Polestar Announces Strategic Partnership With StoreDot, a Company Developing Rapid Charging Technology for EV Batteries

author: Eric Walz   

Polestar, the electric vehicle brand operated by Volvo Cars and its parent company Geely, announced a new strategic partnership and investment in Israel-based battery startup StoreDot, a developer of extremely fast charging technology for electric vehicle batteries. 

StoreDot aims to produce batteries for EVs capable of charging up to 160 km (100 miles) of range in just five minutes, by 2024. 

Last month, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, which is the venture capital arm of automaker Volvo Cars, announced an investment in StoreDot. The investment by Volvo Cars will help StoreDot accelerate its time to market for its ultra-fast battery charging technology. 

It's Polestar's first strategic investment in a technology company and fits with its goal of leveraging industry partners to drive advancements in electric mobility.

Building EVs with fast charging capabilities are a huge selling point for automakers. EVs that can charge almost as quickly as filling up a gas tank in a conventional vehicle could lead to more widespread EV adoption.

"Charging and range anxiety are common concerns holding owners of combustion engine cars back from making the switch to EVs," said Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath. "StoreDot's advanced battery technology potentially provides real solutions to these obstacles."

StoreDot's pioneering battery technology is centered around silicon anode technology and related software integration. The company says it has revolutionized conventional Lithium-ion EV batteries by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds for a battery's anode materials.

The silicon anode materials replace traditional Lithium-ion graphite anodes, which help to increase an EV battery's energy density and significantly shorten charging times. Among the benefits, it will allow automakers like Polestar the opportunity to use smaller, less expensive batteries in their future models without sacrificing range or power, which can help make EVs more affordable 

This silicon-based anode technology is designed as a "drop-in" replacement for graphite-based anodes material in existing lithium-ion battery production facilities. It makes its easier to scale the technology using existing battery manufacturing lines.

This process also delivers higher energy density at the cellular-level with reduced swelling or expansion during charging. 

"We are thrilled to be entering into an agreement with Polestar," said Dr Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO. "Like us, Polestar is an ambitious brand which is already proving to be pivotal in the mass adoption of electric vehicles, helping the global transition to a cleaner, zero-emissions world. We are looking forward to working together and we know that our technologies will prove to be greatly beneficial, helping to eradicate EV drivers' range and charging anxieties."

StoreDot's fast charging battery technology was recently demonstrated in a live presentation that included the fast charging of an EV battery cell as proof of concept. In the live demonstration, the sample battery cell was charged in under 10-minutes to 20Ah, which StoreDot says exceeded the 0% to 80% capacity target set for the demonstration.

Had the sample cell been installed in an EV's battery pack, it would have maintained a charge rate of 100 miles of range after just 5 minutes of charging, without overheating the cell, says StoreDot. 

The demonstration took place at EcoMotion Week 2022 in Israel, an event that brings together top automakers and around 600 startups working in the field of smart mobility.  It's a joint venture of the Israel Innovation Institute (NGO) along with the Smart Mobility Initiative in the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Economy.

StoreDot's goal is to mass produce a battery that can charge quickly enough to add 100 miles of range in five minutes by 2024. By 2028, StoreDot aims to reduce battery charging times even further to just three minutes, and two minutes by 2032.

Polestar is already collaborating with StoreDot to explore adapting and applying its technology to proof-of-concept Polestar cars. Test cases being explored include customizing StoreDot's cell technology specifically for Polestar cars to deliver much faster charging times. 

"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," said Ingenlath. "If our current pilot projects with StoreDot are successful, we could see these solutions being implemented in Polestar cars by 2026."

The recent investment in StoreDot by Volvo Cars provides it the opportunity to collaborate closely on the development of its technology, which will also help the automaker reach its goal of building only fully-electric vehicles by 2030.  

StoreDot's other strategic investors include EV startup VinFast, BP, Daimler, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK and EVE Energy.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.