Volvo Cars, through its Volvo Cars Tech Fund venture capital arm, has made a strategic investment in StoreDot, the Israel-based pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) technologies for future EVs (electric vehicles). It becomes the first premium automaker to invest in StoreDot.

The investment gives Volvo Cars the opportunity to collaborate closely with StoreDot on leading-edge battery technology as it aims to become a pure electric car brand by 2030. As early as 2025, Volvo Cars is aiming for half of its global volume to consist of pure electric cars.

“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 Volvo Cars Tech Fund. “Our investment in StoreDot is a perfect fit for that mindset and its commitment to electrification and carbon-free mobility matches our own.”

The collaboration between both companies will mainly take place within the battery technology joint venture that Volvo Cars established last year with Swedish battery maker Northvolt. Announced last year, the JV will focus on both the development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed for use in next-generation pure-electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

“We are extremely excited and proud to be entering into a collaboration with a premium automotive brand,” said Dr. Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO. “Volvo Cars’ commitment to zero-emissions electric vehicles is hugely impressive and one that fits perfectly with StoreDot’s mission.”

“We are moving closer to the mass production of our batteries, and this investment from Volvo Cars Tech Fund is yet another huge vote of confidence in StoreDot and our mission,” added Meir Halberstam, StoreDot CFO. “It represents a significant and high-profile element of our current Series D funding round. This gives us the financial firepower to bring our revolutionary batteries to market quicker and boost ongoing R&D into solid-state technologies.”

The new funding comes as part of StoreDot’s Series D investment round. Volvo Cars is joining an impressive list of the company’s global investors including Daimler, VinFast, Ola Electric, BP Ventures, Samsung Ventures, TDK, and EVE Energy.

 

‘100inX’ strategic roadmap

StoreDot is pioneering and leading in extreme-fast-charging batteries to overcome the critical barriers to mainstream EV adoption—range and charging anxiety. The company is aiming to revolutionize the conventional lithium-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to charge an EV in just 5 min—or about the same time that it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle.

For its ‘100inX’ strategic roadmap, StoreDot is optimizing its battery technology for the best driver experience with XFC in lithium-ion batteries as well as future extreme energy-density (XED) technologies. In September, Futurride covered the technology behind StoreDot’s 4680 cylindrical cells and XFC.

In 2019, the company claimed a world first by demonstrating the live full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just 5 min. In 2020, the company demonstrated the scalability of its XFC batteries and says it is on target for EV battery production at scale by 2024.

StoreDot is currently working with global automotive manufacturers to power next-generation electric vehicles. It is already shipping advanced ‘100in5’ cells for real-world testing.

“We are working to ensure that EV drivers will never have to be concerned with anxiety over charging times, currently the major barrier to EV ownership and a cleaner world,” said Myersdorf. “We are also offering our customers a clear, hype-free technology roadmap that will extend far into the future of delivering 100 miles of range in just a 2-min charge within a decade.”

 

Ola onboard

In March, Ola Electric announced it is also investing in StoreDot, as one of its first of several global strategic investments as it looks to ramp up its core R&D in advanced cell chemistry and manufacturing as well as other battery technologies and new energy systems in support of electric vehicles like its S1 scooter.

Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, aiming to revolutionize urban mobility by making it available on-demand for over a billion people across three continents. The company is also helping move the world to sustainable mobility with the EVs manufactured at its Futurefactory, which is said to be the largest, most advanced, and sustainable two-wheeler factory in the world.

“We are committed to Mission Electric and to accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility; our ambition is to build a complete ecosystem for EVs here in India,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Ola. “The future of EVs lies in better, faster, and high-energy-density batteries capable of rapid charging and delivering higher range. We are increasing our investments in core cell and battery technologies and ramping up our in-house capabilities and global talent hiring, as well as partnering with global companies doing cutting-edge work in this field. Our partnership with StoreDot, a pioneer of extreme fast-charging battery technologies, is of strategic importance and a first of many.”

As part of its StoreDot investment, Ola Electric will have access to the battery-tech company’s state-of-the-art XFC battery technology, with exclusive rights to manufacture batteries integrating StoreDot’s fast-charge technology in India. Ola plans to set up a gigafactory for manufacturing cells in the country to meet the demand generated by the Futurefactory, and it has submitted a bid under the Indian government’s PLI (production linked incentive) scheme for advanced chemistry cell battery storage.

“Both companies are committed to delivering a zero-emissions world, breathing clean air in our cities, and ensuring that EV drivers never have to worry about charging times and range anxiety,” said Myersdorf. “Ola Electric’s plans to bring StoreDot’s extreme fast-charging battery technology to India and manufacture for its range of EVs will offer Indian consumers vastly superior range and charging speed performance.”

 

Hitting a cycle milestone

In March, StoreDot also announced it had passed the major milestone of being the world’s first company to test silicon-dominant cells for more than 1000 cycles.

As the number of battery charge/discharge cycles increases, battery charge capacity degrades. The number of cycles to 80% capacity retention is often used as a benchmark. Creating cells that can charge for 1200 cycles while meeting that industry standard is a hugely significant achievement, according to the company.

Using a specially designed testing form factor, the company’s engineers have now exceeded 1200 cycles with cells that are taken to 80% of charge in 15 min and then discharged for an hour. These promising results were achieved with a high energy density of 300 W·h/kg and 680 W·h/L in real-world conditions at room temperature and with no additional pressure applied.

The company is now beginning to advance to B-samples, using larger form factors, to ship to global automotive manufacturers later this year for testing in EVs.

“I’m hugely proud of our recent achievement,” said Yaron Fein, StoreDot Vice President of R&D. “1200 consecutive cycles of extreme fast charging is a critical milestone that would have been unimaginable just two years ago. This reaffirms our roadmap of delivering ‘100in5’ cells for global automotive manufacturers within two years.”

StoreDot is focused on delivering a “hype-free” technology road map to global automotive companies. Its XFC cells will be available in both pouch and 4680 family form factors, the formats increasingly favored by most global car manufacturers.