Sidley represents BMW Group in futuristic investment

Sidley represents BMW Group in futuristic investment

Investment of $130 million in Solid Power will enable BMW and Ford Motors to secure new-age batteries for future electric vehicles

The US law firm Sidley Austin has represented BMW Group along with Ford Motors Company and Volta Energy Technologies on a $130 million investment in Solid Power, a producer of all solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

BMW is the lead investor in the Series B financing of Solid Power. With this investment, BMW Group has further expanded its existing joint development agreements with Solid Power to secure all solid-state batteries for future electric vehicles.

"BMW and Ford now share leading positions in the race for all solid-state battery-powered electric vehicles," said Doug Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Solid Power. "Solid Power now plans to begin producing automotive-scale batteries on the company's pilot production line in early 2022 as a result of our partners' continued commitment to Solid Power's commercialization efforts."

Ford's manager of Electrification Subsystem, Ted Miller, termed the investment in solid-state battery technology as important to the future of electric vehicles. "By simplifying the design of solid-state versus lithium-ion batteries, we'll be able to increase vehicle range, improve interior space and cargo volume, deliver lower costs and better value for customers and more efficiently integrate this kind of solid-state battery cell technology into existing lithium-ion cell production processes," Miller said.

"Being a leader in advanced battery technology is of the utmost importance for BMW. The development of all solid-state batteries is one of the most promising and important steps towards more efficient, sustainable, and safer electric vehicles. We now have taken our next step on this path with Solid Power," said Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management BMW AG, Development.

The Sidley team was led by partner Andrew Harper (Emerging Companies and Venture Capital, Palo Alto and San Francisco), and included partners Glenn Nash (Technology and IP Transactions, Palo Alto), Jen Fernandez and James Mendenhall (Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy, Washington, D.C.), and associates Nick DeAngelis (Emerging Companies and Venture Capital, Dallas and Palo Alto), Shaika Ahmed (Emerging Companies and Venture Capital, Palo Alto), and Rachelle Soderstrom (Technology and IP Transactions, San Francisco).

The investment will enable Solid Power to produce full-scale automotive batteries, increase associated material output and expand in-house production capabilities for future vehicle integration.