Stellantis has just announced its intention to invest in California-based startup Lyten, which bills itself as a pioneer in 3D graphene, an ultralight “supermaterial” that offers promising prospects for lithium-sulfur battery production.

If you don’t know this type of battery yet, that’s okay because they are still in the experimental stage. At the moment, we know simply and only from the reports of the companies that work there that they are “much more efficient than the lithium-ion batteries currently used in almost the entire automotive industry”.

Fewer critical materials

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, welcomed the collaboration, saying in a joint statement: “The Lyten lithium-sulfur battery has the potential to be a key element in enabling everyone to adopt electric vehicles. »

Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which are heavy and require large amounts of materials such as nickel, cobalt or manganese, the extraction of which can be highly polluting, The lithium-sulfur battery has the advantage that it is much lighter.

Lighter and with better energy density

According to Lyten, this technology has “the ability to store twice as much energy as traditional batteries. In addition, it does not require the use of cobalt, nickel or manganese, which reduces the carbon footprint by 60%.”– said the press release of the two companies.

“The materials needed to manufacture lithium-sulfur batteries can be found and produced locally in North America and Europe, strengthening the sovereignty of these regions”pointed out by Stellantis and Lyten.

Lyten says it will be able to supply these batteries by the end of the decade, which is in line with Stellantis’ “Dare Forward 2030” strategic plan to halve the manufacturer’s carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2021, in order to reach neutrality in 2038.

The Californian startup has already launched a small experimental production line and plans to offer some commercial applications of its technology outside the automotive sector by the end of the year.