Porsche invests in the production of electric super car batteries

Porsche has announced plans to develop batteries for electric super cars. Through investments in Customcells – a German battery manufacturer – the car brand will create a new joint venture called Cellforce. The startup will be responsible for researching and producing high-performance batteries at the Weissach Development Center, Germany.

“Battery cells will be the combustion chamber of the future. As a new subsidiary of Porsche, Cellforce Group will be important in driving the research, development, production and sale of high-performance batteries,”

said Oliver Blume, Ceo of Porsche.

A few details about the new cells were released, like silicon used in the anode material and BAS’s high-energy HED NCM cathode materials.

Torge Thönnessen, CEO of Customcells, said that the planned production capacity will be limited to 100 MWh for now:

We founded Customcells with the aim of developing customer-specific battery cells for the most demanding of applications, and this is exactly what we can now realise together with Porsche. The goal for the planned production plant is to reach a minimum annual capacity of 100 MWh. This is equivalent to high-performance batteries for 1,000 vehicles.

Torge Thönnessen, CEO of Customcells, said

For now, it sounds like the cells are going to be used only for high-performance motorsport vehicles, but Porsche notes that its consumer vehicles are also benefiting from any development in motorsports.

Porsche will own 83.75% of the company’s shares. The startup is also being funded by Germany and the state of Baden-Württemberg with about 60 million euros. Cellforce is expected to almost double its number of employees by 2025; from 13 to 80.

The annual production target of these batteries is 100 MWh, enough for approximately 1,000 vehicles, according to the manufacturer’s estimates.

Battery chemistry for race cars

The chemistry of these batteries depends on silicon as anode material, which will increase energy density, enabling the construction of smaller components. According to the company, innovation also has reduced internal resistance, which improves energy absorption and fast charging performance. In addition, we can expect more heat resistance. All features focus on the use of electric cars in motor sports. Porsche has stated that this is not an attempt to popularize the technology, as it will focus on hypercars. The contract between the companies was signed on May 21, but Porsche has not yet announced a car that will take advantage of the batteries.

More Information

• Cellforce Group GmbH: Joint Venture between Porsche and CUSTOMCELLS
• Porsche invests in a factory for high-performance battery cells

Last updated on November 30th, 2022