Polestar has become a shareholder in Israeli startup StoreDot, which is designing incredibly fast-charging batteries for electric cars.
For Polestar, it marks its first investment as a company and the two companies will work together to explore adapting and applying StoreDot’s battery technology to proof-of-concept Polestar cars.
Test cases already being explored include customising StoreDot’s cell technology for Polestar cars, to enable faster charging and improved circularity.
StoreDot is on track to begin mass-producing its “100in5″ technology batteries as early as 2024 which can achieve 100 miles of range with just a five-minute charge.
“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,” says Meir Halberstam, StoreDot’s CFO.
“It will not only enable us to bring the ground-breaking ‘100in5’ batteries to market quicker, but also boost our R&D capabilities. We are rapidly moving towards even more game-changing technology and are laser-focused on offering 100 miles of range in just two minutes of charging, within a decade.”
However, Polestar will not have exclusive rights to use StoreDot’s tech and nor is it the only company with a stake in the Israeli firm. Polestar’s investment comes as part of StoreDot’s Series D funding round. The company’s global strategic partners now include Daimler, BP, VinFast, Polestar parent company Volvo, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK, and EVE Energy.
“Polestar can help shape the development of new battery technology for the automotive industry and provide invaluable insights from the perspective of a brand focused on performance and sustainability,” says Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath.
“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. If our current pilot projects with StoreDot are successful, we could see these solutions being implemented in Polestar cars by 2026.”
