Ola Electric has just announced a strategic investment in Israeli battery tech company, Storedot, a pioneer in extremely fast charging (XFC) batteries.
Included in the terms of the investment is access to Storedot’s state-of-the-art XFC battery technology, which charges a battery from 0% to 100% in just under 5 mins. Ola will moreover acquire the exclusive rights to manufacture batteries, integrating Storedot’s fast charging technology in India.
“We are committed to Mission Electric and to accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility. Our ambition is to build a complete ecosystem for EVs here in India. The future of EVs lies in better, faster and high energy density batteries, capable of rapid charging and delivering higher range. We are increasing our investments in core cell and battery technologies and ramping up our in-house capabilities and global talent hiring, as well as partnering with global companies doing cutting edge work in this field. Our partnership with StoreDot, a pioneer of extreme fast-charging battery technologies, is of strategic importance and a first of many,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola Electric.
Battery tech is the name, EV the game
Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the largest ride-hailing companies in the world. The rise of Ola Electric was a result of its revolutionary model which saw it make urban mobility available on-demand for over a billion people across 3 continents.
The company is experiencing an ongoing shift to electrify its fleet for the sake of long-term environmental sustainability as well as stakeholder appeasement. As Ola lays plans for its EV FutureFoundry, which is expected to be the largest and most advanced two-wheeler factory globally, it sought this strategic investment which fits in with their plans.
Storedot is the pioneer of an extremely fast-charging ‘5-minute charge’ EV battery technology and plans mass production in a few years, while simultaneously developing a ‘2-minute charge’. The company aims to commercialise its technology in the coming 10 years.
Ola expects to make use of its tech acquisition to ramp up its R&D in advanced cell chemistry and manufacturing state-of-the-art batteries and energy systems. Ola Electric hopes to accelerate and scale up the production of Storedot’s silicon-dominant anode XFC lithium-ion cells, which could be capable of delivering 100 miles of range in 5 minutes of charge by 2024.
The little-known of Storedot
Storedot was founded in 2012 by Doron Myersdorf, Gil Rosenman, Simon Litsyn and is headquartered in Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Israel. The company is a battery developer and materials innovation leader that develops ground-breaking battery technologies based on the design and synthesis of both organic and inorganic compounds.
Its technology involves replacing known materials and technologies with StoreDot’s proprietary compounds which are optimized for Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) of electric vehicles, thereby eliminating EV charging anxiety. The company demonstrated its fast charging capability in 2019, by live full charging a two-wheeled EV in just 5 minutes and later in 2020, showcased its scalability, targeting EV battery production at a scale in 2024.
Storedot has in the past raised excess of $195M from investors, with it’s series D concluded earlier in the year. Some of its other notable strategic investors and partners include VinFast, BP, Daimler, Samsung, Ola Electric, TDK and EVE Energy.
StoreDot’s technology is inspired by nature and can be optimized for multiple industries, including fast-charging batteries for mobile devices and electric vehicles. Backed by a strong technological team of distinguished scientists and device engineering experts, StoreDot is positioned to reinvent the world of materials and devices, for the better.
