Lyten builds US battery supply chain with new agreements

Supermaterial applications company Lyten announced further progress in building its U.S. supply chain to meet rapidly growing demand for its lithium-sulfur batteries. The company has signed agreements with California Sulphur Company, at the Port of Los Angeles, and a Port of Stockton company to supply domestically sourced, industrial-grade sulfur to Lyten’s manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California, San Leandro, California, and its recently announced Reno, Nevada gigafactory.

Sulfur is an abundantly available, locally sourced material used in lithium-sulfur batteries. Sulfur replaces mined minerals like nickel, manganese, cobalt, and iron that make up today’s batteries, eliminating reliance on complex global supply chains currently dominated by China and eliminating the risk of current and future tariffs. Battery materials for lithium-ion batteries typically travel 30,000 to 50,000 miles during sourcing and manufacturing. Lyten lithium-sulfur’s primary ingredient, sulfur, can be sourced and processed less than 100 miles from Lyten’s manufacturing facilities.

“The US needs an alternative to lithium-ion batteries,” says Dan Cook, Lyten co-founder and CEO. “Batteries are critical to the functioning of our energy grid, powering satellites, supporting our military, ensuring competitiveness of U.S. companies, and powering new forms of transportation. Today, the supply of nearly every lithium-ion battery is controlled by a single country, creating an enormous vulnerability for the U.S. Lyten’s lithium-sulfur batteries use local materials, are fully manufactured in the U.S., and are cost competitive because of low-cost sulfur.”

The use of low-cost sulfur creates a battery cathode that is 40% lighter weight than lithium-ion, which requires nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC), and 70% lighter weight than lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which currently lead the market.

“In every industry, weight is critically important,” says Celina Mikolajczak, Lyten chief battery technology officer. “In satellites and drones, we can remove kilograms of weight that directly translates into more payload. In vehicles, we can remove hundreds of kilograms of weight that improves cost, safety, and range while reducing the impact on transportation infrastructure. In battery energy storage systems, we can literally remove tons of weight, dramatically simplifying installation and reducing infrastructure cost. In our observation, electrifying everything requires the lighter battery weights we are achieving with lithium-sulfur.”

Lyten is producing its 2024 National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA)-compliant lithium-sulfur battery cells in San Jose. Lyten recently announced the acquisition of Northvolt’s battery manufacturing facility in San Leandro, and in October 2024, announced the location of the world’s first lithium-sulfur gigafactory in Reno.

In December 2024, Lyten and the Export Import Bank of the U.S. (EXIM) announced a $650M LOI to fund the scale up and delivery of Lyten lithium-sulfur for battery energy storage systems (BESS).  Additionally, in 2024, Lyten announced its integration into Chrysler’s Halcyon Concept EV, plans to integrate lithium-sulfur into AEVEX Aerospace’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the selection of Lyten lithium-sulfur for demonstration on-orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for launch later in 2025.