A Santa Clara battery-materials startup just picked up $50 million in federal funding to help build a new plant capable of churning out ultra-thin lithium films at gigawatt scale. Elevated Materials was selected for the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop what the company describes as an advanced battery materials facility, with a proposed capacity of roughly 3.5 gigawatts annually.
A $100 Million Plant, Half Federally Funded
The proposed facility carries an estimated $100 million price tag, and the DOE selection is expected to cover half of that development cost, according to Interesting Engineering. Elevated Materials announced the project from Santa Clara, though the outlet reports the company has not disclosed the facility's planned location or construction timeline. The plant is planned for the United States and is intended to expand domestic battery-materials manufacturing while reducing dependence on overseas supply chains.
The company's core product, branded ELi, consists of ultra-thin lithium-metal films manufactured using proprietary roll-to-roll vacuum deposition platforms — technology Elevated Materials describes as producing the industry's highest-quality ultra-thin lithium-metal film. Per the same reporting, the films range from under 1 micrometer to 20 micrometers thick and are designed to eliminate dendrites while maximizing energy density across graphite, silicon, and lithium-metal anodes, according to Elevated Materials. Those next-generation anode architectures are aimed at applications spanning electric vehicles, consumer electronics, defense, aviation, and grid-scale energy storage.
Roots in Applied Materials and TPG Rise Climate
Elevated Materials was carved out of semiconductor giant Applied Materials and officially launched in February 2025 as an independent company, inheriting hundreds of patents and roll-to-roll vacuum processing expertise along with backing from TPG Rise Climate, according to TPG. The company developed its lithium-film technology in California and is now part of the TPG Rise Climate portfolio, with a stated focus on scaling battery materials for U.S. competitiveness and industrial electrification.
At the company's launch, BMW Group principal battery cell expert Dr. Peter Lamp offered third-party validation of the platform, stating that ultra-thin lithium films resolve key energy density and capacity constraints in next-generation cells, as reported by R&D World. According to the company, demand for lithium-metal anodes has been particularly strong, and it reported its highest output of ultra-thin lithium-metal films over the past year, shipping more than 250,000 meters of material to over 30 customers worldwide, per Interesting Engineering's reporting.
Part of a Larger $500 Million Federal Push
Elevated Materials was one of seven companies selected for funding through the DOE's Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Grants program, with the selected projects sharing $500 million in federal funding. The grant flows from Section 40207 of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which established these competitive awards to rebuild domestic battery supply chains, according to SHALE Magazine. Within that $500 million package, four companies received $50 million grants and three received $100 million allocations, with the larger sums going to black mass recycler Nth Cycle, cobalt refiner Jervois, and direct lithium extractor Lilac Solutions, as reported by Mining Technology.
The DOE framed the awards as part of President Trump's Unleashing American Energy executive order, citing national security concerns and the goal of reducing dependence on foreign supply chains, according to North American Mining. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that securing domestic supply chains is essential for American energy dominance, per that same report. Jim Cushing said advanced battery manufacturing is a U.S. national priority, and that the latest funding would help move the technology toward substantially larger commercial volumes, with Elevated Materials ramping its California-developed technology to gigawatt scale.
Other Bay Area and National Grant Winners
Elevated Materials isn't the only Northern California company benefiting from this round of DOE funding. San Leandro-based Coreshell Technologies was selected for a matching $50 million award to build a domestic gigafactory producing metallurgical silicon anodes meant to replace imported Chinese graphite, according to Processing Magazine. China currently controls over 93% of the global graphite market, a dynamic that has driven federal interest in alternative anode materials.
Elsewhere in the funding round, Princeton NuEnergy secured a $50 million DOE award to construct a $110 million direct cathode recycling facility in Commerce, Georgia, designed to process 3,000 tonnes of battery manufacturing scrap per year, according to Mgrid.org. That project relies on a matching investment model similar to the 50-50 financing structure backing Elevated Materials' plant. Taken together, the awards reflect a broader pivot in federal policy: as recent shifts have ended several consumer EV tax credits, Washington has reoriented funding toward foundational materials processing and component manufacturing, according to Tomorrow Access.
For Elevated Materials, the DOE award marks a step toward scaling ultra-thin lithium-metal films and prelithiated materials to gigawatt-hour-scale production, with domestic access to critical materials central to the broader U.S. effort to significantly increase battery energy density. The company has also received support from Department of Energy research and development programs beyond this latest grant, according to Interesting Engineering's reporting on the project.
