The global Li-ion battery market was estimated to be approximately USD $42B in 2021 growing to USD $182B by 2030. It is the battery of choice for portable consumer electronics, automotive and other applications. Research and development continue, aiming to improve energy density, cycle life, cost, and safety. Silicon (Si) as an active material is considered a promising candidate for the anodic materials due to the high theoretical specific capacity of 4200 mAh/g Li15Si4, which is more than 10 times that of the traditional graphite anode. However, there are challenges in using Si as it is susceptible to significant volume expansion and contraction during charge and discharge cycles.

There is growing investment in silicon anodes with many companies now releasing products. Panasonic/Tesla NCR 21700 is one of the earliest batteries to benefit from this technology. In 2021, Xiaomi introduced the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the first smartphone to use 2nd generation nano-silicon anode material. In September 2021 Sila Nanotechnologies introduced their first commercial product used in the WHOOP 4 fitness tracker, which benefits from revolutionary Si-based chemistry.