GM Ventures announced a $10-million investment in Forge Nano, a materials science company specializing in atomic layer deposition. General Motors and Forge Nano have also entered a strategic partnership agreement to collaborate on potential atomic layer deposition applications for GM batteries.

Atomic layer deposition is a surface engineering technique that applies thin-film coatings to battery materials to control chemistry and structure at atomic scale. Forge Nano intends to develop thin-film coatings to enhance GM’s cathode active materials and build prototype lithium-ion battery cells at its Colorado headquarters to showcase the enhancement capabilities of its Atomic Armor technology.

This investment highlights GM’s continued commitment to finding innovative technology solutions that can improve battery performance and lower EV costs to make them an attractive option for all vehicle buyers. The investment also positions Forge Nano to further enhance its technology, as it plans to expand its battery material coating business and semiconductor footprint.

GM Ventures’ primary goal is to bring disruptive technology into the GM ecosystem to improve products and processes. Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor technology has game-changing potential for our battery materials. They have already demonstrated the ability to expand cathode capabilities, which is the most expensive battery cell component. This could unlock benefits for both customers and the business.

—Anirvan Coomer, managing director of GM Ventures

The new $10-million investment adds to Forge Nano’s previous $50-million Series C with participation from Hanwha, Orion Infrastructure Capital, Catalus Capital and Ascent Funds. The company has raised more than $100 million to date with additional investments from Volkswagen, Mitsui Kinzoku, LG Technology Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Air Liquide and SBI Investment.

Forge Nano’s battery material enhancement capabilities is also expected to be showcased through Forge Battery—the company’s battery manufacturing business—which was recently selected for a $100-million award negotiation with the US Department of Energy to expand its production capacity.

Forge Battery has begun producing and shipping 300 Wh/kg Atomic Armor-powered lithium-ion prototype cells using Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor surface engineering platform technology. The newly formed company intends to produce best-in-class high-energy and high-power lithium-ion battery cells for defense, aerospace and specialty electric vehicle markets at a newly constructed Gigafactory in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Forge Battery plans to utilize a US-focused battery material supply chain to further bolster the domestic battery ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.