At today’s Polestar Day event in Los Angeles, a new collaboration was announced with EV battery innovator StoreDot to explore and demonstrate the viability of production-level extreme fast charging (XFC) battery cell technology when applied to an existing platform.

StoreDot’s 100-in-5 XFC battery cell technology, which is designed to deliver 100 mi of range after just 5 min of charging with no battery degradation, is already in development with Polestar, which is also a strategic investor in StoreDot. The goal of the partnership is to demonstrate StoreDot’s production-ready XFC technology at full scale in a Polestar 5 prototype EV in 2024. The detailed collaboration includes key integrations such as the engineering design and cooling.

“This is a huge step for StoreDot and a strong endorsement that our groundbreaking technology is readying for mass production,” said Dr. Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot. “We are extremely pleased and proud that Polestar aims to be the first automotive company to showcase our extreme fast charging battery cells in a full-scale, drivable prototype. We still have lots of work to do to fully integrate our systems into a production car, but our teams are already fully engaged.”

The partners will be demonstrating those results in the coming months.

“StoreDot was our first financial investment in another company, and we have been collaborating with them to apply their advanced technology in proof-of-concept Polestar cars,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. “StoreDot’s pioneering extreme fast charging batteries, combined with our upcoming top-of-the-line electric powertrain, can revolutionize the ownership experience for EV owners with the ability to recharge in minutes.”

Today’s announcement is the latest step in StoreDot’s 100inX strategic technology roadmap, which consists of three generations of EV battery technologies: silicon-dominant XFC, semi-solid state, and post-lithium architecture. The company’s roadmap includes three anticipated milestones in fast EV battery charging capabilities over the next decade with 100-in-5 targeted for 2024, 100-in-3 for 2028, and 100-in-2 for 2032.

StoreDot’s other investors and partners include BP, Daimler, VinFast, Volvo Cars, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK, and its manufacturing partner EVE Energy.

 

SK On batteries for Polestar 5

The StoreDot collaboration is just the latest battery collaboration detailed by Polestar. Earlier this week the EV maker announced it had signed an agreement with South Korean battery manufacturer SK On for the supply of battery cell modules for the forthcoming Polestar 5 electric four-door GT.

“Our relationship with SK On has been fruitful following our initial MOU and their investment in our brand,” said Ingenlath. “Polestar 5 is developing at pace and will feature this high-capacity battery to provide the performance expected of our grand tourer.”

Polestar said it chose SK On due to its superior battery cell technology that offers high-performing chemistry, fast charging, efficient discharging, and superior driving range. The high-nickel battery cell modules comprise ultra-long 56-cm cells with high energy density.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Polestar on its top-tier EV model,” said Jee Dong-seob, CEO of SK On, who is expecting even bigger things. “We will solidify our partnership with Polestar and create new opportunities through this agreement.”

With production planned to start in 2025, Polestar 5 is the evolution of the Polestar Precept concept car and is being previewed in a YouTube “From Concept to Car” documentary series.

 

Strengthened plan and funding

Just prior to today’s Polestar Day technology and innovation event, the company presented a strengthened business plan that targets an accelerated margin improvement and a reduction of the total funding need to the point of cash flow break-even in 2025. In light of “a fast-changing operating environment,” the plan reorients a path to profitability by prioritizing margin progression over volume.

For the fiscal year 2025, Polestar is targeting a gross margin in the high teens with a total annual volume of approximately 155,000-165,000 cars. This is expected to be achieved through a richer product mix, with four models in production, reduced cost structure, and refocused approach to key markets including a new joint venture in China and measures to improve profitability in the U.S. business. The company had already implemented cost reduction measures announced earlier this year around headcount reductions and says it continues to advance active cost management efforts.

Showing their continued commitment to Polestar, Geely Holding and Volvo Cars have provided additional liquidity. Volvo Cars extended the maturity of its outstanding term loan by over three years to June 2027 and provided an aggregate of $200 million in additional loan capacity with the same maturity date, bringing the total investment to $1 billion. Geely Sweden Automotive Investment AB is making available a $250 million term loan on substantially the same terms as Volvo Cars, including the maturity in June 2027.

Based on the reduced funding need from a strengthened business plan and new and existing financing and liquidity support from Geely Holding and Volvo Cars, Polestar expects it will require external funding of approximately $1.3 billion until achieving cash flow break-even, targeted in 2025.

“By having taken the necessary steps to re-work our business plan, we are reducing costs and improving efficiencies to create a more resilient and profitable Polestar—and reducing our funding need at the same time,” said Ingenlath. “Achieving cash flow break-even already in 2025 will show the strength of our asset-light business model. Margin over volume is our way forward, supported by a gorgeous line-up of four exclusive performance cars.”

 

Polestar 4 sets new sustainability standard

Close to production reality, Polestar recently announced the release of the first LCA (life cycle assessment) for Polestar 4, which revealed that the electric compact luxury crossover SUV coupe has the lowest carbon footprint of all Polestar cars to date—as low as 19.4 tons of CO2e.

The vehicle will be produced starting this month in Geely Holdings’ SEA factory in Hangzhou Bay, China, which combines green electricity that carries the I-REC hydropower certificate with photovoltaic electricity from the roof of the plant. A higher use of low-carbon aluminum from smelters using hydropower electricity helps reduce the climate impact further. The latest Polestar LCA includes data regarding the share of recycled aluminum for the first time.

Available initially in China starting in early 2024, the Polestar 4 standard-range single-motor will come with a carbon footprint of 19.4 tCO2e. The long-range single-motor version will have a carbon footprint of 19.9 tCO2e, while the long-range dual-motor will carry a carbon footprint of 21.4 tCO2e. Aluminum represents 23-24% of the carbon footprint, steel and iron constitute 20%, and battery modules account for the highest share of materials production and refining carbon footprint at 36-40%.

“To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars,” said Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar. “Throughout the product development of Polestar 4, its carbon budget has influenced everything from material choices to factory energy sources. Sharing the LCA enables us to show that we can strive for net zero – one ton of CO2e at a time.”

Polestar’s LCAs, which the company has published since 2020, consider a range of factors in a car’s life cycle, from supply to manufacture and recycling and summarize the climate impact in one easily understood number. The company believes this enables consumers to make quick and educated decisions when buying a car. The LCA figures stated in each LCA disclose the vehicles’ cradle-to-gate carbon footprint which includes material acquisition through the production of the product and excludes the use and end-of-life stages.

Polestar was founded in 1996 as Flash Engineering and later rebranded as Polestar Racing. It was acquired in 2015 by Volvo Cars, and is based in Torslanda, a suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden. The company plans to offer a lineup of five performance EVs by 2026: Polestar 2, the electric performance fastback launched in 2019; Polestar 3, the SUV for the electric age, launched in late 2022; and Polestar 4, available in early 2024. Polestar 5, an electric four-door GT, and Polestar 6, an electric roadster, are coming soon, according to the company.

 

Kevin Jost contributed to this article.