The main goal of the project is to develop high-energy lithium-ion batteries that would enable long-range electric cars.

SiNode Systems stated on its website that their technology offers capacities between 1000 mAh/g and over 2500 mAh/g, compared to 372 mAh/g of graphite-based anodes.

A few times higher capacity translates to higher energy density of the whole cell. At least that's the theory.

"The competitively bid contract award is 50 percent cost share-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The 30-month program will focus on the development of silicon-graphene high-energy anode material appropriate for vehicle applications and the development and scale up of pouch cells that exhibit anode performance metrics that exceed the minimum USABC targets for active materials development for  electric vehicles."

Samir Mayekar, Co-Founder and CEO of SiNode Systems said: