Porsche has acquired shares of Group14 Technologies, an American company dedicated to the production of lithium-ion batteries, worth 100 million dollars (95 million euros).
Thanks to this capital increase, Group 14 Technologies intends to accelerate its global production of anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In addition, before the end of the year, the US firm will start up a new factory in which it will produce active material for batteries.
With this purchase, Porsche has become the company’s main investor and is leading an investment round in which, among several companies, they will invest 400 million dollars (380 million euros).
Among the advantages of this investment, Porsche will benefit from the supply of batteries that Group14 will make to the Cellforce group (Germany), in which Porsche has a majority stake. In addition, from 2024, the company intends to produce “high-performance” battery cells of its own development, which will be used by electric models of the car brand.
Following an “intensive” search process, Cellforce Group selected Group14 Technologies as the manufacturer of the “most suitable” silicon anode material for Porsche’s requirements. “The material created by this company has the potential to be a game changer on the way to shorter load times,” said Cellforce COO Markus Gräf.
“In a market where demand is growing at a rapid rate, the cooperation with Group14 ensures that Cellforce has access to high-quality future technology, which will make the next generation of battery cells considerably more efficient than current ones,” have explained from Porsche.
“Our goal is to be a leading company in the global competition for the most powerful cell,” said Porsche Vice President and Board Member Lutz Meschke. “It is with great pride that we are leading this funding round,” he added.
For his part, the head of Porsche Research and Development, Michael Steiner, highlighted the properties of the new cell that “are in line with the development objectives” that have been set by Porsche “for future electric sports vehicles” .
Likewise, from Group14 they have committed themselves to raising the performance of their lithium-ion batteries. “With the support of a diverse consortium of investors, Group14 is working to deliver a next generation of batteries to support visionary manufacturers like Porsche,” said Group14 CEO Rick Luebbe.
