Suzano Ventures has made an investment of up to $6.7 million in the British battery manufacturing startup, Allotrope Energy. This is the $70 million corporate venture capital fund’s first investment following its launch last year by Suzano, the world’s largest hardwood pulp producer.
Allotrope Energy is the developer of an agile high-rate carbon technology that can help unlock a new family of ultra-fast charging lithium-carbon and lithium-ion capacitor batteries. These batteries have the potential to transform a range of industries, from mobility to aerospace and robotics. These batteries can reach full charge in similar time to fuelling an internal combustion engine vehicle, without the safety hazards associated with other lithium-ion technologies.
Allotrope Energy’s battery technology can be made using carbon extracted from an abundant biomaterial co-product of Suzano’s own production process of creating pulp from sustainably sourced wood. In addition to being ultra-fast charging batteries, they do not require the use of materials such as cobalt, nickel and rare earth metals, where shortages have been impacting global supply chains and increasing costs.
Beyond the investment and supply of biomaterials, Suzano and Allotrope Energy will enter into a broader partnership agreement. Under the potential arrangement, Suzano’s teams in Brazil and Canada will support innovation and commercialisation of the technology, as well as developing global supply chains and markets for the batteries.
