Supplier Lyten will use Detroit show to emerge from ‘stealth mode'

For Lyten, a Department of Defense contractor from California, Detroit's Motor Bella will serve as a coming-out party.

The San Jose company has spent the past six years proving its patented 3D Graphene approach to battery architecture for military and aerospace applications. But now, said CEO Dan Cook, the time has come to introduce itself to the auto industry.

"We've been in stealth mode so far," Cook told Automotive News on the eve of the outdoor show. "Our plan now is to give full exposure to our technology to the media and to the OEMs. We'll be participating on multiple fronts to explain our value proposition and outlining our plans to industrialize."

Lyten will capitalize on an often overlooked facet of car shows: No longer merely sprawling venues to showcase sparkling new vehicles and tantalizing designs for the future, auto shows have become opportunities for parts suppliers and technology innovators to tell the world that they, too, are part of the equation.

The events are not merely about auto reviewers walking the aisles to see what's new nor consumers kicking tires and peering through windows. Shows are also populated with financial players looking for investment opportunities; industry executives scouting their next career moves; and automaker decision- makers and engineers seeking out new parts and technologies.

But there's been a problem lately.

COVID-19 has shut down many major international events since spring 2020. And even before the pandemic, some organizers and supporters were losing their zeal to continue orchestrating the big shows. Motor Bella will take place al fresco at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., offering the Detroit industry an event while the long-standing North American International Auto Show is in limbo.

Cook said the opportunity is perfect timing for Lyten. One month ago, the company participated in an aerospace trade show in Colorado Springs, Colo. But Lyten is now actively addressing automakers, he said.

The company will be in validation trials with one automaker during the fourth quarter and in talks with other vehicle producers in North America and Europe.

"Motor Bella provides that nexus point in between where we are in our product development progression, in our customer progression and in our investor progression," he said. "The timing of this event is fortuitous for us."

Lyten's business plan is to become an assembler of battery cells based on a lithium-sulfur composition rather than the now-ubiquitous lithium ion. The architecture dispenses with the use of nickel and manganese and uses inert material in its cathodes instead of oxides, which present a safety issue.

The company sees itself at the threshold of a new phase as it enters into a validation cycle that will require about three years of testing. Its timeline will culminate with the launch of mass production around 2025 or 2026.

Cook said Lyten is in discussions with an investment bank — he declined to identify it — to go into a new round of funding to raise capital for a production plant. To date, the company has raised $210 million.

Lyten also has entered into a partnership with a Detroit contractor to construct the plant, he said, but declined to identify the company.

"The OEMs are telling us that there's a real supply challenge facing the industry over the next five to 10 years," said Cook.

"We see an opportunity to enable a competitive U.S. car industry to emerge out of ICE and transitioning into EV.

"When you look at that opportunity, the right first pivot out of military for us is EV."