Anthro Energy Kentucky electrolyte plant development

Anthro Energy has broken ground on a new advanced electrolyte manufacturing plant in Louisville, Kentucky. The facility is intended to be the first large-scale, U.S.-owned and operated plant of its kind, aiming to address gaps in the domestic battery supply chain.

The project is supported by a $24.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy and $18.4 million in investment tax credits. The plant, which is expected to begin production in late 2027, has an annual capacity of approximately 12,000 tonnes of electrolyte, sufficient to support 25GWh of lithium-ion battery production.

Anthro Energy is utilizing its proprietary Proteus platform, which features a phase-change polymer electrolyte. This technology involves injecting the material into cells as a liquid before it changes phase inside the battery. CEO David Mackanic describes current liquid electrolytes as “volatile, flammable, toxic, and corrosive,” whereas this new approach seeks to combine the benefits of liquid and solid-state electrolytes to improve safety, mechanical strength, and energy density for use in electric vehicles, energy storage, and consumer electronics.