Swedish battery technology company Holyvolt has completed its $73 million acquisition of San Diego-based Wildcat Discovery Technologies. The deal — structured as a mix of cash, equity, and deferred milestone payments — combines Holyvolt’s screen-printing production process with Wildcat’s High Throughput Platform (HTP) for materials discovery. The combined entity now offers end-to-end capability, from molecular-level chemistry to pilot-scale manufacturing.
Highlights
- $73 million deal merges Holyvolt’s water-based screen-printing process technology with Wildcat’s AI-ready High Throughput Platform
- Wildcat’s HTP screens thousands of material combinations simultaneously, accelerating materials discovery up to 10x compared to conventional R&D methods
- Combined capabilities target automotive, consumer electronics, aerospace, energy storage, and defense markets across Europe and North America
- Cobalt- and nickel-free chemistries under development offer additional potential for cost reduction and supply chain independence
High-Throughput Platform Drives the Acquisition Rationale
Wildcat’s proprietary High Throughput Platform generates terabyte-scale, structured materials datasets through combinatorial experimentation. These datasets are structured for machine learning and AI integration, enabling faster optimization cycles across electrolyte, anode, and cathode materials.
The platform can screen thousands of material combinations simultaneously — a capability the company describes as “drug discovery inspired.” According to Wildcat founder Prof. Peter Schultz, also CEO of Scripps Research, the model mirrors what high-throughput methods accomplished in pharmaceutical development.
Holyvolt’s Process Technology
Holyvolt’s manufacturing approach centers on screen-printing and water-based processing, which replaces or complements conventional solvent-based slurry coating. Key attributes of the process include:
- Flexible and modular production configuration
- Lower capital requirements compared to conventional cell manufacturing
- Reduced environmental impact through elimination of organic solvents
- Scalable from pilot to commercial volumes
The company was founded in 2022 and completed a €20 million funding round prior to this acquisition.
Supply Chain and Geopolitical Context
Both companies have framed the combination explicitly around Western supply chain resilience. Holyvolt Chairman Magnus Tyreman — formerly Head of McKinsey Europe — stated that accelerating next-generation battery development is essential to long-term energy independence in Europe and North America.
Wildcat’s cobalt- and nickel-free material development programs add a further supply chain dimension. Both metals carry significant sourcing risk. Reducing or eliminating them from battery chemistry directly addresses cost and geopolitical exposure.
Commercialization and Market Scope
The combined entity will operate as a technology development partner across the full battery supply chain. Commercialization models include licensing arrangements tailored to customer requirements. Target markets span:
- Automotive — EV cell and pack chemistry development
- Consumer electronics — compact, high-energy-density cell materials
- Aerospace and defense — performance-optimized chemistries
- Stationary storage — cost-optimized, scalable cell formats
Holyvolt CEO Mathias Ingvarsson described the acquisition as a direct complement to the company’s core strategy of developing cleaner, more affordable battery production processes. Mark Gresser, President and CEO of Wildcat, said the combination would “unlock the true potential of high throughput combinatorial chemistry for battery materials.”
Wildcat, founded in 2006, has an 18-year materials development history and pilot manufacturing capacity for cathode powders at the 100 kg scale. For additional information, visit wildcatdiscovery.com.
Sign up for our popular daily email to catch all the latest EV news!
