Carbon-armored architecture
Silicon is integrated within a protective, conductive carbon environment designed to accommodate expansion stress and hold the composite together.
Technology
A material problem needs a material solution.
Lithium-ion cells have improved steadily for three decades through better electrolytes, cathodes, separators, and packaging. The anode has stayed largely the same. That is where the remaining headroom is.
01 — The ceiling
Graphite is close to its theoretical limit.
Graphite stores lithium by intercalation — ions slot between layers of carbon. The structure is stable, well understood, and cheap to manufacture. It is also bounded: the lattice only accepts so much lithium.
Commercial graphite electrodes already operate close to this theoretical figure. Further gains come from packaging and cell design, not from the anode material itself.
372mAh/g
02 — The prize
Silicon stores lithium a different way.
Silicon does not intercalate. It alloys — forming lithium-silicon phases that hold far more lithium per gram than any intercalation host. That is where the roughly tenfold theoretical advantage comes from.
3,579mAh/g
Alloying is also the source of the problem. Taking that much lithium into the structure changes the structure.
03 — The failure mode
Expansion is not one problem. It is six, in sequence.
Each stage causes the next. An intervention that addresses only the last stage treats a symptom.
- 01
Expansion
Silicon takes up lithium and swells by roughly three times its volume. Graphite moves about ten percent.
- 02
Fracture
Repeated swelling and contraction exceeds what the particle can absorb. It cracks, then pulverises.
- 03
Isolation
Fragments lose contact with the conductive network. Material that is still chemically active becomes electrically unreachable.
- 04
Interface breakdown
Every new fracture surface forms fresh SEI. The layer never stabilises — it is destroyed and rebuilt on each cycle.
- 05
Consumption
Continuous SEI regrowth consumes electrolyte and cyclable lithium, while internal resistance climbs.
- 06
Fade
Capacity falls away quickly. Without engineering intervention, cells can degrade within tens of cycles.
04 — Side by side
Watch all three cycle.
Graphite barely moves and lasts. Raw silicon swells, fractures, and its fragments stop conducting. The carbon-armored particle expands inward and stays connected.
Graphite
100% capacity
Pure silicon
100% capacity
Silic Tech Si/C
100% capacity
Cycle 0— Illustrative model of documented failure modes. Not measured experimental data.
05 — The architecture
Carbon-armored silicon.
Silicon nanostructures integrated within an engineered conductive carbon matrix. Eight design decisions, each aimed at a specific stage of the cascade above.
Nanostructured engineering
Material architecture is controlled at small length scales to improve mechanical behaviour, ion movement, electron transport, and electrochemical utilisation.
Conductive carbon network
The carbon structure is designed to preserve electrical pathways as the silicon repeatedly expands and contracts.
Interface stabilisation
The architecture aims to reduce repeated destructive SEI formation and improve electrode–electrolyte interfacial stability.
Drop-in manufacturing intent
The material is being developed to work with existing lithium-ion electrode manufacturing and roll-to-roll production, rather than requiring new factories.
Scalable synthesis
Process strategy is evaluated against industrial-scale manufacturing from the outset, not retrofitted after the fact.
Abundant material base
The system relies on silicon and carbon — comparatively abundant and strategically attractive inputs.
Performance–cost balance
Targeting commercially meaningful performance without a material that is inherently too expensive or complex to manufacture.
06 — Performance
Development targets.
These figures define what the programme is optimising for. They are targets, not measured results, and not commercial specifications. Verified data will be published here when it exists and can be independently checked.
1,000+mAh/g
500+cycles
>80%
>87%
07 — Comparison
Graphite, silicon, and the architecture between them.
| Metric | GraphiteLegacy | Pure siliconUnengineered | Silic Tech Si/CUnder development |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical / target capacity | 372 mAh/g | 3,579 mAh/g | 1,000+ mAh/g target |
| Volume expansion | ~10% | ~300% | Engineered to be controlled |
| Cycle life | 1,000+ in mature systems | Often <100 without engineering | 500+ cycle target |
| First-cycle efficiency | ~90% | ~60–80% | >87% target |
| Manufacturing maturity | Highly mature | Difficult | Drop-in compatibility intended |
| Relative raw-material cost | Low | Moderate | Targeting low-to-moderate |
| Electrical conductivity | Good in commercial electrodes | Intrinsically low | Enhanced via carbon network |
| Structural stability | Mature | Poor during repeated cycling | Engineered for improved stability |
| Commercial readiness | Established | Limited independently | Under development |
Theoretical / target capacity
- Graphite
- 372 mAh/g
- Pure silicon
- 3,579 mAh/g
- Silic Tech Si/C
- 1,000+ mAh/g target
Volume expansion
- Graphite
- ~10%
- Pure silicon
- ~300%
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Engineered to be controlled
Cycle life
- Graphite
- 1,000+ in mature systems
- Pure silicon
- Often <100 without engineering
- Silic Tech Si/C
- 500+ cycle target
First-cycle efficiency
- Graphite
- ~90%
- Pure silicon
- ~60–80%
- Silic Tech Si/C
- >87% target
Manufacturing maturity
- Graphite
- Highly mature
- Pure silicon
- Difficult
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Drop-in compatibility intended
Relative raw-material cost
- Graphite
- Low
- Pure silicon
- Moderate
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Targeting low-to-moderate
Electrical conductivity
- Graphite
- Good in commercial electrodes
- Pure silicon
- Intrinsically low
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Enhanced via carbon network
Structural stability
- Graphite
- Mature
- Pure silicon
- Poor during repeated cycling
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Engineered for improved stability
Commercial readiness
- Graphite
- Established
- Pure silicon
- Limited independently
- Silic Tech Si/C
- Under development
08 — Manufacturing
A material that has to fit the factory that already exists.
A material requiring an entirely new production process carries two risks at once: the material risk and the capital risk. We are developing for compatibility with conventional slurry mixing, electrode coating, calendering, and roll-to-roll handling.
The intent is that a cell manufacturer can evaluate the material on existing lines. That does not eliminate qualification work, and we do not claim otherwise — but it removes the requirement to build new plant before the material can be assessed at all.
09 — Roadmap
The path from material to qualified product.
Deliberately undated. We publish milestones when they are reached and verifiable, not when they are projected.
Material
- Material architecture optimisation
- Formulation refinement
- Synthesis process repeatability
Validation
- Electrochemical validation
- Coin-cell testing
- Full-cell testing
- Third-party validation
Scale
- Pilot-scale synthesis
- Electrode integration
- Customer sampling
Commercial
- Strategic joint development
- Manufacturing scale-up
- Commercial qualification
No stage above is marked complete, and no technology-readiness level is claimed. Detailed status is available to partners under a confidentiality agreement.