Anthro Energy Starts Work on Louisville Factory for Battery Electrolytes

Anthro Energy broke ground on a Louisville, Kentucky, factory that can make enough battery materials for more than 300,000 electric vehicles. The facility’s headline output is 25 gigawatt-hours worth of electrolytes, including materials relevant to solid-state batteries. Production is scheduled to start in 2028.

The factory is positioned around demand for battery materials that are not tied to “foreign entity of concern” supply-chain issues. Anthro is aiming to serve U.S. battery makers that need a domestic source of China-free, FEOC-free electrolyte supply. The company also says the Louisville location puts it within a 12-hour drive of 70% of current U.S. battery production facilities.

Anthro received a $24.9 million Department of Energy award under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the factory. It also received $18.4 million in investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Kentucky added $2.3 million in tax incentives in exchange for creating 110 permanent jobs.

The plant will be able to make a range of electrolytes, but Anthro eventually wants much of its output dedicated to Proteus, its own polymer product. Proteus is designed to enter cells as a liquid, penetrate the anode and cathode, and later firm up, helping bind the battery together. Solid-state batteries are viewed as promising because they can boost energy density, reduce fire risk by eliminating flammable electrolytes, and help prevent dendrites that can cause short circuits.

The key test is whether Anthro can move from smaller-scale work to larger-scale manufacturing, a transition that has challenged other battery materials companies. Customer validation of Anthro’s own material will matter because the factory can initially produce other companies’ formulations before shifting output. If the approach works, Anthro sees applications beyond EVs, including drones and robots.