Wildcat Discovery Technologies has today announced an agreement with BMW Group to jointly develop the next-generation Wildcat high energy cathode.
The Wildcat cathode is a key component of Wildcat’s recently announced “supercell” which aims to help car makers deliver greater driving range by achieving energy densities. These are 25% higher than the best cathodes in vehicles today.
The new cathode is said to contain no nickel or cobalt, two properties which are deemed challenging in terms of sustainability as well as price volatility.
Mark Gresser, CEO of Wildcat stated “We’re very excited to have BMW join our team of industry partners. Having BMW’s financial and technical support on the project will help us commercialize more quickly and provide real-time customer feedback in the development process. We have a strong group of contributors in place and are well positioned to introduce a step change in battery performance and sustainability.”
Beyond the joint development agreement with BMW, Wildcat’s consortium of strategic partners also includes Koch Disruptive Technologies and Eastman Kodak, who along with BMW are contributing both financially and technically to the new cathode development effort. Wildcat, working with its development partners, plans to commercialize the new EV battery cathode material in the coming several years, the release stated.
“After announcing our Gen6 cylindrical cell in September of 2022, we continue to work on future innovations in our battery technology. In this context, Wildcat’s high-energy cathode is an important element of our roadmap for improved battery performance in the coming years. We are excited about the potential of this technology and the start of our joint development,” said Peter Lamp, Head of Battery Cell Technology at BMW Group.
The new agreement will build on both BMW and Wildcat’s commitment to sustainable mobility. The two companies have a long relationship in battery research, based on nearly a decade of research collaboration projects, and will expand upon that work to co-develop the high-energy cathode. According to the agreement, BMW will lead the build of large battery cells to be used for performance and safety testing.
Press release and picture: Wildcat Discovery
