Business Development Manager

Sila wins $1.4bn Pentagon loan commitment to break China's grip on battery anodes. The Sila Pentagon loan commitment, announced in August 2026, arrives as a conditional pledge of $1.4 billion from the US Department of Defense, one of the largest single bets the Pentagon has placed on a domestic battery materials company. The money is not yet in hand: Sila's press release via Business Wire confirms that the financing is a conditional loan commitment, meaning the Alameda, California-based company must satisfy further requirements before the facility closes. What the commitment signals, conditions aside, is that the Pentagon is willing to write very large cheques to reduce American dependence on Chinese battery supply chains. Why the Sila Pentagon loan commitment matters for US battery supply. The stakes are straightforward. Most lithium-ion battery anodes today rely on graphite, and Chinese companies dominate that supply chain. Silicon-carbon materials, which Sila manufactures at its factory in Moses Lake, Washington, can store 20% to 40% more electricity than graphite anodes. That translates into either longer-lasting cells or smaller, lighter batteries: precisely what defence contractors need for drones and what automotive companies need for electric vehicles. Sila's Moses Lake plant, which began operating in September 2025, currently produces about 2 gigawatt-hours of anode material annually. The DoD financing is intended to fund a fivefold expansion of that facility, enough to supply material for more than 100,000 EVs. Beyond anode production, the commitment also covers a new silicon battery cell manufacturing facility aimed at specialty applications with demanding performance requirements, including industrial, agricultural, and military drones, as well as energy storage, AI infrastructure, and data centres, according to the company's announcement. The loan is channelled through the Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), which was formally established under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024. The DoD's Office of Strategic Capital was granted authority under that legislation to issue loans and loan guarantees specifically to increase private investment in critical technologies and supply chains. A company built on private capital, now backed by the state. Sila was founded in 2011 and has assembled an investor base that reads like a who's who of growth-stage technology finance. The company's Sila press page lists 8VC, Atreides Management, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, In-Q-Tel, Matrix Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates among its backers. In July 2026, Sila raised $300 million in a private round led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, with 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and T. Rowe Price-advised funds also participating, according to Yahoo Finance's report on the Business Wire press release. Total private funding to date exceeds $1.5 billion, according to PitchBook. Secondary-market data tracked by Forge Global puts Sila's post-money valuation at $2.33 billion following the July 2026 round, with total funding of $1.61 billion on its estimates, though as a secondary-market aggregator Forge's figures may differ from company-disclosed numbers. The company has already secured commercial partnerships with Mercedes and Panasonic. The Pentagon commitment could extend that commercial reach into defence contracting, a market that has expanded considerably as conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere sustain demand for advanced military hardware. Sila was not the only beneficiary of the Pentagon's latest round of critical-materials investments. The DoD's broader critical materials package included a $400 million loan to Australian company Sunrise Energy Metals for scandium mining, a $150 million loan to Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics for rare earth-free magnets, and an $85 million equity investment in Strategic Bauxite, which mines a mineral containing aluminium. The common thread is supply chain geography: every company in the package produces or processes materials currently sourced predominantly from outside the United States, and in many cases from China or Chinese-linked operations. Silicon-anode competition is intensifying. Group14 and Amprius are among the companies also pursuing silicon-based anode technologies, and the race to scale non-graphite materials is accelerating on both commercial and geopolitical timelines. What sets Sila apart for now is operational proof: Moses Lake is already running, and the Moses Lake facility's domestic address insulates Sila's customers from tariffs and geopolitical exposure in ways that imported anode material cannot. The conditions attached to the $1.4 billion commitment will determine how quickly that expansion capital flows. Until those conditions are met and the facility closes, the Pentagon's pledge is a floor, not a finish line. Funke Adeyemi spent a decade in corporate banking and fintech before moving to business journalism. She started in trade finance at a major UK bank, moved to a payments company scaling into African markets, and spent her last role leading partnerships at a cross-border remittance platform. She writes about business strategy, fintech, digital banking, and the corporate news that moves markets. She is interested in how companies actually make money rather than how they describe making money in investor presentations. Funke lives in South London. She reads earnings calls the way other people listen to podcasts, and finds them about as reliable. 21/08/2026 20/08/2026

Forge Nano and Group14 advance u.s.-made high-performance battery cells with U.S. Material supply chain. May 28, 2026 08:30 ET | Source: Forge Nano * Collaboration combines Group14's advanced silicon battery materials with Forge Nano's Atomic Armor(R) ALD technology and domestic cell manufacturing infrastructure * Forge Nano's Atomic Armor(R) coatings enhance silicon battery durability, enabling higher energy density, faster charging and longer cycle life * Partnership delivers a scalable U.S.-based battery supply chain aligned with growing domestic manufacturing and defense procurement requirements DENVER, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Forge Nano, Inc., a leading U.S. based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company pioneering Atomic Layer Deposition ("ALD") technology for artificial intelligence ("AI")-era chip manufacturing and defense battery applications, and Group14 Technologies, a global manufacturer of advanced silicon battery materials, today announced a collaboration focused on advancing high-performance lithium-ion battery cells manufactured in the United States using a predominantly U.S.-based supply chain. The collaboration comes on the heels of Forge Nano's recent announcement to merge with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. ("Archimedes II") (NASDAQ: ATII). The collaboration builds on Forge Nano's domestic battery cell manufacturing business model designed to deliver high-performance lithium-ion cells produced in the United States with a U.S.-dominant material supply chain. By integrating Atomic Armor(R)-coated Group14 SCC55 silicon-carbon composite materials into Forge Nano's battery cell products, the companies aim to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation battery technologies for defense, aerospace and energy storage applications. Group14's silicon battery materials significantly improve battery energy density and fast-charging capability compared to conventional graphite-based batteries. Forge Nano's proprietary Atomic Armor(R) nanocoating technology applies ultra-thin protective coatings at the atomic level around SCC55 silicon-carbon particles, further optimizing performance during charging cycles, reducing unwanted side reactions and enhancing long-term battery durability and cycle life. Together, the companies aim to accelerate the commercialization of high-performance silicon batteries at scale. "As demand accelerates for domestically manufactured, high-performance battery technologies, the ability to combine advanced materials innovation with scalable U.S. production capacity becomes increasingly important," said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. "Our collaboration with Group14 further strengthens Forge Nano's position as a domestic battery manufacturing platform capable of delivering differentiated battery performance with a resilient U.S.-based supply chain." The collaboration also supports the growing demand for secure domestic energy storage supply chains across defense and strategic industrial markets. Recent U.S. policy initiatives and National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") procurement requirements have increased focus on reducing dependence on foreign battery supply chains and expanding domestic manufacturing capacity for critical technologies. "SCC55 is already proven in some of the world's highest-performance batteries," said Rick Luebbe, CEO and co-founder of Group14. "Forge Nano has built exactly the kind of domestic manufacturing platform needed to bring that performance to defense and aerospace customers at scale. Together, we're giving customers a domestically sourced, high-performance cell they can integrate into their roadmaps today." The collaboration reflects both companies' broader commitment to strengthening the U.S. battery ecosystem through domestic innovation, advanced manufacturing, and scalable supply chain development. ABOUT FORGE NANO Forge Nano is a leading U.S. based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company pioneering Atomic Layer Deposition ("ALD") technology for AI-era chip manufacturing and defense battery applications via its platform technology, Atomic Armor(R). Atomic Armor(R) is a scalable, adaptable nano-scale coating system that strengthens America's most critical systems - at the atomic level. The superior surface coatings produced by Forge Nano's Atomic Armor(R) process allows partners to unlock peak performance. Learn more at https://www.forgenano.com. Media Contact Will McKenna Brand Communications Director, Forge Nano [email protected]