Summary

Solid Power (NASDAQ: SLDP) is a Louisville, Colorado solid-state battery developer that has pivoted toward a materials and electrolyte supply model rather than producing finished cells itself. The company makes sulfide-based solid electrolyte material and works with cell manufacturers — currently Samsung SDI — to build all-solid-state cells, which are then validated with automotive OEM partners. BMW i7 test vehicle integration was completed in 2025, and a three-way development collaboration with BMW and Samsung SDI was announced in October 2025. A continuous electrolyte production pilot line targeting up to 75 metric tons per year is planned for commissioning by end of 2026.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 2012
  • HQ: Louisville, CO, USA
  • Type: Public (NASDAQ: SLDP)
  • Business model: Electrolyte material supplier + technology licensor (not a cell manufacturer at scale)
  • Technology: Sulfide-based solid electrolyte; all-solid-state lithium metal cell architecture
  • Key partners: BMW (OEM validation), Samsung SDI (cell manufacturing), Ford (JDA expiring March 2026)
  • Current milestone: Large-format cells in BMW i7 test vehicle (Oct 2025); Samsung SDI tripartite collaboration
  • Production roadmap: Continuous electrolyte pilot line (75 MT/year capacity) by end of 2026; mass production ~2030
  • 2026 cash investment guidance: $85–100M

What It Is / How It Works

Solid Power’s business model is distinct from most solid-state battery companies. Rather than trying to become a vertically integrated cell manufacturer, the company focuses on its sulfide-based solid electrolyte as the core IP, licensing the technology and supplying electrolyte material to established cell manufacturers who already have the manufacturing infrastructure and automotive customer relationships.

In practice this means Solid Power makes the electrolyte, Samsung SDI builds the cells, and BMW validates them in vehicles. This approach has the advantage of not requiring Solid Power to build gigafactories — but it also means the commercialization timeline depends on Samsung SDI’s ability to integrate the electrolyte into production processes, which introduces a dependency that fully vertically integrated competitors like QuantumScape or Factorial Energy don’t have.

The October 2025 tripartite agreement with BMW and Samsung SDI is the clearest expression of this model: BMW provides the automotive development framework and test platform (the i7), Samsung SDI provides the cell manufacturing capability, and Solid Power provides the sulfide electrolyte and cell design IP.

The Ford JDA, which had been a secondary automotive partnership, is effectively winding down — the agreement expires March 31, 2026, after which Solid Power aims to pivot Ford to a material supply relationship rather than a joint development one.

Notable Developments

  • 2026-02: Full year 2025 results reported; continuous electrolyte pilot line reconfirmed for end of 2026 commissioning; 2026 cash investment guidance $85–100M. (BusinessWire)
  • 2025-10-31: Three-way partnership with Samsung SDI and BMW announced; Samsung SDI to integrate Solid Power sulfide electrolyte into cells for BMW i7 demonstration vehicle program. (Solid Power IR)
  • 2025-10: BMW i7 technology test vehicle equipped with Solid Power large-format all-solid-state cells; operating in Munich area. (BMW Group Press)
  • 2024-12: Ford JDA amended; extended to March 31, 2026; expected to expire and transition to a supply relationship.
  • 2022: BMW and Solid Power technology transfer agreement formalized; collaboration on cell and system development.
  • 2021: IPO via SPAC on NASDAQ.

Key People

Doug Campbell — CEO and Co-Founder

  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/douglasmcampbell
  • Role: CEO; one of four co-founders when the company spun out of CU Boulder in 2011
  • Education: University of New Mexico (BS Civil Engineering, magna cum laude, 2001; MS Civil Engineering/Structural Mechanics, 2002)
  • Career (reverse-chronological):
    • Solid Power (2011–present): CEO and co-founder
    • Roccor LLC (~2012–2019): Co-founder and CEO (small satellite components; stepped down as CEO Jan 2019 to focus on Solid Power; remains on board)
    • i2C Solutions (Jan 2012): Co-founder (technology incubator, merging new-tech from national labs/universities; merged into Roccor)
    • Colorado-based energy storage company (2009–2011): Led advanced lithium-ion R&D group focused on military UAV battery applications
    • Earlier: Research with Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate (Kirtland AFB) during graduate studies
  • Notes: Campbell came to battery technology through hardware/defense startup routes, not from an NREL or national lab background directly. Solid Power’s academic roots are at CU Boulder (Professors Conrad W. Lee and Conrad Stoldt’s lab), which Campbell joined as a commercialization partner.

Josh Buettner-Garrett — CTO and Co-Founder

  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joshbg
  • Role: CTO since November 2013; co-founder; oversees sulfide electrolyte R&D and cell design IP
  • Education: Colorado State University (MS Mechanical Engineering / Materials Science, 2008–2009)
  • Career (reverse-chronological):
    • Solid Power (2011 / CTO from Nov 2013–present): Co-founder and CTO
    • ADA Technologies, Inc. (2011–2013): Program Manager, Energy Storage Group (Colorado-based R&D firm)
    • Colorado State University: Graduate research role
    • Phoenix Test Arrays, LLC: Early career
  • Notes: Buettner-Garrett partnered with Professors Lee and Stoldt and Doug Campbell to start Solid Power in 2011. Neither he nor Campbell came directly from NREL; the company’s origins are CU Boulder and the Colorado startup ecosystem, not the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (which is in Golden, CO, nearby but distinct).

⚑ Shared background note — Solid Power founders: Professors Conrad Lee and Conrad Stoldt (CU Boulder) are the academic originators of Solid Power’s sulfide electrolyte IP; Campbell and Buettner-Garrett are the commercial co-founders. The company is a CU Boulder spinout, not an NREL spinout.

People — Last Reviewed: 2026-03-24

Supply Chain Position

Solid Power operates primarily at the Electrolyte / Active Materials layer — it manufactures sulfide solid electrolyte material and licenses the technology, rather than building complete cells at scale. Upstream, Solid Power’s sulfide electrolyte chemistry requires lithium sulfide (Li₂S) as a precursor; Solid Power has not disclosed its Li₂S supplier. Downstream, Samsung SDI integrates Solid Power’s electrolyte into cells, and BMW validates those cells in vehicles (i7 program). Ford is a secondary OEM customer (JDA transitioning to supply relationship as of March 2026). ⚑ Shared supplier: POSCO Future M is a material supplier to Samsung SDI (Solid Power’s cell manufacturing partner) and has an MOU with Factorial Energy — creating an indirect materials chain overlap between Solid Power and Factorial through Samsung SDI and POSCO Future M. ⚑ Shared supplier risk: Li₂S supply: same upstream bottleneck risk as QuantumScape, with Idemitsu’s capacity committed exclusively to Toyota.

Sources