Shifang Tech Raises $64M for Advanced Battery & PCB Printing

Shifang Technology, a Chinese innovator in industrial digital inkjet printing, has successfully closed its Series B and an additional funding round, amassing nearly 300 million yuan (approximately $64.36 million USD). This significant capital infusion was backed by a consortium of prominent investors, including 5Y Capital, CCV, Cowin Venture Capital, Hengxu Capital, Xiaomi, and NIO Capital. The company specializes in developing core components and solutions for micron-level functional coatings, particularly for high-precision and high-viscosity applications.

Founded in 2020, Shifang Technology has distinguished itself with its proprietary UV print engine, a world-first technology that has found broad adoption across sectors such as new energy, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and automotive manufacturing. The company's technological prowess extends to its integrated system, encompassing control boards, ink delivery mechanisms, and sophisticated algorithms, creating a comprehensive hardware and software ecosystem. This vertical integration allows for fine-tuned control over fluid dynamics and material compatibility.

A key application driving Shifang Technology's growth is the automotive battery market. Traditional methods for insulating battery cells have faced challenges with increasing cell capacity, leading to issues like reduced yields and interfacial degradation. While UV coating offered some improvements, its complexity, including masking requirements and edge precision limitations, contributed to higher costs and material wastage. Shifang's inkjet printing solution addresses these pain points by precisely depositing materials and instantly curing them with UV light, enabling highly detailed coatings with superior material utilization and reduced operational expenses.

The company's innovative approach has already seen its print engines, the XF series for high-viscosity applications like battery insulation and perovskite layers, and the P series for high-precision tasks such as PCB conformal coating and solid-state battery coating, deployed extensively. To date, over 5 million battery cells, encompassing prismatic, cylindrical, and pouch formats, have been insulated using Shifang's technology across more than five major battery manufacturers in the new energy sector. Early production runs demonstrate impressive metrics, with yields reaching 98% and material usage efficiency exceeding 99%, alongside print speeds up to 56 parts per minute.

Beyond batteries, Shifang Technology is making significant inroads into the Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) market with its conformal coating solutions. Unlike conventional spray or dispensing methods that necessitate intricate masking, their digital inkjet technology allows for precise area-specific coating and controlled film thickness, from 1 to 50 micrometers, with an accuracy of within ±10%. This advancement reportedly boosts production efficiency by more than tenfold compared to legacy techniques.

Shifang Technology positions itself not merely as a printer manufacturer but as a critical supplier of print engine components. As industrial digital inkjet printing becomes a standard in factory automation, the company leverages its high component commonality, currently around 70%, with a strategic goal to push this above 80%. This modular approach facilitates integration into diverse manufacturing lines and supports the evolving demands of the new energy and advanced materials industries, including ongoing validation trials for solid-state battery manufacturing.