Legacy Swedish automaker Volvo on Tuesday announced an investment in StoreDot, an Israeli company that is working on electric vehicle (EV) batteries capable of extreme-fast charging. The investment was made through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Volvo’s venture capital unit.
StoreDot is working on disruptive battery tech capable of adding 257 miles (160 km) of pure electric range to an EV in just five minutes of charging, along with related software integration. The key to StoreDot’s batteries is a unique silicon-dominant anode technology.
The investment will allow Volvo to help bring this new battery technology to market, and also secure the automaker’s access to it once it is ready for integration into EVs. If StoreDot’s promises ring true, the new batteries could also help with Volvo’s plans to become an all-electric carmaker by 2030.
“We aim to be the fastest transformer in our industry and the Tech Fund plays a crucial role in establishing partnerships with future technology leaders,” said Alexander Petrofski, head of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund.
“Our investment in StoreDot perfectly fits that mindset and their commitment to electrification and carbon-free mobility matches our own. We’re excited to make this a successful collaboration for both parties and work towards bringing this groundbreaking technology to the market.”
For StoreDot, the relationship not only gives the company a cash infusion and the backing of an established automaker, but it will also help accelerate the time to market for its battery tech. StoreDot is currently eyeing 2024 for its batteries to go into mass production.
Last year, Volvo announced a joint venture with Northvolt, Sweden’s leading battery maker. The joint venture will seek to develop and manufacture state-of-the-art battery cells, tailor-made for use in next-generation pure electric cars from Volvo and Polestar.
Volvo and Northvolt have poured around 30 billion SEK ($3.17 billion USD) into the joint venture, which will see a joint R&D centre and a battery manufacturing plant established in Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg in Sweden. Volvo’s collaborative efforts with StoreDot will also take place at this facility.
Volvo hopes for half of its global sales volume to be comprised of EVs by 2025. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to invest SEK 10 billion ($1.09 billion USD) into its manufacturing plant in Torslanda, Sweden, to repurpose it for EV production.
