StoreDot, a pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), have announced the first close of its Series D funding round of up to $80 million (£59 million/€71 million), the majority of which have already been secured.
StoreDot is a pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream electric vehicle adoption including range and charging anxiety.
The company has revolutionised the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesising proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an electric vehicle in just five minutes. This is about the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle.
The round is led by key strategic investors, strengthening StoreDot’s partnerships in the global automotive battery eco-system. The lead investor is the fast-growing flagship Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer, VinFast, which plans to scale up manufacturing and deploy StoreDot’s Extreme Fast Charging in future electric vehicle architectures.
Participants include bp ventures, a current StoreDot investor and active partner, underpinning its purpose of reimaging energy for people and our planet. In addition, Golden Energy Global Investment Ltd., a company owned by EVE Energy’s founder, Dr Liu Jincheng, will be one of the participants in the funding round.
The funds raised by this round will be used to complete StoreDot’s research and development for its silicon-dominant extreme fast charge (XFC) battery cells for electric vehicles and continue its progress on extreme energy density cells based on solid state technology for future deployment.
This funding also enables the company to ramp up its California-based research and development centre and commence scale up operations in key global locations, in readiness for full mass production of cells in 2024.
Dr Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO, said: “This strategic round of funding, with principal investors coming from leading automotive, energy and technology companies, is a huge vote of confidence in StoreDot, its XFC battery technologies, our long-term product roadmap and our world-class technology and innovation that are all aimed to solve the Range Anxiety of EV drivers.
“We are now properly funded to take our silicon-dominant XFC cells to the end of the R&D phase and into scale-up in readiness for mass production in 2024 for global vehicle manufacturers. It will help overcome the major barrier to EV ownership – charging times – providing a 50 percent reduction, and, ultimately, helping us all achieve a zero-emissions, clean world.”
Pham Thuy Linh, VinFast deputy CEO, said: “Enhancing customer experience is our top priority. We have been making dedicated efforts in research, connecting global intelligence by forming partnerships with and investing in breakthrough technology companies, especially in EV batteries such as StoreDot and its extreme fast charging proprietary technology.
“StoreDot which is led by gifted scientists and experienced entrepreneurs, along with strong support from VinFast and other strategic investors, is believed to gear up for mass production globally in a very near term.”
StoreDot is in advanced talks with leading global carmakers for integration of its XFC technology into their future models. The Company demonstrates a clear technology roadmap including its next generation extreme energy density (XED) solid state cells with planned mass production in 2028.
