Riding the clean energy waves: How Sila’s Gene Berdichevsky built a next-gen battery powerhouse

Sila raised its first round of funding in September 2011 — the same month solar power manufacturer Solyndra went bankrupt, sullying the sustainability sector.

But the California-based startup developing high-performance battery materials kept plugging away, and eventually batteries started booming as EV sales and concerns about the lack of domestic battery production accelerated in the U.S.

Last fall, Sila began manufacturing material in Moses Lake, Wash., at the first automotive-scale, silicon-anode plant for both the company and the nation.

“With something like this, you just keep plugging away at it,” said Gene Berdichevsky, Sila’s CEO and co-founder. “And you ride the waves.”

Keep reading to learn more about Berdichevsky’s sustainability journey. His quotes have been edited for clarity and length.

What was the moment you realized you had to work in energy? 

In my freshman year, I discovered the Stanford Solar Car team. We were student-run group, and the group was building a solar-powered electric car for a race that would go 2,300 miles from Chicago to L.A., and I started participating. It was very little adult supervision, lots of students. And I fell in love with energy, like everything energy. It’s really at the foundation of civilization. And what was super interesting to me is it felt like there was still so much opportunity to make an even better energy system.

What gives you the most hope for the planet?

The creativity of people and the opportunities for science and technology to solve impossible problems. It wasn’t that long ago that the world faced a choice between depopulation or starvation, as the world was thought to not have enough resources for the food needed for a few billion people. But crop science solved it. The same can be said as we face energy challenges today — and I believe material science can solve it. 

What’s your biggest concern when it comes to addressing climate change?

You cannot cut your way to solving climate change, yet that is often the temptation and the rhetoric. The only way we will solve climate change is by harnessing scientific breakthroughs, technology, and the power of markets to make the clean option simply the better, more economical option. 

What’s the biggest misconception about building an energy company?

In the end, there is no such thing as a billion-dollar energy company. When you start an energy company from zero, you have to understand what it takes to succeed at a $10 billion or $100 billion scale and stay rooted in the long term because that’s the minimum threshold to have an impact on the world of energy — and nothing smaller will survive. 

What’s one habit you’ve changed personally because of sustainability concerns?

None. I drive an EV because they are more fun to drive — but they happen to be clean. When I travel internationally, I try to fly on 787’s because they’re designed for more passenger comfort — and they happen to be more efficient. When I travel in major cities, I take the metro because it’s faster to get around. Let’s make the cleaner option simply the better one. 

Coffee with any energy leader, past or present — who do you pick?

Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. The scientist and the entrepreneur responsible for transforming our world and making electricity flow as freely as water in our lives. While Thomas Edison was the stronger businessman, Tesla was so ahead of his time, and his partnership with Westinghouse created the competition with Edison that revolutionized our world.

What impact do you hope your work has in 20 years?

A better energy foundation for the world. Oil, coal, and gas have created immense prosperity and transformed our society for the better in the 20th century. But an even better, more resilient, lower-cost, and cleaner energy foundation is possible with batteries, geothermal, and renewables. That is the path to yet more prosperity for the world in the 21st century — and it requires innovation, commercialization, and incredible scaling. My hope is for Sila to play an important part in that energy foundation.

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