Israeli company StoreDot, which is developing extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles, has announced the first close of its Series D funding round of up to $80 million. The Herzliya-based company said that the majority of the funds have already been secured. The round is led by Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, which plans to scale up manufacturing and deploy StoreDot's battery technology in its electric vehicles. Other participants in the financing round include existing investor BP Ventures and Golden Energy Global Investment.
StoreDot said that the new funds will be used for completion of StoreDot's R&D and mass production scale-up of silicon dominant extreme fast charging (XFC) battery cells by 2024. The company is currently shipping cell samples for real-world testing by leading carmakers.
Chosen as "Globes" startup of the year in 2015, StoreDot was founded by CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf with Prof. Simon Litsyn, formerly chief scientist at Sandisk, and Prof. Gil Rosenman. Investors include BP, Daimler, Samsung and Roman Abramovich. The company initially focused on fast-charging smartphone chargers but in recent years its main focus has been electric vehicles. Last Juanuary, the company unveiled its first-generation battery, which fully charged a two-wheeled electric vehicle in just 5 minutes
Dr Myersdorf 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 electric vehicle 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% reduction, and, ultimately, helping us all achieve a zero-emissions, clean world."
StoreDot said that it is in advanced talks with leading global car makers for integration of its XFC technology into their future models. The company has presented a clear technology roadmap including its next generation XED, extreme energy density solid state cells with planned mass production in 2028.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 4, 2022.
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