Volvo Cars has announced its investment in StoreDot, a company developing extreme-fast charging battery technology for electric cars, through its venture capital arm, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund.
The investment gives Volvo Cars the opportunity to collaborate closely with StoreDot on exciting new battery technology, as it aims to become a pure electric car company by 2030. StoreDot, an Israeli company, is working on a pioneering technology that should result in batteries that can charge to 160km of pure electric range in five minutes.
By working together with Volvo Cars, StoreDot aims to accelerate the time to market for its technology, targeting mass production by 2024. Volvo Cars is the first premium car maker to invest in StoreDot.
“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.”
The collaboration between both companies will mainly take place within the battery technology joint venture that Volvo Cars established last year with Northvolt, the Swedish leading battery maker. Through its investment in StoreDot, Volvo Cars has secured access to any resulting technology from the collaboration.
Volvo Cars’ joint venture with Northvolt, announced last year, will focus on both development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed and tailor-made for use in next generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.
As part of the approximately 30 billion SEK investment in the joint venture, both companies are establishing a joint R&D centre and a battery manufacturing plant in the Gothenburg area in Sweden. Together, the facilities will create over 3,000 new jobs and pave the way for Volvo Cars’ electrification strategy.
StoreDot’s battery development is centred around a unique silicon-dominant anode technology and related software integration. It aims to develop extreme-fast charging battery technology, which aligns with Volvo Cars’ ambition to develop electric cars with a longer range, quicker charging and lower costs.
