ActaCell, a startup tackling the tough problem of making electric car batteries both safe and affordable, has raised $5.8 million in Series A financing. The round was led by DJF Mercury and included syndicate funding from Google.org's RechargeIT program, along with Applied Materials Inc.'s [AMAT] Applied Ventures LLC and Good Energies.
The company's lithium-ion battery research was developed at the University of Texas at Austin. ActaCell is one of two startups working on electric car technology to receive funding from the Google.org program, which funds startup that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company said it will use the cash to hire additional staff and put more research toward commercializing a battery. While a number of companies have been able to build lithium-ion batteries that work in cars, their high cost and tendency to explode has blocked broad commercial adoption. - Andrea Orr
See July 22 announcement from ActaCell on Series A funding
See July 23 story on ActaCell and Aptera from VentureBeat.com
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