Porsche Forms new Battery Joint Venture

What do you do for an encore when your high-tech electric sports car, at $80K+, breaks sales records during a global pandemic? You bring battery production closer to home. Because of course you do. 

Last year, Porsche introduced its luxury EV, the Taycan, and the German automaker shipped over 20,000 units during a year when no one was really buying cars. And they’ve moved forward on a battery-focused joint venture with the firm CustomCells.

CNET’s Roadshow blog has the scoop on the JV operation Cellforce Group, which will initially develop high-performance batteries at Porsche’s Weissach Development Centre in Weissach, Germany location, before building a new factory to accommodate future batteries.

And the tech, itself, seems promising. The new high-performance cells relies on silicon as the anode material, and according to the company, this concoction could significantly boost the power density compared to current good series batteries. “The battery can offer the same energy content with a smaller size. The new chemistry reduces the battery’s internal resistance,” notes the press release. 

“This joint venture allows us to position ourselves at the forefront of global competition in developing the most powerful battery cell and make it the link between the unmistakable Porsche driving experience and sustainability. This is how we shape the future of the sports car,” said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche.

Apparently, Porsche has an 83.75% majority stake in Cellforce Group, which is headquartered in Tübingen (the frontrunner for the location of the new battery factory).

And the joint venture, which is being funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and the state of Baden-Württemberg to the tune of 60 million euros, will balloon to 80 employees by 2025.

Read more here.