Amprius Technologies has entered a strategic manufacturing partnership with Nanotech Energy to establish a domestic production pathway for high-performance silicon-anode lithium-ion battery cells.
The collaboration marks Amprius’ first U.S.-based battery manufacturing partnership, a move designed to strengthen the company’s ability to serve mission-critical sectors such as defense and aerospace.
By establishing secure domestic production, Amprius can meet the sourcing and compliance requirements of the updated National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This enables the company to scale its silicon-anode cell manufacturing while supporting national security programs that require high performance and a trusted U.S. supply chain.
Over the past several months, Amprius and Nanotech have worked together to refine the design and production processes for the SA128 silicon-anode cell, which features a 21700 cylindrical format, 6.8 Ah capacity, and energy density of 320 Wh/kg.
Tom Stepien, CEO of Amprius, commented, “Establishing a U.S. manufacturing partner is essential to meeting the evolving requirements of our defense customers. Nanotech brings deep expertise in developing and manufacturing advanced lithium-ion cells. Their manufacturing skills and our industry-leading designs enable us to move quickly from development to production while maintaining the quality, security, and performance our customers expect.”
Curt Collar, CEO of Nanotech Energy, added, “Nanotech Energy has been built from the ground up to enable and support the domestic battery cell industry. Our partnership with Amprius has two key tenets: deep technical capabilities and high trust. We are proud to help Amprius scale U.S. manufacturing for their field-validated silicon-anode cells that customers are demanding. Together we intend to design and produce the cells that are critical to the future of our country.”
The partnership’s strategic importance is underscored by customers such as L3Harris Technologies, which provides end-to-end solutions across the space, air, land, sea, and cyber domains for national security.
Adding U.S.-based contract manufacturing strengthens Amprius’ manufacturing-light strategy. It expands the company’s production footprint across Asia and the United States, increases total capacity beyond 2.0 GWh, and supports growing demand across commercial, industrial, and defense markets.
