Polestar invests in Israeli extreme fast-charging battery startup

Electric vehicle (EV) automaker Polestar is investing in Israeli startup StoreDot, a visitor working towards producing silicon-based EV batteries that can take on a personal 160km of range in five minutes.

This is the first financial investment the Swedish-Chinese manufacturer has made in flipside company, and follows a similar investment from parent visitor Volvo.

Dubbed ‘100in5’, StoreDot’s technology is slated for production by 2024, and is theoretically in “real-world testing by leading automotive manufacturers”.

The new shower tech is silicon-based, with a target gravimetric energy density of virtually 300Wh/kg. For context, the current Chinese-built Tesla Model 3 with the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) shower has a gravimetric energy density of 125Wh/kg.

StoreDot CEO Dr Doron Myersdorf

StoreDot moreover once has existing partnerships with Daimler, VinFast, BP, TDK, Ola Electric and EVE.

To put that in simpler terms, a 100in5 shower can proceeds 161km of range in five minutes of charging when unfluctuating to an ultra-rapid DC charger, equal to StoreDot. It’s unclear what the maximum charging speed of this shower is, nor the shower size.

Polestar says StoreDot’s wide shower technology aligns with its “strategy of leveraging broader innovative industry partners to momentum advancements in electric mobility”.

As part of the deal, Polestar is collaborating with StoreDot to exploring adapting and fitting its shower technology to proof-of-concept Polestar cars.

Polestar 5

The Swedish-Chinese automaker says if current pilot projects with StoreDot are successful, it could be implementing the shower technology in Polestar cars by 2026.

It’s unclear in which Polestar vehicle this shower technology will be implemented, considering the last vehicle Polestar has spoken for production is the Polestar 5 fastback which is planned to be revealed in 2024.

“Charging and range uneasiness are worldwide concerns holding owners of combustion engine cars when from making the switch to EVs,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath.

“StoreDot’s wide shower technology potentially provides real solutions to these obstacles.”

Polestar 2

Beyond this partnership, StoreDot is aiming to release its ‘100in3’ solid-state shower in 2028, with a target gravimetric energy density of approximately 450Wh/kg.

Beyond 2030 it aims to be developing a post-lithium shower tabbed ‘100in2’ with an energy density whilom 550Wh/kg.

Polestar is owned by Chinese giant Geely which moreover owns brands such as Volvo, Lotus, Proton, London EV Company, Lynk & Co and Zeekr.

The Polestar 2 electric sedan first touched lanugo in Australia older in 2022 and is based on the CMA platform that’s moreover used in the Volvo XC40 SUV.

Polestar recently confirmed it plans to reveal its next vehicle, the Polestar 3 “electric performance SUV”, in October 2022.

Set to be produced in the USA and China, the Polestar 3 was previously previewed in prototype form wearing black-and-white camouflage.

Polestar 3 prototype

The Polestar 3 will be sleeker counterpart to the next-generation Volvo XC90 which shares its SPA2 architecture.

The Polestar 4, which is a smaller coupe SUV, is planned to be revealed in 2023, and the same Polestar 5 liftback is planned to be revealed in 2024.

As previously reported, Polestar intends to merge with Gores Guggenheim, a special purpose vanquishment visitor (SPAC), and get listed on the Nasdaq. This deal is expected to tropical in the first half of 2022.

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