Group14 breaks ground on Wheeler Road factory

MOSES LAKE — Group14 Technologies, which aims to produce silicon battery materials for rechargeable batteries, has bought nearly 44 acres in Moses Lake and has started construction on its new production facility, which it expects to complete in 2024.

“When we’re up and going, this will be the largest facility of its kind in the world,” said Group14 Chief Operating Officer Eric Robinson, who is also heading up the company’s operations in Moses Lake. “We’re going to build the first two modules out on Wheeler Road, and each of these modules will be capable of producing 2,000 tons of our SCC55 (silicon-carbon composite) material each year.”

If all works out, Robinson said construction should be complete and production will start next year.

“We’ll be operational in 2024, sometime mid-year. That schedule is still being finalized, but we’re looking at 2024 production,” he said.

The company recently completed the purchase of 43.78 acres just south of Wheeler Road in the nearly 290-acre Central Terminals business park — so recently, in fact, that as of Tuesday, the parcel has not yet been added to Grant County’s main online property map. According to online data from the Grant County Assessor’s office, Woodinville-based Group14 finalized the $3.8 million deal on March 21, 2023.

However, Group14 was not disclosing the cost of construction for the Moses Lake facility, noting only that the company is leveraging $614 million raised in its latest round of venture capital financing as well as a $100 million U.S. Department of Energy grant for advanced battery technology research and production.

Group14 has pioneered a silicon-carbon composite, called SCC55, that allows for faster recharging of batteries. Robinson said the expected output of the first two production modules in Moses Lake will allow the company to produce material for battery anodes for 200,000 electric vehicles every year, enough to store around 20 gigawatts of power. While the primary focus of production in Moses Lake will be for electric vehicles, he said, the company’s product can be used to improve the performance of any kind of rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

“Think about all the things in your life that involve batteries today and in the future. All consumer electronics, every cell phone. Even aviation. There’s a tremendous amount of applications for this material. We believe silicon batteries will be ubiquitous, across every platform,” Robinson said.

“Basically, it enables any battery to become a silicon battery,” he added. “(The scale) is much bigger than anything else that exists in the world today.”

Group14 built a smaller-scale commercial factory in Woodinville but chose Moses Lake because of its relatively cheap and renewable hydroelectric power as well as access to skilled workers who can labor in a high-tech manufacturing environment.

“The hydropower in the state of Washington is clean power, and when you’re in the clean power business, you want to make sure that your inputs are clean as well,” Robinson said. “We’re also excited about the community. We think we’ve got some great partnerships that are emerging with the local community college, and we think we’re going to be able to get the kind of workforce that we need.”

Robinson said when it’s up and running at full capacity, Group14’s two production modules will employ around 200 people, though as many as 600 will be working on-site during construction.

Making silicon anodes for the next generation of rechargeable batteries in the United States is important, Robinson explained, because it keeps jobs and technologies at home, employing American workers and ensuring the country’s economic security and development.

“I believe that securing the U.S. battery supply chain is probably one of the top priorities of this county,” he said. “The future energies that will power the world will involve electrification. And we believe that we’re a key player in making that happen.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.