Luxury automaker Porsche is establishing a joint venture with Customcells for producing high-performance batteries that will significantly decrease charging times, the automaker said on Sunday.
Customcells specializes in lithium-ion cells and aims to produce car batteries with higher energy density than prototypes used in the electrics of Porsche at this moment.
European automakers are pushing to decrease their dependence on Asia for batteries as they present all-electric models to satisfy tougher emissions targets in the European Union.
Together with cutting charging time, improving energy density will mean decreasing the amount of raw material needed in batteries to achieve the same range. It will also decrease battery production costs, making electric cars more budget-friendly.
Porsche will invest a millions of euros in the joint venture in which it will hold 80%.
The production facility will be having a capacity of 100 kilowatt hours, which will translate into about enough batteries for 1,000 cars annually.
“The battery cell is the combustion chamber of the future. As a new Porsche subsidiary, the Cellforce Group will significantly advance the research, development, production and sales of high-performance cells,” said Oliver Blume, the CEO of Porsche. “With the joint venture, we are positioning ourselves at the forefront of worldwide competition for the most powerful battery cells and making them the link between the unmistakable Porsche driving experience and sustainability. This is how we shape the future of the sports car.”
