Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Ola Electric invests in extreme fast charging tech firm StoreDot

Israeli battery technology company, StoreDot, which developed extreme fast charging (XFC) technologies for electric vehicles, has secured a multi-million-dollar investment from EV manufacturer Ola Electric.

The investment in StoreDot is said to be the first of several strategic investments planned by Ola Electric. The EV manufacturer is planning to incorporate and manufacture StoreDot’s fast-charging battery technologies for future vehicles in India.

The new funding will be used for research and development and to accelerate the scaling up to mass production of its silicon-dominant anode XFC lithium-ion cells. The battery technology will initially be capable of delivering 100 miles of range in 5 minutes of charge, with an impressive 300 Wh/kg specific energy, by 2024. It is also working on a 2-minute charge technology to be commercialized in the next ten years.

Ola Electric is looking to ramp up its investments in core R&D in advanced cell chemistry and manufacturing, as well as cutting-edge battery technologies and new energy systems. It recently announced a $100 million investment to set up Ola Futurefoundry, its global center for advanced engineering and vehicle design. The Futurefactory under construction now is a colossal, 500-acre, carbon-negative production complex, where it will work on its future range of electric vehicles, including both four and two-wheelers.

“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, 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.”

StoreDot is currently conducting real-world tests with the silicon-dominant-anode advanced ‘100in5’ cell samples. Its groundbreaking XFC cells will be available in both pouch and the 4680-family form factor – the formats increasingly favored by global car manufacturers.