Porsche invests in battery specialists

By acquiring shares in Group14 Technologies, Porsche is furthering its ambition to develop and produce high-performance battery cells. (Photo: Porsche)

Group14 Technologies is headquartered in Woodinville, Washington. As the lead investor, Porsche is raising $100 million, and is leading a Series C funding round with multiple investors investing a total of $400 million (€328 million). With the capital increase, Group14 Technologies wants to accelerate its global production of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. As announced by Porsche, Group14 intends to lay the foundation stone for another plant to produce so-called Battery Active Materials (BAM) in the United States before the end of this year. In the future, the company will also supply Silverforce Group, a company founded by Porsche and Custom Sales Holdings.

Porsche relies on silicon as the anode material

From 2024 onwards, the Cellforce joint venture intends to produce high-performance battery cells using silicon anodes developed in-house in Germany. The collaboration with Group14 ensures Cellforce has access to high-quality, futuristic technology that will make the next generation of battery cells much more powerful than currently standard lithium-ion batteries, according to Porsche. The chemistry of the new cells relies on silicon as the anode material. According to Porsche, this can significantly increase the energy density compared to current series batteries. According to the sports car manufacturer, the innovative formula also reduces the internal resistance of the battery, which means that it can absorb more energy during recovery and at the same time be charged more quickly.

Michael Steiner, Head of Research and Development at the sports car manufacturer confirms: “The distinctive characteristics of the new cell chemistry – fast charging, high performance and low weight – have a direct impact on the essence of the Porsche brand. It practically aligns with the development goals we write in the specifications of our future electric sports cars.“You are not leading this broad funding round without pride, Lutz Meschke, Executive Vice President and Board Member for Finance and Information Technology at Porsche AG, says:It shows that we now have a deep understanding of the world of venture capital through our venture capital unit, Porsche Ventures.“