Porsche gets into battery cells, creates new Cellforce battery manufacturing company

Porsche is getting into battery cells for the first time as it invests in Customcells and creates a new company, Cellforce, with the battery cell manufacturer.

As the world accelerates its transition to battery-electric vehicles, several automakers are evaluating to what degree they want to be involved in battery cells.

Some prefer the supplier-buyer relationship while others are investing into their own battery cell production.

Porsche, like its patent company Volkswagen, is now entering the latter’s camp.

The German automaker announced that it started battery cell production through an investment in Customcells, a battery cell manufacturer, and a new joint-venture company created with the new partnership, which is going to be called Cellforce.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume commented on the announcement:

The battery cell is the combustion chamber of the future. As a new Porsche subsidiary, the Cellforce Group will be instrumental in driving forward the research, development, production and sale of high-performance battery cells. This joint venture allows us to position ourselves at the forefront of global competition in developing the most powerful battery cell and make it the link between the unmistakable Porsche driving experience and sustainability. This is how we shape the future of the sports car.

The focus is on “high performance battery cells.”

A few details about the new cells were released, like silicon used in the anode material and BAS’s high-energy HED NCM cathode materials.

Torge Thönnessen, CEO of Customcells, said that the planned production capacity will be limited to 100 MWh for now:

We founded Customcells with the aim of developing customer-specific battery cells for the most demanding of applications, and this is exactly what we can now realise together with Porsche. The goal for the planned production plant is to reach a minimum annual capacity of 100 MWh. This is equivalent to high-performance batteries for 1,000 vehicles.

For now, it sounds like the cells are going to be used only for high-performance motorsport vehicles, but Porsche notes that its consumer vehicles are also benefiting from any development in motorsports.