FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2025--
Amprius Technologies, Inc.(“Amprius” or the “Company”) (NYSE: AMPX), a leader in next-generation lithium-ion batteries with its Silicon Anode Platform, today announced the launch of its 450 Wh/kg SiCore™ lithium-ion battery. This is Amprius’ most energy-dense SiCore cell, offering 450 Wh/kg and 950 Wh/L, and is expected to move to mass production in the near term through its global manufacturing partners.
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Built with Amprius’ proprietary silicon anode material system, this SiCore cell delivers up to 80% more energy than conventional lithium-ion cells with graphite anodes. This enhanced energy density translates to extended flight time, greater range, and improved system-level performance, all within a compact, lightweight design.
“We’ve demonstrated what’s possible at 450 Wh/kg with our SiMaxx platform years ago,” said Dr. Kang Sun, CEO of Amprius Technologies. “What makes this SiCore cell different and noteworthy is that it brings that level of extreme performance into a cell chemistry and format that are ready to scale with the existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing processes and equipment in the industry. It’s production-ready, commercially available, and already being qualified by customers today.”
Designed for extreme conditions to meet the demands of aviation and defense applications, the new SiCore cell delivers reliable performance across wide temperature ranges and mission-critical environments. It meets the demands of High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), Medium-Altitude Platform Stations (MAPS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), where energy density, weight, and endurance directly impact mission success. By providing longer range and greater payloads without increasing weight, this cell helps reduce total system cost. This allows operators to fly longer missions with fewer compromises, minimizing the need for additional batteries, fuel, or equipment.
This SiCore cell is being evaluated with plans to move into qualification with leading aviation and defense customers preparing for commercial deployment. To meet their demand, Amprius has built a global contract manufacturing network with gigawatt-hour-scale production capacity, ensuring the Company can deliver these high-performance cells at a competitive cost.
UN38.3 certification, which is required for the safe air transport of lithium-ion batteries, is expected in this quarter for this cell. This will allow Amprius to begin volume shipments shortly afterward and support broader commercial deployment worldwide.
The commercial launch of the 450 Wh/kg SiCore cell follows the broader introduction of Amprius’ SiCore platform in January 2024. That announcement marked the debut of a new generation of silicon anode cells engineered for both high energy and high power in a single format. With the latest 450 Wh/kg cell now entering production, SiCore is positioned to support a wide range of high-demand applications across electric aviation, defense, and mobility markets.
For more information, please visit the Amprius investor relations website at ir.amprius.com.
About Amprius Technologies, Inc.
Amprius Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries, producing the industry’s highest-known energy density cells. The Company’s commercially available SiMaxx™ batteries deliver up to 450 Wh/kg and 1,150 Wh/L, with third-party validation of 500Wh/kg and 1,300 Wh/L. Amprius expanded its product portfolio to include the SiCore™ platform in 2024, significantly enhancing its ability to serve additional customer applications. The Company’s corporate headquarters is in Fremont, California, where it maintains an R&D lab and a MWh scale manufacturing facility for the fabrication of silicon anodes and cells. To serve customer demand, Amprius entered into several agreements to secure over 1.8GWh of contract manufacturing capacity available today. For additional information, please visit amprius.com. Also, see the Company’s LinkedIn and Twitter pages.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “will” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential application and addressable market of the new SiCore cell, the performance of the new SiCore cell, the benefits of the new SiCore cell to Amprius’ customers and the industry, the ability of Amprius to mass produce the new SiCore cell and meet customers’ demands, the timing and ability of Amprius to move the new SiCore cell into qualification and prepare for commercial deployment, the ability of Amprius to deliver the new SiCore cell at a competitive cost, and the timing and ability of Amprius to obtain the UN38.3 certification and begin volume shipments of the new SiCore cell. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Amprius’ management and are not predictions of actual performance. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including Amprius’ liquidity position; risks related to the rollout of Amprius’ business and the timing of expected business milestones; the capacity and stability of Amprius’ contract manufacturers; the ability of Amprius and its contract manufacturers to commercially produce high performing batteries; the effects of competition on Amprius’ business; supply shortages in the materials necessary for the production of Amprius’ products; andchanges in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions. For more information on these risks and uncertainties that may impact the operations and projections discussed herein can be found in the documents we filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), all of which are available on the SEC’s website atwww.sec.gov. There may be additional risks that Amprius does not presently know or that Amprius currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Amprius’ expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Amprius’ assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Amprius specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
The new 450 Wh/kg SiCore™ battery offers unmatched energy density with production-scale availability for aviation and electric mobility platforms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared on Monday to be emboldening defenders of the U.S. central bank, who pushed back against President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert more control over the Fed.
The backlash reflected the overarching stakes in determining the balance of power within the federal government and the path of the U.S. economy at a time of uncertainty about inflation and a slowing job market. This has created a sense among some Republican lawmakers and leading economists that the Trump administration had overstepped the Fed's independence by sending subpoenas.
The criminal investigation — a first for a sitting Fed chair — sparked an unusually robust response from Powell and a full-throated defense from three former Fed chairs, a group of top economic officials and even Republican senators tasked with voting on Trump's eventual pick to replace Powell as Fed chair when his term expires in May.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump did not direct his Justice Department to investigate Powell, who has proven to be a foil for Trump by insisting on setting the Fed's benchmark interest rates based on the data instead of the president's wishes.
“One thing for sure, the president’s made it quite clear, is Jerome Powell is bad at his job,” Leavitt said. “As for whether or not Jerome Powell is a criminal, that’s an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out.”
The investigation demonstrates the lengths the Trump administration is willing to go to try to assert control over the Fed, an independent agency that the president believes should follow his claims that inflationary pressures have faded enough for drastic rate cuts to occur. Trump has repeatedly used investigations — which might or might not lead to an actual indictment — to attack his political rivals.
The risks go far beyond Washington infighting to whether people can find work or afford their groceries. If the Fed errs in setting rates, inflation could surge or job losses could mount. Trump maintains that an economic boom is occurring and rates should be cut to pump more money into the economy, while Powell has taken a more cautious approach in the wake of Trump's tariffs.
Several Republican senators have condemned the Department of Justice's subpoenas of the Fed, which Powell revealed Sunday and characterized as “pretexts” to pressure him to sharply cut interest rates. Powell also said the Justice Department has threatened criminal indictments over his June testimony to Congress about the cost and design elements of a $2.5 billion building renovation that includes the Fed's headquarters.
“After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Monday.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said on social media that the Fed “ignored” her office’s outreach to discuss the renovation cost overruns, “necessitating the use of legal process — which is not a threat.”
“The word ‘indictment’ has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s,” Pirro posted on X, although the subpoenas and the White House’s own statement about determining Powell's criminality would suggest the risk of an indictment.
A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists on Monday called the Trump administration's investigation “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks" to undermine the Fed's independence, stressing that central banks controlled by political leaders tend to produce higher inflation and lower growth.
“I think this is ham-handed, counter-productive, and going to set back the president’s cause,” said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and former top adviser to President Barack Obama. The investigation could also unify the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee in support of Powell, and means “the next Fed chair will be under more pressure to prove their independence.”
The subpoenas apply to Powell's statements before a congressional committee about the renovation of Fed buildings, including its marble-clad headquarters in Washington, D.C. They come at an unusual moment when Trump was teasing the likelihood of announcing his nominee this month to succeed Powell as the Fed chair and could possibly be self-defeating for the nomination process.
While Powell's term as chair ends in four months, he has a separate term as a Fed governor until January 2028, meaning that he could remain on the board. If Powell stays on the board, Trump could be blocked from appointing an outside candidate of his choice to be the chair.
Powell quickly found a growing number of defenders among Republicans in the Senate, who will have the choice of whether to confirm Trump's planned pick for Fed chair.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Banking panel, said late Sunday that he would oppose any of the Trump administration’s Fed nominees until the investigation is "resolved."
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis said.
Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn, said the Fed may have wasted public dollars with its renovation, but he said, “I do not think Chairman Powell is guilty of criminal activity.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered a brief but stern response Monday about the tariffs as he arrived at the U.S. Capitol, suggesting that the administration needed “serious” evidence of wrongdoing to take such a significant step.
“I haven’t seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are, but I would say they better, they better be real and they better be serious,” said Thune, a Republican representing South Dakota.
If Powell stays on the board after his term as chair ends, the Trump administration would be deprived of the chance to fill another seat that would give the administration a majority on the seven-member board. That majority could then enact significant reforms at the Fed and even block the appointment of presidents at the Fed's 12 regional banks.
“They could do a lot of reorganizing and reforms” without having to pass new legislation, said Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital and author of a book on Fed independence. “That seat is very valuable.”
Powell has declined at several press conferences to answer questions about his plans to stay or leave the board.
Scott Alvarez, former general counsel at the Fed, says the investigation is intended to intimidate Powell from staying on the board. The probe is occurring now “to say to Chair Powell, ’We’ll use every mechanism that the administration has to make your life miserable unless you leave the Board in May,'" Alvarez said.
Asked on Monday by reporters if Powell planned to remain a Fed governor, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council and a leading candidate to become Fed chair, said he was unaware of Powell’s plans.
“I’ve not talked to Jay about that,” Hassett said.
A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists said in their Monday letter that the administration’s legal actions and the possible loss of Fed independence could hurt the broader economy.
“This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by former Fed chairs Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Alan Greenspan, as well as former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin.
Still, Trump's pressure campaign had been building for some time, with him relentlessly criticizing and belittling Powell.
He even appeared to preview the shocking news of the subpoenas at a Dec. 29 news conference by saying he would bring a lawsuit against Powell over the renovation costs.
“He’s just a very incompetent man,” Trump said. “But we’re going to probably bring a lawsuit against him.”
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AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
FILE - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, right, and President Donald Trump look over a document of cost figures during a visit to the Federal Reserve, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
