Astracite makes carbon-negative battery materials to power the electric vehicle revolution. 

This Belgium-based start-up is making graphite from CO₂ emissions, and embedding silicon in it to boost its capacity by 500%. 

Almost all lithium-ion batteries, which are crucial for the energy transition, rely on graphite from China, which is either mined or synthesized from petroleum coke at high temperatures. This graphite has a big carbon footprint.

By using CO₂ emissions to create graphite and embedding silicon in it, Astracite aims to cut the carbon footprint of this material by >100%, making it carbon-negative.

Silicon has 10x higher capacity than graphite, but it’s also incredibly tricky to use as a battery anode, because it expands to three times the size when charged and then shrinks again, degrading over time. Astracite has hit on a novel solution: trapping it inside the graphite matrix to absorb the expansion and prevent degradation. They believe they can lock in up to 40% silicon, boosting battery capacity 5x. 

What’s more, the battery material will be made in Europe, reducing dependency on Chinese supply chains. That’s essential as China has begun to control exports of graphite. 

Our investment will help Astracite to derisk and test all the important aspects in the lab before launching a pilot for 2027.