Porsche plans to build electric vehicle battery factory
Recently, according to reports, Porsche is negotiating with potential partners to build an electric vehicle battery factory, with an investment of up to 3 billion euros (about 23.6 billion RMB).
Porsche is said to have said on July 26 that it was considering locations closer to Germany, the United States and Canada. The main factors in the final site selection will depend on the competitiveness of local electricity prices and the availability of renewable energy. It is reported that the battery production capacity of the new factory will be as high as 20 GWh.
Porsche current operating conditions
Also on July 26, Porsche announced its financial report for the first half of 2023. Both revenue and profit increased: revenue increased by 14% year-on-year to 20.43 billion euros; operating profit increased by 10.7% year-on-year to 3.85 billion euros.
Meanwhile, deliveries increased by 14.7% compared to the same period last year. However, Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke and CEO Oliver Blume both revealed that supply chain problems have plagued Porsche for some time and have seriously affected the delivery of Taycan, the only mass-produced electric car in the first half of the year.
In order to achieve the goal of electric vehicles accounting for 12-14% of sales, it depends on the supply chain situation in the second half of the year.
From this point of view, investing in a battery factory may be one of Porsche’s measures to strengthen its supply chain control, which will form a synergistic effect with the electrification transformation of its future models.
Planning battery technology layout
In May of this year, it was reported that Porsche has begun planning the layout of battery technology and materials. According to reports, Porsche plans to produce electric vehicles with a range of more than 807 miles (about 1,300 kilometers) in the medium term.
This electric car is not equipped with solid state battery, but lithium battery.
So how will Porsche implement this battery technology? According to reports, Porsche believes that the optimization of anode materials is one way.
Currently, Porsche is developing silicon anode materials. In this way, the energy storage density of the battery can be increased by 10 times, and at the same time, it has the ability of fast charging, which can charge the battery from 5% to 80% in 15 minutes.
However, there is an obvious problem with this silicon anode material, which is that it will expand by 300% when absorbing lithium, which directly affects the service life of the battery.
To this end, Porsche is currently researching negative electrode materials with a silicon content of up to 80%, while increasing the nickel content in the positive electrode material to achieve a higher charging capacity.
In addition, the report also said that Porsche is also developing advanced solid-state batteries with a 50% increase in energy density.
Create a hub for the battery supply chain
It can be seen that the two major paths of Porsche’s battery technology route are high-silicon negative electrode lithium batteries and solid-state batteries. The appeal is high energy density and ultra-fast charging to meet the needs of ultra-high mileage. But the problem also arises.
The price of higher mileage is the increase of battery weight and cost. This is also the common research and development direction of battery companies and car companies, that is, how to achieve higher battery life without increasing cost and weight. cruising range.
Porsche is known as the most profitable luxury car company in the world, which directly determines that it can bear relatively high R&D and manufacturing costs. Based on the bet on the battery technology route, like the top 10 power battery companies in the world, Porsche has already launched an investment layout.
In terms of high-silicon anode lithium batteries, Porsche participated in the C-round financing of Group14 Technologies, an American lithium-silicon battery developer, in May last year, with an investment of US$100 million for the production of silicon anode materials.
Information shows that Group14 is independent from EnerG2, a company that develops and produces carbon materials. In 2019, Group14 conducted a round of financing, raising US$18 million. Investors include CATL, a member of the top 10 power battery in the world, Showa Denko, Cabot, and BASF.
Group14 currently has two independent factories. One is the first battery material manufacturing plant to start up in April 2021.
The other is that CEO Rick Luebbe revealed last year that he will build a second battery materials factory in eastern Washington state, which will use part of the C round of financing funds.
As for the whereabouts of Group14 silicon anode materials, Porsche has already arranged – Group14 will provide products to Cellforce Group. The Cellforce Group is a joint venture established in 2021 between Porsche and German specialty battery manufacturer Customcells Holding.
The company plans to develop and produce high-performance batteries using silicon anodes for small series production, racing and high-performance vehicles in the future.
It is understood that Cellforce has invested in a factory with an output of 1.3 GWh in southwestern Germany, and is also purchasing batteries from third-party suppliers, and is cooperating with Volkswagen’s battery division PowerCo.
In terms of solid-state batteries, Porsche’s parent company, Volkswagen Group, has invested in solid-state battery manufacturer QuantumScape several times since 2018, becoming its largest shareholder and announcing the establishment of a joint venture.
QuantumScape announced in December 2020 that it has solved the technical problems of solid-state batteries with an energy density exceeding 1000 Wh/L, and plans to start mass production of solid-state batteries between 2024 and 2025. The Volkswagen Group plans to use the solid-state batteries it produces for its In the car model.
Summary
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said: “In the field of batteries, we will have a lot of opportunities due to the significant increase in the electrification of car companies. So we need to be flexible and master the right technology.”
According to the plan, Porsche will gradually realize the electrification of its automobile product line, so that by 2030, the sales of electric vehicles will account for 80% of the total sales.
In addition to the Taycan, currently the only pure electric model, Porsche plans to implement the transformation plan starting with the electric SUV Macan, followed by the electric version of the 718 Cayman, the Boxster sports car and the Cayenne SUV, while its iconic 911 will become the only gasoline-powered car. vehicle type.
Based on this strategic layout, building a new battery factory may be a signal that Porsche will launch an all-out offensive in the battery field. However, if the news is true, where Porsche will choose its location and what kind of battery solution it will bring is exciting.
