Gasgoo News — According to foreign media reports, BMW i Ventures, the venture capital arm of automaker BMW, announced an investment in CelLink, a flexible circuit technology manufacturer based in San Carlos, California, on October 29 local time. Flexible circuits hold great potential for wide application in electric vehicle manufacturing and data transmission for connected vehicles.

Other investors participating in CelLink’s USD 22.5 million (approx. CNY 159 million) Series B funding round include Ford Motor Company and Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Bosch’s venture capital arm. Prior to this round, CelLink had raised a total of USD 35 million (approx. CNY 252 million), including proceeds from the Series A financing led by 3M Ventures in 2017.

Founded in 2012, CelLink specializes in developing lightweight, low-cost flexible circuits. Such products can replace bulky wiring harnesses and conventional wiring structures featuring thin conductive circuits sandwiched between two layers of flexible plastic. CelLink’s flat flexible circuits deliver up to 70% weight reduction and 90% volume reduction.

Flexible circuits are commonly used in consumer electronics and telecommunications products. CelLink’s solutions are highly suitable for power and signal transmission scenarios, including automotive wiring, battery packs, LED lighting and photovoltaics.

CelLink will deploy the newly raised capital to support operations and achieve mass production at its first manufacturing site before 2019. The company plans to launch a new production facility in 2020 or 2021 to meet the rising demand for flexible circuits.

CelLink initially secured funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sunshot Initiative launched in 2014. The program aims to support R&D of new technologies to drive down solar power costs. The company originally targeted connection solutions for the solar industry, yet its flexible circuit technology is also ideal for automotive manufacturing, as it cuts the quantity of wires required to interconnect vehicle power and battery systems.

A single flexible circuit can substitute multiple discrete circuits on a vehicle. Take the Tesla Model 3 as an example: thanks to Tesla engineers adopting more flexible circuits, the vehicle uses half the wiring length of the Model S. These flat flexible circuits feature compact size and light weight, can be folded into nearly any shape, and ultimately help lower manufacturing costs.

Flexible circuits also feature heat dissipation capability. Engineers can tailor them for applications such as electric vehicles, which frequently endure extreme temperatures and vibration.

For connected vehicles, flexible circuits enable superior control over power and data transmission compared with traditional round copper wires. According to the firm, CelLink’s flexible circuits reduce weight by up to 75% and occupy only one-tenth the volume of conventional circuits. In addition, they support high current carrying capacity, making them particularly suitable for electric vehicles.

In 2013, electric vehicle maker Tesla obtained a patent for flexible circuit designs used to interconnect battery cells within high-voltage battery packs. According to patent documents, Tesla described a flexible printed circuit that connects electrodes of every cell inside a battery pack and improves manufacturability.

The upcoming Tesla Model Y crossover is likely to adopt flexible circuit technology to further reduce wiring harness length. A report published by British automotive magazine Autocar last year stated that while the Model 3 reportedly carries around 1.5 kilometers of wiring, new flexible circuits on the Model Y will cut that length down to 100 meters.

CelLink expects the addressable market for its technology to far exceed initial projections. The company noted that its technology has also gained traction in the aerospace and commercial vehicle sectors.