Meghana KandraBASF was recently selected by Cellforce Group (CFG) to develop next-generation electric vehicle batteries for Porsche. CFG is a joint venture of Porsche and Customcells. These batteries will include high-energy HED NCM cathode active materials by BASF which increase the performance of the batteries.
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Porsche has been working on fast charging of their cars in many ways. In March they first announced about working on high-performance batteries research by using silicon instead of graphite anodes. And Recently they embrace electric vehicles transformation with fast charging park in Germany with 800-volt technology.
Furthermore, the alliance of Cellforce Group is based in Tübingen, Germany. Their battery production plant is expected to start production by 2024 with a 1MWh per year capacity initially. This plant could power 1,000 high-performing cars initially.
Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, Markus Kamieth, “We look forward to collaborating with Porsche and the Cellforce Group to develop future high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and work together towards our common goal of sustainable mobility. BASF’s cathode active materials will be tailored to Porsche’s specific needs leveraging our strong R&D capabilities. Furthermore, they will have an industry-leading low CO₂ impact thanks to our efficient manufacturing process, the high share of renewable energy, the upstream integration into the key raw materials as well as the short transportation route along the value chain. With battery recycling, we can ensure that valuable materials are kept in the production loop and further reduce the CO2 footprint of our cathode materials by an expected total of up to 60 percent.”
Porsche focus on research
BASF research network aligns with Porsche’s focus on researching fast-charging batteries. They can provide excellent battery materials as they already have precursor cathode active materials in Harjavalta, Finland for its production plant. And another production plant for cathode active materials in Schwarzheide, Germany. Additionally, their path to sustainability is impressive as they have a battery recycling plant in Germany.
Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG, Michael Steiner stated, “As an automotive manufacturer, Porsche aims to be CO2-neutral in its overall balance sheet by 2030. In this respect, a low CO2 footprint, closed-loop recycling, and sustainability are increasingly in the foreground. The cooperation with BASF is a win-win situation for all parties involved. European sources for the materials nickel and cobalt, the associated security of supply, and the short transport routes from Schwarzheide to Baden-Württemberg in Germany were all important arguments for the decision to work with BASF. The battery cells – especially the cathode active materials – are at the center of considerations here. We are very pleased that together with BASF we are bringing an environmentally friendly cell technology to series-production readiness.”
The research on cathode active materials shows promising results on the charging batteries faster and improves battery stability.
Dialogues were taken from Volkswagen Newsroom.