5-minute charging battery technology for electric vehicles startup StoreDot has secured $80 million at a $1.5 billion valuation.
The round is led by Vietnamese VinFast, one of Asia’s biggest electric automakers manufacturer that intends to use StoreDot’s battery technology in its future EV models. BP Ventures and Golden Energy Global Investment are also participating in the investment round.
The new financing represents a huge expansion for the Israeli company, which was previously valued at $500 million in a 2017 funding round. To date, the company has raised over $130 million.
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StoreDot CEO Doron Myersdorf told Calcalist, that the current round will allow the company to evaluate whether to go public via a merger with a SPAC or the usual way, depending on the market’s state. Myersdorf revealed that the company has approached investment bank, JP Morgan, about the topic, but the timing and chances of an initial public offering remain unknown.
Myersdorf added that the automotive industry should be the company’s sole target since the industry is going electric.
According to the Herzliya-based startup, its extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries will revolutionize the standard Li-ion battery industry by enabling a fully charged EV in just five minutes – the same amount of time it takes to fill a normal combustion engine car.
StoreDot demonstrated engineering samples of its first-generation 5-minute-charge battery in January of 2021. These batteries are capable of powering a variety of equipment, including drones, electric bikes, scooters, and power tools.
The funds raised will be used to complete StoreDot’s research and development of silicon-dominant battery cells for electric vehicles and to advance its Extreme Energy Density (EED) cells based on solid-state technology for future deployment.
Additionally, this fund enables the company to expand its research and development facility in California and to begin scaling up operations in key global regions in preparation for full mass manufacturing of cells in 2024.
VinFast intends to build a battery production facility to produce 300,000 batteries per year by 2024 for vehicles expected to be introduced in 2025.
StoreDot considered setting up its own manufacturing plant in the past, but due to the enormous costs associated with building and transporting the batteries, ultimately decided to change strategy and partner with various electric vehicle manufacturers to manufacture the batteries in their factories.
Founded in 2017 VinFast has recently begun growing into North America and Europe. The majority of the company’s models are derived from BMW automobiles.
“We have been investing heavily in research and connecting global intelligence by partnering with and investing in disruptive technology companies, particularly in electric vehicle batteries, such as StoreDot and its proprietary extreme fast charging (XFC) technology,” said Pham Thuy Linh, VinFast’s Deputy CEO. “StoreDot, headed by smart scientists and seasoned entrepreneurs, and backed by VinFast and other strategic investors, is ramping up for worldwide mass production in the near future.”
Daimler, Samsung, GlenRock, Singulariteam, TDK, the Wertheimer family, and Roman Abramovich are among the company’s investors.
