Porsche set to open factory for high-performance battery cells

MANILA: Porsche has invested a "high double-digit-million amount" in Cellforce Group GmbH as part of its technological leadership role in the field of electric mobility. Together with joint venture partner Customcells, the sports car manufacturer announced the launch of the production of high-performance battery cells at the Weissach Development Center.

In a statement, Porsche AG Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume said, “The battery cell is the combustion chamber of the future. As a new Porsche subsidiary, the Cellforce Group will be instrumental in driving forward the research, development, production and sales of high-performance battery cells. 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.”

Aside from Blume, the official launch of the company foundation was also attended by Baden-Wurttemberg Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Parliament State Secretary Thomas Bareiß, City of Tubingen Mayor Boris Palmer, Porsche Research and Development Board Member Michael Steiner, and Customcells Itzehoe GmbH Managing Directors Leopold Konig and Torge Thonnessen.

Porsche has a majority stake of 83.75% in this new venture, whose headquarters is located in Tubingen. It has an initial workforce of13, which is expected to grow to 80 by 2025. The project is also funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and the state of Baden-Wuttemberg with around €60 million.

Thonnessen said, “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 realize together with Porsche. The goal for the planned production plant is to reach a minimum annual capacity of 100MWh. This is equivalent to high-performance batteries for 1,000 vehicles.”

Customcells is one of the world’s leading special lithium-ion battery cell manufacturers. They produce application-specific battery cells ranging from prototypes to small and medium series. Established in 2012, Customcells has already acquired a high level of knowledge and expertise in the field of cell development with various materials and coating technologies. They also develop a small series of special lithium-ion battery cells for certain industries, based on agile manufacturing concepts and modern research and production facilities.

Konig stated, “We are not only contributing our expertise in cell technology and production into our partnership with Porsche, but also agility, innovative strength, and individual problem-solving skills.”

The new high-performance cells rely on silicon as the anode material. This material can possibly increase the power density of the batteries. This enables the battery to produce the same energy content even with a smaller size. The new chemistry of the high-performance cells also reduces the battery’s internal resistance to collect more energy during recuperation and provide optimum performance for fast charging. The Cellforce battery cell is also capable of enduring high temperatures, a quality that is highly valued in motorsports.

World-leading chemical company BASF serves as a cell development partner for the new lithium-ion batteries. BASF also supplies high-energy HEDTM NCM cathode materials for high-performance cells that enable fast charging and high energy densities. It aims to produce battery materials with low carbon footprint in its manufacturing facilities in Harjavalta, Finland and Schwarzheide, Brandenburg, Germany starting 2022.

Stuttgart-based management consultancy firm P3 Group came up with the idea of having a manufacturing plant for high-performance battery cells. In 2019, the group developed the concept and submitted a funding application with Customcells as part of the European IPCEI project EuBatIn (European Battery Innovation). EuBatIn aims to launch a competitive European value chain for lithium-ion batteries. Although it prefers to not be directly involved in the joint venture, P3 serves as the project’s technology consultant as it has a deep technological knowledge in the field of battery cells and a long-term service contract with Cellforce.

Last May, Porsche and Customcells inked the contract for the joint venture. The managing directors of Cellforce Group GmbH include Chief Operating Officer Markus Graf, Chief Financial Officer Wolfgang Husken, and Chief Technology Officer Torge Thonnessen.

Photo from Porsche

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