NASDAQ:SLDP Solid Power Q2 2023 Earnings Report $1.14 0.00 (0.00%) Closing price 04/25/2025 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$1.16 +0.02 (+1.67%) As of 04/25/2025 07:50 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast Solid Power EPS ResultsActual EPS-$0.07Consensus EPS -$0.10Beat/MissBeat by +$0.03One Year Ago EPSN/ASolid Power Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$4.91 millionExpected Revenue$4.50 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$410.00 thousandYoY Revenue GrowthN/ASolid Power Announcement DetailsQuarterQ2 2023Date8/8/2023TimeN/AConference Call DateTuesday, August 8, 2023Conference Call Time5:00PM ETUpcoming EarningsSolid Power's Q1 2025 earnings is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2025, with a conference call scheduled at 4:30 PM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Q1 2025 Earnings ReportConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Solid Power Q2 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrAugust 8, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Greetings, and welcome to the Solid Power Inc. 2nd Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Business Update Call. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Jennifer Almquist, Investor Relations for Solid Power Inc. Thank you. Operator00:00:16You may begin. Speaker 100:00:19Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I'm joined on the call today by Solid Power's Chairperson, Dave Jansen President and Chief Executive Officer, John Van Schoter and Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Papczynski. A copy of today's press release is available on the Investor Relations section of Solid Power's website at ir.solidpowerbattery.com. I'd like to remind you that parts of our discussion today will include forward looking statements as defined by U. S. Speaker 100:00:51Securities laws. These forward looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Solid Power disclaims any duty to update any forward looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ From those expressed in today's forward looking statements, please see Solid Power's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found on the company's website at ir. Solidpowerbattery.com. Speaker 100:01:33With that, let me turn it over to Dave Jansen. Speaker 200:01:37Thank you, Jen, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm very excited today to introduce John Van Schoeder, We took over the reins as CEO in June. John brings to Solid Power a skill set that we believe is ideally suited for this stage of the company's development. This includes deep experience working in CleanTech and Renewable Energy as well as a history of leading tech companies through the development stage and into commercialization. It has been a pleasure working with John and helping him get up to speed. Speaker 200:02:13I've been extremely pleased with his leadership and engagement thus far. I think I speak on behalf of the entire Board in saying we feel he is off to a great start. With all the changes over the past several months, I also want to acknowledge the Solid Power leadership team for continuing to drive progress towards our strategic goals. I believe having John aboard will enhance their ability to continue to execute our strategic plan. With that, I'd like to hand the call over to John. Speaker 200:02:47John, welcome. Speaker 300:02:49Thank you, Dave, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm glad to be here and appreciate everyone joining the call today. First, I'd like to thank Dave for his service as our Interim CEO these last several months and for his guidance during the transition process. He's left me with a great hand here at Solid Power. I'll begin today with some of my initial thoughts on the business, then I'll give a business update and hand off the call to Kevin for the financial review. Speaker 300:03:20I'll then wrap up our prepared remarks and we'll go to Q and A. As many of you know, I come to Solid Power having spent many years working with leading edge and renewable technology companies. What attracted me was not only the huge opportunity to put the next generation of battery technology into EVs, but also the company's unique strategy and business model. To give a little more color, I was attracted to the transformative I believe there is a very real need for advancement in EV batteries And I believe the technology we are developing offers attainable and compelling advantages. I also thought our capital light business model was a great fit for the industry and for our investors. Speaker 300:04:13By not having to construct expensive Gigafactories, we can partner with rather than compete with large industry incumbents and expand our addressable market, all while minimizing our capital outlays. And lastly, I was attracted to the depth and breadth of talent on the Solid Power team. Having been in the CEO seat now for 7 weeks, I've had some time to get to know the business and the people here at Solid Power. I'm happy to report that what I've found is a business that is transformative and forward thinking, products that are being very well received and a team with depth and talent worthy of the task at hand. Specifically, I found a business that has done the hard work of creating a multi generational technology roadmap. Speaker 300:05:06In my experience, this level of forward thinking is unique for a company at this stage. What's more, We have also made progress with the 2nd generation electrolyte as well as the development of nickel and cobalt free technologies. I've also found a team of over 250 people executing well on the strategic plan the company has laid out. With working production lines that are producing electrolyte and prototype EV cells that are being positively received by our partners. Seeing these working production lines today and understanding that neither existed 15 months ago is incredibly impressive. Speaker 300:05:50This is a testament to the team's strong execution and sense of urgency. It also demonstrates how well Solid Power has done and growing the team over the last few years. And I've found deep bench strength across the organization. I'm happy to say that after interacting with our employees at all levels of the organization, my opinion of the team has only improved. Our shareholders should take comfort that Solid Power has built a very passionate and talented team. Speaker 300:06:23Since joining, I've spoken at length with Solid Power's employees, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders. Through those discussions, I've identified some incredible near term opportunities that we're going to focus on. Specifically, my first near term priority is to develop our international capability. Our team has done exceptionally well with our U. S. Speaker 300:06:48And European partners. We have and will continue to drive Operational and development progress in these regions. That said, we've been executing well with our Korean partners. And as we work towards commercialization, we will need to strengthen our capabilities in Korea and elsewhere in Asia. By building strong partnerships in this area of the world, Solid Power stands to benefit immensely. Speaker 300:07:17First, these partnerships can enable us greater access to our potential EV customers. 2nd, we will have a greater opportunity to develop relationships Material and equipment suppliers. 3rd, our operations and development capabilities stand to benefit from the incredible battery talent and infrastructure in this part of the world. For these reasons, we are developing a comprehensive Strategy to position Solid Power to grow in Korea. I look forward to updating you as we have more to share. Speaker 300:07:53The 2nd near term priority relates to our supply chain maturity. As I'll touch on in a moment, This growth in our operational production presents an opportunity and indeed a growing need to advance our strategic supply chain capabilities. We are investing in the tools and talent we need to elevate the supply chain competency, including an ERP and hiring additional talent. Our 3rd near term priority relates to increasing and enhancing our for the last several quarters, the team has been focused on execution as we have built SP2, Began powder production, improved cell assembly yields and scaled from a 20 amp hour cell to EV cells. During this time, the team lessened their public outreach as we focused on execution in these areas. Speaker 300:09:02As we have made solid progress towards our 2023 goals of entering a sample and advancing towards powder commercialization, We have an opportunity to increase our investor and public relations efforts. We are developing an outreach plan that includes Greater investor interaction, educating the market on the advantages of solid state and our strategic value proposition, Greater articulation of our timeline and strategy and increasing our public relations and social media presence. The Solid Power team has done excellent work in bringing the company to the strong position it has today. We have incredible opportunities that I believe will benefit company, its partners, employees and shareholders. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. Speaker 300:09:56Turning to our business update. Overall, the company has made solid progress towards its 2023 operational goals over the first half of the year. We continue to execute well on our joint development relationships with Ford, BMW and SK On and across our government R and D contracts. This is evidenced by the recent extension of our Ford JDA. With respect to electrolyte, we began producing electrolyte powder at SB2 in April. Speaker 300:10:29Since that time, we've continued to produce powder while beginning to increase our batch sizes. Along the way, we've also been troubleshooting the production line, Quickly addressing and resolving normal startup production issues. I'm very pleased to say our initial batches of powder have been performing well. As a reminder, we are measuring our powder against 12 internal performance and quality metrics, including particle size, viscosity, Conductivity and dryness. I'm pleased to say we've now qualified our powder on all twelve of these metrics. Speaker 300:11:08This gives us confidence in our timeline and should allow us to increase our production volumes, phase out our SP1 powder production And redeploy our operations team towards developing our next generation powders. As we look to ramp up our powder production, we still have some equipment on order that will help increase production volumes longer term. We referenced this on last quarter's call. We currently expect to receive this equipment in the second half of this year. The team has done a nice job of optimizing the performance of our current equipment, preventing this from impacting our near term production. Speaker 300:11:53In addition, during the quarter, we made great progress constructing a dedicated powder development lab at SP2. This lab is intended to help us optimize our continuous production, reduce the cost of our powder and develop future generations of even higher performing electrolytes. With powder production now up and running, We've continued discussions with multiple potential electrolyte customers and received very positive initial feedback on the samples that we had provided. Last quarter, we communicated it would take 1 to 2 years before we had supply agreements in place. But with this great feedback, it may be possible to accelerate Turning to cell development, the team continues to make strong progress elevating our cell builds. Speaker 300:12:44Back last fall, we experienced yield challenges scaling our 20 amp hour production. Since then, we have worked closely with BMW's on-site Invested in quality assurance equipment and made key design changes to improve manufacturability. These changes allow the team to greatly improve our yields. I'm pleased to report that so far the team has translated the Strong performance to the ED line. Further, we and our partners are encouraged by the initial cell performance. Speaker 300:13:21In particular, our performance has allowed us to start production of EV cells that we expect to deliver this year for use in BMW's demo car. That said, we have a way to go before we'll have cells ready for commercial use. Execution is critical. We need to continue to improve cell performance over the next few years before true commercialization. However, we are very excited about the possibility of ourselves powering a full size BMW demo car between now 2025. Speaker 300:13:58Of course, as we have continued to build EV cells, we have been met with some challenges. First, on the supply chain side, The team has encountered issues with our material supply. In particular, we have seen inconsistencies in the supply of like grade materials. I'm pleased to say thus far the team has adapted well and we are successfully navigating through these issues. At this time, we believe these challenges will not impact our long term timeline. Speaker 300:14:31However, it underscores our near term priority to elevate our supply chain capabilities now that we are poised to produce at higher rates. 2nd, as we discussed previously, we are continuing our efforts to improve safety performance in our EV cells to match what was observed in our smaller cells. One of the goals of our technology is to deliver both superior performance and safety over today's batteries. This could allow OEMs to greatly reduce the size and complexity of their battery packs, expensive safety Incidents and in turn the overall cost of their batteries. We are working closely with our partners and are encouraged that our collective efforts can be integrated into ourselves by the end of this year. Speaker 300:15:23The Solid Power team has done great work to get us to the point where we are today. As a new leader in this organization, I'm energized to work with a team that is so focused on long term execution and doing things the right way. Our strategy has not changed nor have the short term milestones we are focused on. For 2023, these remain scaling production of our electrolyte, Continuing to deliver electrolyte to potential customers for sampling and feedback, delivering ED cells to our partners and officially entering the automotive qualification process. With that, I'll hand it over to Kevin to take you through our financial results. Speaker 300:16:09Kevin? Speaker 400:16:11Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I'll start off with an overview of our financial results and position. Then I'll review our 2023 financial outlook and view on the second half. Overall, We continue to track right on our projections for the year and believe we remain well positioned for the long term with our strong liquidity and balance Our Q2 'twenty three revenue of $4,900,000 was in line with our expectations. Speaker 400:16:45We continue to execute well on our expanded BMW agreement and on our government contracts. 2nd quarter 'twenty three operating expenses were $27,100,000 up $9,800,000 from Q2 of last year. This increase represents our expansion of cell and electrolyte development efforts, including the startup of electrolyte production at SP2. These efforts drove increased labor as we've grown the team as well as increased material spend in Q2. As we continue to execute on our JDAs, increasing our EV cell and SP2 powder production, We expect our development related investments to increase in the back half of the year. Speaker 400:17:36Our Q2 'twenty three operating loss was $22,200,000 and net loss was $12,200,000 Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity position. During the Q2, we invested $36,300,000 into operations. With the expected ramp in production of both electrolyte and cells, We expect cash used in operations for the back half of the year to be slightly higher, but still leave us in our original guidance range. In the Q2, we also invested $21,200,000 in CapEx. Most of our CapEx $443,400,000 consisting of cash, marketable securities and long term investments. Speaker 400:18:36Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, we are reiterating all of our guidance for the year. We continue to expect revenue in the range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 As we execute on our JDA deliverables, We expect revenue in the back half to be slightly higher, but again, still in our guidance range. We are also continuing to guide to total combined cash investment in the range of $120,000,000 to $140,000,000 This breaks down into $70,000,000 to $80,000,000 of expected operational investment and capital investment between $50,000,000 $60,000,000 We have some remaining equipment to install at SP2 to help us scale, which John discussed previously, And we are continuing to build out our new powder R and D lab. We expect ending liquidity for 2023 in range of $355,000,000 to $375,000,000 and believe that positions us well From a longer term perspective into the late 2020s with upside all the way through commercialization, if Speaker 300:19:49we are successful in attaining various grant funding available or project finance, which we are aggressively pursuing. With that, I'll now turn the call back to John. Thanks, Kevin. Before I turn the call over For questions, I want to take a moment to discuss some news that we'll formally put out later today. Dave Jansen will be retiring from the company effective October 8. Speaker 300:20:16John Stephens, our Lead Independent Director will take over as Chairperson effective September 1. Dave will remain on the Board of Directors until his retirement date. We are sad to see Dave go. We, the Board and Solid Power shareholders all owe him a debt of gratitude for his leadership and guidance of Solid Power. As you know, Dave has been involved with the company since the beginning. Speaker 300:20:43He has always stepped up when the company has needed him. Initially as an advisor in 2014, he became the Board Chair. In 2017, he became President and took on an operational role to help us with our capital raising and lead the build out of our executive team. In the height of the pandemic, Dave extended his role by helping Solid Power navigate its Series B, pipe and SPAC deals, all of which proved far more difficult in that environment. Finally, he stepped up again last fall when the company needed an Interim CEO. Speaker 300:21:22He did this at great personal sacrifice, delaying his and a permanent CEO at the helm. The time has come for Dave to finally get his well earned retirement. Dave will remain at the company for several more weeks, Transitioning both myself and John Stephens into our new roles. On behalf of Solid Power, I want to thank Dave for his service, His sacrifice and his support of Solid Power for these many, many years. His mark on the company is indelible and the strength of the company and its management team is a testament to his hard work. Speaker 300:22:11Wrapping up, I want to underscore my faith in the team here at Solid Power. While we still have work to do, The progress this team has made establishing Solid Power as a leader in solid state battery technology cannot be overstated. I'm proud to be part of this organization and look forward to continuing to drive shareholder value. With that, let's open it up to questions. Operator? Operator00:22:41We will now begin the question and answer session. The first question is from Brian Dobson of Jarden. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:23:04Hi, thanks very much for taking my question. So congratulations on the Positive feedback that you've received on the powder from your, call it, potential clients. Speaker 300:23:17Can you Share what some of Speaker 500:23:19the feedback you've received from BMW and others is and perhaps what changes you've made? And do you think that that will ultimately Make the product more marketable. Speaker 300:23:34Thank you for the question, Brian. Yes, We have on-site BMW staff and we're continuously getting feedback through those Engineers as well as staff back in Munich with regard to the electrolyte performance. The power of the learning loops through BMW evaluating the cells with our Electrolyte and the feedback into the Powder team is crucial to continuing to drive the improvement and the robustness of the powder. It's really been crucial to get us to where we are today. But I mentioned the internal metrics that we are hitting on the 12 metrics, that's one state, but then all the way through the battery feedback It's been crucial through BMW and other partners. Speaker 500:24:35Yes, very good. And Regarding the exciting expansion that you alluded to in Korea, is there any more color that you can share with us? Or when think you'll be able to, I guess, further articulate your build out strategy in that region? Speaker 300:24:54Yes. Honestly, it is early, but there's so much going on, on the peninsula that I just feel based on my prior Experience with international operations and global reach in some of my former lives that it's really crucial for us to be there and be part of the action, And be close to the EV OEMs, be close to the battery OEMs And then all the talent that is there, on the island also to tap into that. So, we'll be looking forward to updating you much more as that Strategy and position take shape, but it's really early on right now given my 7 weeks in the chair. Speaker 500:25:44Yes, that's right. I understand it's early. But do you think it would be fair characterization Say you're making this move because you have received positive feedback from players on the Peninsula? Speaker 300:25:59I think that's a fair statement. Speaker 500:26:03Very good. Thanks very much. Operator00:26:23There are no questions at this time. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Van Schoter, President and Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks. Speaker 300:26:36Well, thank you all for joining us today and myself and the rest of the team here looks forward to updating you again next quarter. Thank you. Operator00:26:47Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to updating you again nextRead morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallSolid Power Q2 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Solid Power Earnings HeadlinesSolid Power, Inc. Announces Timing of First Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Conference CallApril 22, 2025 | businesswire.comSolid Power reports Q4 EPS (54c) vs (37c) last yearFebruary 27, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.com$2 Trillion Disappears Because of Fed's Secretive New Move$2 trillion has disappeared from the US government's books. The reason why is a new, secretive move being carried out by the Fed that has nothing to do with lowering or raising interest rates... but could soon have an enormous impact on your wealth.April 28, 2025 | Stansberry Research (Ad)Solid Power sees FY25 cash investment $100M-$120MFebruary 27, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comSolid Power, Inc. (SLDP) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call TranscriptFebruary 27, 2025 | seekingalpha.comSolid Power Reports Full Year 2024 ResultsFebruary 27, 2025 | businesswire.comSee More Solid Power Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Solid Power? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Solid Power and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Solid PowerSolid Power (NASDAQ:SLDP) develops solid state battery technologies for the electric vehicles (EV) and other markets in the United States. The company sells its sulfide-based solid electrolyte; and licenses its solid-state cell designs and manufacturing processes. It also produces and sells 0.2, 2, 20 ampere-hour (Ah), and EV cells. 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There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Greetings, and welcome to the Solid Power Inc. 2nd Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Business Update Call. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Jennifer Almquist, Investor Relations for Solid Power Inc. Thank you. Operator00:00:16You may begin. Speaker 100:00:19Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I'm joined on the call today by Solid Power's Chairperson, Dave Jansen President and Chief Executive Officer, John Van Schoter and Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Papczynski. A copy of today's press release is available on the Investor Relations section of Solid Power's website at ir.solidpowerbattery.com. I'd like to remind you that parts of our discussion today will include forward looking statements as defined by U. S. Speaker 100:00:51Securities laws. These forward looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Solid Power disclaims any duty to update any forward looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ From those expressed in today's forward looking statements, please see Solid Power's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found on the company's website at ir. Solidpowerbattery.com. Speaker 100:01:33With that, let me turn it over to Dave Jansen. Speaker 200:01:37Thank you, Jen, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm very excited today to introduce John Van Schoeder, We took over the reins as CEO in June. John brings to Solid Power a skill set that we believe is ideally suited for this stage of the company's development. This includes deep experience working in CleanTech and Renewable Energy as well as a history of leading tech companies through the development stage and into commercialization. It has been a pleasure working with John and helping him get up to speed. Speaker 200:02:13I've been extremely pleased with his leadership and engagement thus far. I think I speak on behalf of the entire Board in saying we feel he is off to a great start. With all the changes over the past several months, I also want to acknowledge the Solid Power leadership team for continuing to drive progress towards our strategic goals. I believe having John aboard will enhance their ability to continue to execute our strategic plan. With that, I'd like to hand the call over to John. Speaker 200:02:47John, welcome. Speaker 300:02:49Thank you, Dave, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm glad to be here and appreciate everyone joining the call today. First, I'd like to thank Dave for his service as our Interim CEO these last several months and for his guidance during the transition process. He's left me with a great hand here at Solid Power. I'll begin today with some of my initial thoughts on the business, then I'll give a business update and hand off the call to Kevin for the financial review. Speaker 300:03:20I'll then wrap up our prepared remarks and we'll go to Q and A. As many of you know, I come to Solid Power having spent many years working with leading edge and renewable technology companies. What attracted me was not only the huge opportunity to put the next generation of battery technology into EVs, but also the company's unique strategy and business model. To give a little more color, I was attracted to the transformative I believe there is a very real need for advancement in EV batteries And I believe the technology we are developing offers attainable and compelling advantages. I also thought our capital light business model was a great fit for the industry and for our investors. Speaker 300:04:13By not having to construct expensive Gigafactories, we can partner with rather than compete with large industry incumbents and expand our addressable market, all while minimizing our capital outlays. And lastly, I was attracted to the depth and breadth of talent on the Solid Power team. Having been in the CEO seat now for 7 weeks, I've had some time to get to know the business and the people here at Solid Power. I'm happy to report that what I've found is a business that is transformative and forward thinking, products that are being very well received and a team with depth and talent worthy of the task at hand. Specifically, I found a business that has done the hard work of creating a multi generational technology roadmap. Speaker 300:05:06In my experience, this level of forward thinking is unique for a company at this stage. What's more, We have also made progress with the 2nd generation electrolyte as well as the development of nickel and cobalt free technologies. I've also found a team of over 250 people executing well on the strategic plan the company has laid out. With working production lines that are producing electrolyte and prototype EV cells that are being positively received by our partners. Seeing these working production lines today and understanding that neither existed 15 months ago is incredibly impressive. Speaker 300:05:50This is a testament to the team's strong execution and sense of urgency. It also demonstrates how well Solid Power has done and growing the team over the last few years. And I've found deep bench strength across the organization. I'm happy to say that after interacting with our employees at all levels of the organization, my opinion of the team has only improved. Our shareholders should take comfort that Solid Power has built a very passionate and talented team. Speaker 300:06:23Since joining, I've spoken at length with Solid Power's employees, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders. Through those discussions, I've identified some incredible near term opportunities that we're going to focus on. Specifically, my first near term priority is to develop our international capability. Our team has done exceptionally well with our U. S. Speaker 300:06:48And European partners. We have and will continue to drive Operational and development progress in these regions. That said, we've been executing well with our Korean partners. And as we work towards commercialization, we will need to strengthen our capabilities in Korea and elsewhere in Asia. By building strong partnerships in this area of the world, Solid Power stands to benefit immensely. Speaker 300:07:17First, these partnerships can enable us greater access to our potential EV customers. 2nd, we will have a greater opportunity to develop relationships Material and equipment suppliers. 3rd, our operations and development capabilities stand to benefit from the incredible battery talent and infrastructure in this part of the world. For these reasons, we are developing a comprehensive Strategy to position Solid Power to grow in Korea. I look forward to updating you as we have more to share. Speaker 300:07:53The 2nd near term priority relates to our supply chain maturity. As I'll touch on in a moment, This growth in our operational production presents an opportunity and indeed a growing need to advance our strategic supply chain capabilities. We are investing in the tools and talent we need to elevate the supply chain competency, including an ERP and hiring additional talent. Our 3rd near term priority relates to increasing and enhancing our for the last several quarters, the team has been focused on execution as we have built SP2, Began powder production, improved cell assembly yields and scaled from a 20 amp hour cell to EV cells. During this time, the team lessened their public outreach as we focused on execution in these areas. Speaker 300:09:02As we have made solid progress towards our 2023 goals of entering a sample and advancing towards powder commercialization, We have an opportunity to increase our investor and public relations efforts. We are developing an outreach plan that includes Greater investor interaction, educating the market on the advantages of solid state and our strategic value proposition, Greater articulation of our timeline and strategy and increasing our public relations and social media presence. The Solid Power team has done excellent work in bringing the company to the strong position it has today. We have incredible opportunities that I believe will benefit company, its partners, employees and shareholders. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. Speaker 300:09:56Turning to our business update. Overall, the company has made solid progress towards its 2023 operational goals over the first half of the year. We continue to execute well on our joint development relationships with Ford, BMW and SK On and across our government R and D contracts. This is evidenced by the recent extension of our Ford JDA. With respect to electrolyte, we began producing electrolyte powder at SB2 in April. Speaker 300:10:29Since that time, we've continued to produce powder while beginning to increase our batch sizes. Along the way, we've also been troubleshooting the production line, Quickly addressing and resolving normal startup production issues. I'm very pleased to say our initial batches of powder have been performing well. As a reminder, we are measuring our powder against 12 internal performance and quality metrics, including particle size, viscosity, Conductivity and dryness. I'm pleased to say we've now qualified our powder on all twelve of these metrics. Speaker 300:11:08This gives us confidence in our timeline and should allow us to increase our production volumes, phase out our SP1 powder production And redeploy our operations team towards developing our next generation powders. As we look to ramp up our powder production, we still have some equipment on order that will help increase production volumes longer term. We referenced this on last quarter's call. We currently expect to receive this equipment in the second half of this year. The team has done a nice job of optimizing the performance of our current equipment, preventing this from impacting our near term production. Speaker 300:11:53In addition, during the quarter, we made great progress constructing a dedicated powder development lab at SP2. This lab is intended to help us optimize our continuous production, reduce the cost of our powder and develop future generations of even higher performing electrolytes. With powder production now up and running, We've continued discussions with multiple potential electrolyte customers and received very positive initial feedback on the samples that we had provided. Last quarter, we communicated it would take 1 to 2 years before we had supply agreements in place. But with this great feedback, it may be possible to accelerate Turning to cell development, the team continues to make strong progress elevating our cell builds. Speaker 300:12:44Back last fall, we experienced yield challenges scaling our 20 amp hour production. Since then, we have worked closely with BMW's on-site Invested in quality assurance equipment and made key design changes to improve manufacturability. These changes allow the team to greatly improve our yields. I'm pleased to report that so far the team has translated the Strong performance to the ED line. Further, we and our partners are encouraged by the initial cell performance. Speaker 300:13:21In particular, our performance has allowed us to start production of EV cells that we expect to deliver this year for use in BMW's demo car. That said, we have a way to go before we'll have cells ready for commercial use. Execution is critical. We need to continue to improve cell performance over the next few years before true commercialization. However, we are very excited about the possibility of ourselves powering a full size BMW demo car between now 2025. Speaker 300:13:58Of course, as we have continued to build EV cells, we have been met with some challenges. First, on the supply chain side, The team has encountered issues with our material supply. In particular, we have seen inconsistencies in the supply of like grade materials. I'm pleased to say thus far the team has adapted well and we are successfully navigating through these issues. At this time, we believe these challenges will not impact our long term timeline. Speaker 300:14:31However, it underscores our near term priority to elevate our supply chain capabilities now that we are poised to produce at higher rates. 2nd, as we discussed previously, we are continuing our efforts to improve safety performance in our EV cells to match what was observed in our smaller cells. One of the goals of our technology is to deliver both superior performance and safety over today's batteries. This could allow OEMs to greatly reduce the size and complexity of their battery packs, expensive safety Incidents and in turn the overall cost of their batteries. We are working closely with our partners and are encouraged that our collective efforts can be integrated into ourselves by the end of this year. Speaker 300:15:23The Solid Power team has done great work to get us to the point where we are today. As a new leader in this organization, I'm energized to work with a team that is so focused on long term execution and doing things the right way. Our strategy has not changed nor have the short term milestones we are focused on. For 2023, these remain scaling production of our electrolyte, Continuing to deliver electrolyte to potential customers for sampling and feedback, delivering ED cells to our partners and officially entering the automotive qualification process. With that, I'll hand it over to Kevin to take you through our financial results. Speaker 300:16:09Kevin? Speaker 400:16:11Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I'll start off with an overview of our financial results and position. Then I'll review our 2023 financial outlook and view on the second half. Overall, We continue to track right on our projections for the year and believe we remain well positioned for the long term with our strong liquidity and balance Our Q2 'twenty three revenue of $4,900,000 was in line with our expectations. Speaker 400:16:45We continue to execute well on our expanded BMW agreement and on our government contracts. 2nd quarter 'twenty three operating expenses were $27,100,000 up $9,800,000 from Q2 of last year. This increase represents our expansion of cell and electrolyte development efforts, including the startup of electrolyte production at SP2. These efforts drove increased labor as we've grown the team as well as increased material spend in Q2. As we continue to execute on our JDAs, increasing our EV cell and SP2 powder production, We expect our development related investments to increase in the back half of the year. Speaker 400:17:36Our Q2 'twenty three operating loss was $22,200,000 and net loss was $12,200,000 Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity position. During the Q2, we invested $36,300,000 into operations. With the expected ramp in production of both electrolyte and cells, We expect cash used in operations for the back half of the year to be slightly higher, but still leave us in our original guidance range. In the Q2, we also invested $21,200,000 in CapEx. Most of our CapEx $443,400,000 consisting of cash, marketable securities and long term investments. Speaker 400:18:36Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, we are reiterating all of our guidance for the year. We continue to expect revenue in the range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 As we execute on our JDA deliverables, We expect revenue in the back half to be slightly higher, but again, still in our guidance range. We are also continuing to guide to total combined cash investment in the range of $120,000,000 to $140,000,000 This breaks down into $70,000,000 to $80,000,000 of expected operational investment and capital investment between $50,000,000 $60,000,000 We have some remaining equipment to install at SP2 to help us scale, which John discussed previously, And we are continuing to build out our new powder R and D lab. We expect ending liquidity for 2023 in range of $355,000,000 to $375,000,000 and believe that positions us well From a longer term perspective into the late 2020s with upside all the way through commercialization, if Speaker 300:19:49we are successful in attaining various grant funding available or project finance, which we are aggressively pursuing. With that, I'll now turn the call back to John. Thanks, Kevin. Before I turn the call over For questions, I want to take a moment to discuss some news that we'll formally put out later today. Dave Jansen will be retiring from the company effective October 8. Speaker 300:20:16John Stephens, our Lead Independent Director will take over as Chairperson effective September 1. Dave will remain on the Board of Directors until his retirement date. We are sad to see Dave go. We, the Board and Solid Power shareholders all owe him a debt of gratitude for his leadership and guidance of Solid Power. As you know, Dave has been involved with the company since the beginning. Speaker 300:20:43He has always stepped up when the company has needed him. Initially as an advisor in 2014, he became the Board Chair. In 2017, he became President and took on an operational role to help us with our capital raising and lead the build out of our executive team. In the height of the pandemic, Dave extended his role by helping Solid Power navigate its Series B, pipe and SPAC deals, all of which proved far more difficult in that environment. Finally, he stepped up again last fall when the company needed an Interim CEO. Speaker 300:21:22He did this at great personal sacrifice, delaying his and a permanent CEO at the helm. The time has come for Dave to finally get his well earned retirement. Dave will remain at the company for several more weeks, Transitioning both myself and John Stephens into our new roles. On behalf of Solid Power, I want to thank Dave for his service, His sacrifice and his support of Solid Power for these many, many years. His mark on the company is indelible and the strength of the company and its management team is a testament to his hard work. Speaker 300:22:11Wrapping up, I want to underscore my faith in the team here at Solid Power. While we still have work to do, The progress this team has made establishing Solid Power as a leader in solid state battery technology cannot be overstated. I'm proud to be part of this organization and look forward to continuing to drive shareholder value. With that, let's open it up to questions. Operator? Operator00:22:41We will now begin the question and answer session. The first question is from Brian Dobson of Jarden. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:23:04Hi, thanks very much for taking my question. So congratulations on the Positive feedback that you've received on the powder from your, call it, potential clients. Speaker 300:23:17Can you Share what some of Speaker 500:23:19the feedback you've received from BMW and others is and perhaps what changes you've made? And do you think that that will ultimately Make the product more marketable. Speaker 300:23:34Thank you for the question, Brian. Yes, We have on-site BMW staff and we're continuously getting feedback through those Engineers as well as staff back in Munich with regard to the electrolyte performance. The power of the learning loops through BMW evaluating the cells with our Electrolyte and the feedback into the Powder team is crucial to continuing to drive the improvement and the robustness of the powder. It's really been crucial to get us to where we are today. But I mentioned the internal metrics that we are hitting on the 12 metrics, that's one state, but then all the way through the battery feedback It's been crucial through BMW and other partners. Speaker 500:24:35Yes, very good. And Regarding the exciting expansion that you alluded to in Korea, is there any more color that you can share with us? Or when think you'll be able to, I guess, further articulate your build out strategy in that region? Speaker 300:24:54Yes. Honestly, it is early, but there's so much going on, on the peninsula that I just feel based on my prior Experience with international operations and global reach in some of my former lives that it's really crucial for us to be there and be part of the action, And be close to the EV OEMs, be close to the battery OEMs And then all the talent that is there, on the island also to tap into that. So, we'll be looking forward to updating you much more as that Strategy and position take shape, but it's really early on right now given my 7 weeks in the chair. Speaker 500:25:44Yes, that's right. I understand it's early. But do you think it would be fair characterization Say you're making this move because you have received positive feedback from players on the Peninsula? Speaker 300:25:59I think that's a fair statement. Speaker 500:26:03Very good. Thanks very much. Operator00:26:23There are no questions at this time. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Van Schoter, President and Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks. Speaker 300:26:36Well, thank you all for joining us today and myself and the rest of the team here looks forward to updating you again next quarter. Thank you. Operator00:26:47Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to updating you again nextRead morePowered by