FRANKFURT
(Reuters) - Volkswagen's luxury sports car unit Porsche AG is setting up a
joint venture with Customcells to produce high-performance batteries that will
significantly reduce charging times.
The
partnership with Customcells, a company in southern Germany specializing in
lithium-ion cells, will aim to produce car batteries with higher energy density
than prototypes used in Porsche's current electric cars.
European
carmakers are pushing to reduce their dependence on Asia for batteries as they
roll out all-electric models to meet stricter emissions targets in the European
Union.
In addition
to cutting charging time, improving energy density will reduce the amount of
raw material needed in batteries to achieve the same range. It will also cut
battery production costs, making electric cars more affordable.
Porsche will
invest a high double-digit million euro sum in the joint venture in which it
will hold 80%.
The
production facility will have a capacity of 100 kilowatt hours, which will
translate into about enough batteries for 1,000 cars a year.
Porsche's
parent company Volkswagen will build half a dozen battery cell plants across
Europe and expand infrastructure for charging electric vehicles globally.
