The spin-out Molyon from Cambridge is counting on lithium-sulfur within the race for higher batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have served us well, powering much of the modern world. However, today's technology – from drones and electric vehicles to the wretched Tesla cyber truck – requires denser batteries that charge faster and get you further.

This push is driving scientists to develop new battery chemistries or refine old ones. Of course, it's also spawning a new generation of startups looking to scale the next best battery. One of them is Molyon.

Molyon recently emerged from 15 years of research at the University of Cambridge to commercialize a lithium-sulfur battery that is said to deliver twice the energy density of lithium-ion. Today, the startup secured $4.6 million to ramp up production at its first pilot plant.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries not only store much more energy than lithium-ion batteries, but they also do not rely on rare minerals such as cobalt, nickel and graphite. They could help technologies like electric vehicles, drones and airplanes become far more efficient.

However, due to a major problem, Li-S batteries have yet to be commercialized. Sulfur from the battery's cathode tends to dissolve in the electrolyte, causing the anode to corrode and the battery to fail after just a few cycles.

“The promise of lithium-sulfur batteries has been around for decades, but until now it has not been possible to realize this potential due to the inherent chemical challenges of working with sulfur,” explained Dr. Ismail Sami, co-founder and CEO of Molyon.

To solve this problem, Molyon has developed a cathode technology based on metallic molybdenum disulfide (MoS).2), a compound of sulfur and molybdenum, a common element in the earth's crust. MoS2 remains stable and provides high energy density over hundreds of cycles – potentially a revolution in Li-S batteries.

Sami co-founded Molyon in February this year along with his lab partner Dr. Zhuangnan Li, who serves as the company's CTO. The couple met while studying under the third co-founder, Professor Manish Chhowalla. A fourth co-founder, Dr. Sai Shivareddy (co-founder of He groped) is the company's commercial advisor.

Since patenting the discovery, the team has demonstrated practical batteries with an energy density of 500 Wh per kg – about twice that of a typical Li-ion battery.

With new funding, Molyon will expand its team and work on its pilot plant. The initial focus is on producing Li-S batteries for drones and robots, which could benefit greatly from the lower weight and improved range. The company then plans to expand to electric cars, trucks and airplanes.

Molyon's funding round – its first ever – was co-led by London-based deep tech investors IQ Capital and founder-led VC Plural started A €500m Fund already in January.

““The UK is uniquely positioned to be a leader in lithium-sulphur technology,” he wrote Carina Namih, partner at Plural, in a Blog post. “We are already one of the world's leading innovators in this emerging field, with the best laboratories and researchers based here.

“The UK also has the talent base and scar tissue from previous failed attempts to commercialize this technology – as is often the case with technological advances, the lessons learned from these failures will drive the second wave.”

Update (14:31 CET, November 27, 2024): PluralThe fund closed at €500mnot 400 million euros, as already reported in this article.