Last month Volvo made strategic investments in StoreDot, a pioneer in extreme fast charging technologies for electric vehicles. Now Polestar, which is a Swedish premium electric vehicle manufacturer founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, is also chipping in with investment into, and forming a partnership with, the Israeli battery tech company that recently made a breakthrough in EV batteries by demonstrating 100 miles of charging in 5 mins.
As part of this new partnership and investment agreement, Polestar will explore the possibility of utilising StoreDot’s extreme fast charging silicon-dominant batteries for its future cars. "If our current pilot projects with StoreDot are successful, we could see these solutions being implemented in Polestar cars by 2026," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said.
StoreDot is on track to begin mass producing its ‘100in5’ technology as early as 2024, achieving 100 miles of range in just five minutes of charging. StoreDot that specialises in batteries with extreme fast charging (XFC) technology has had investments from many frontline companies including India’s Ola Electric. Others who have chipped in with funds are: Daimler, Volvo Samsung, BP, TDK, and EVE Energy and VinFast.
A vote of confidence in StoreDot
The new tranche of investment from one of the emerging EV startups is understandably seen as a shot in the arm by the Israeli firm. Meir Halberstam, StoreDot CFO said: “This is yet another significant vote of confidence in StoreDot and our market-leading extreme fast charging battery. This investment from one of the pioneering electric vehicle brands is an important step in our commercialization process. It will not only enable us to bring the ground-breaking ‘100in5’ batteries to market quicker, but also boost our R&D capabilities.
The company is focused on offering 100 miles of range in just two minutes of charging within a decade, he added.
Thomas Ingenlath added: "Charging and range anxiety are common concerns holding owners of combustion engine cars back from making the switch to EVs. StoreDot’s advanced battery technology potentially provides real solutions to these obstacles."
The new funding comes as part of StoreDot’s Series D investment round. StoreDot is currently working with several global automotive manufacturers to power next generation electric vehicles. It is shipping advanced ‘100in5’ cells for them to undertake real-world testing.
Polestar vehicles are currently available and on the road in markets across Europe, North America, China and Asia Pacific. Polestar cars are currently manufactured in two facilities in China, with additional future manufacturing planned in the USA. Polestar has produced two electric performance cars. From this year, Polestar plans to launch one new electric vehicle per year, starting with Polestar 3 – the company’s first electric performance SUV. Polestar 4 is expected to follow in 2023, a smaller electric performance SUV coupe. In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance 4-door GT is planned to be launched.
