrated both a technical and business vision in driving adoption of graphene across a wide variety of industries and we look forward to contributing to the progress of XG Sciences.”

The investment by Samsung Ventures follows $1 million in funding XGS received last November from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for continued development of its XG SiGâ„¢ high-energy lithium-ion battery materials. These new anode materials have demonstrated energy storage capacity of up to four times that of conventional anodes and are suitable for use in batteries for extended range electric vehicles, portable electronics and grid storage applications.

“This DOE award recognizes the potential that XG Sciences has already demonstrated with our new materials in the laboratory, and it will help fund further development of full-scale batteries with much higher storage capacity,” Rob Privette, VP Energy Markets commented at the time of the award. “Our Silicon-based anode materials offer battery manufacturers opportunities to create batteries with much greater energy storage capacity without significantly increasing the battery size.

“This DOE funding is directed at developing batteries to power future generations of extended range electric vehicles, and also benefit manufacturers of advanced rechargeable batteries for applications like portable and printed electronics,” Privette continued. “In this two-year program, XG Sciences will lead a multifunctional research team that includes battery maker A123 Systems and the Georgia Institute of Technology, who will participate in prototype cell build, testing, and advanced characterization and analysis.”