Storedot
StoreDot is a developer of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric vehicles founded in 2012 by Doron Myersdorf, Simon Litsyn, and Gil Rosenman.
It is based in Herzliya, Israel.
Wiki English | |
| Industry | automotive, electric batteries |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Doron Myersdorf, Simon Litsyn, and Gil Rosenman |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people |
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| Products | Previously in development:
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| Owners | BP, Daimler, Samsung, TDK, Vingroup, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK, EVE Energy,[better source needed] Volvo, Polestar |
Number of employees | 120 (2021) |
| Subsidiaries | MolecuLED |
| Website | store-dot |
The company was founded around developing peptide-based mobile phone displays and data storage. The company reported it was ready to commercially release these products: peptide-based displays by 2016; peptide-based batteries for mobile phones that fully charge in 30 seconds by 2016; germanium-based mobile phone batteries by 2019; electric car and aerial drone batteries that fully charge in five minutes by 2020; and scooter batteries that fully charge in under five minutes by 2021. None of the company's products were ever commercially released as of March 2022.
The company, as of 2023, is developing a silicon-based electric vehicle battery which it aims to deliver commercially in 2025, which will be capable of 270kW charging. The company does not plan to become a battery manufacturer or supplier, but instead plans to license its technology to major manufacturers or lease dedicated manufacturing capacity from existing suppliers, saying its silicon batteries can be manufactured using existing factories and manufacturing processes.
Product development
Displays
StoreDot was founded in 2012 by Doron Myersdorf, Simon Litsyn, and Gil Rosenman, initially developing displays and storage devices based on research by Ehud Gazit. A year later its CEO, Myersdorf, said their peptide-based display technology is ready to be "packed and sold" and its related intellectual property could be sold for 300 million dollars. The displays and storage devices were based on "peptide nanocrystals", and a prototype storage device was made in 2012 that is "three times faster than conventional memory." The company's CEO said the display technology is 20% more power-efficient and 90% less costly to manufacture than OLED, and the displays were ready in 2015 for full-scale manufacturing using existing factories and manufacturing processes, and were to be commercialized by 2016. By 2019 the display technology was spun off into its own company, MolecuLED. As of 2022, MolecuLED has no employees.
Organic compound peptide-based batteries
StoreDot reported in 2014 to have developed organic-compound peptide-based smartphone batteries capable of being fully charged within 30 seconds. The company said its 30-second-charging organic-compound-based battery would be commercially available for smartphones by 2016, and for electric vehicles and aerial drones by 2020.
The company acknowledged in 2015 that its claims regarding its organic batteries have not been scientifically peer-reviewed.
Germanium batteries
The company was developing germanium-based batteries by 2017, citing graphite-free batteries and an electric vehicle battery that fully charges in five minutes, expecting "millions of cars" to be equipped with its electric vehicle battery by 2020. The company announced in 2018 that its mobile phone battery would be commercially available by 2019, and that it had plans to build a battery factory in the United States by 2022. In 2019 it announced the commercialization of a 168-cell germanium-tin battery for electric scooters, and stated that its mobile phone products would be commercially available in late 2020 and the scooter battery would be commercially available in 2021. The company's CEO said its electric car battery would have ten times as many cells as the scooter battery, charge fast enough to add 300 miles of range in under five minutes, and have a cooling system; and that its batteries did not degrade.
A 2019 peer-reviewed study concluded that the company's claimed battery capabilities have no basis in published, peer-reviewed literature, and listed its unreleased products. Science journalist John Timmer could not identify in 2021 any published research about the company's germanium battery technology.
Silicon batteries
The company started promoting its silicon-based batteries in 2019 and ceased development of its germanium-based batteries in 2020. The company sent germanium sample batteries to manufacturers in place of silicon sample batteries. The company's CEO said the germanium batteries were only developed as proof-of-concept, were only meant to be sold in small quantities, and that they were never released because they weren't sufficiently differentiated from the rest of the market.
Group14 Technologies has developed silicon nanoparticles called SCC55 which allow lithium-silicon batteries to charge from 10% to 80% state-of-charge in 10 minutes. StoreDot needs this material for their silicon batteries. As of 2023, the company is looking for suppliers capable of manufacturing thousands of tonnes of this material, which is critical for their business. The battery cells have a sponge-like carbon electrode imbued with silicon nanoparticles that react with the lithium ions, keeping the silicon's expansion within the carbon "sponge".
The company announced in November 2021 that it aims to achieve mass-manufacturing in 2024 of its silicon batteries, having pouch-cell samples produced by its manufacturing partner EVE Energy sent to be tested by global car makers. The company announced in 2023 that its batteries will be commercially available in VinFast vehicles in 2025.
The company's upcoming 2025 batteries are projected to have a peak charging rate of 350kW and a service life of 1000 fast-charging cycles. StoreDot announced their upcoming 2025 batteries charge at a rate that adds 100 miles in 5 minues for a vehicle that uses 14kWh per 100 kilometers, which corresponds to a charging rate of 270kW. StoreDot is developing faster-charging cells that charge a 75kWh battery 70% in 10 minutes (from 10% to 80%) which corresponds to a charging rate of 315kW, which it aims to deliver in 2026. StoreDot demonstrated these batteries in a prototype Polestar 5 sedan. The car is expected to be commercially available in 2027 with batteries developed and manufactured by SK On.
Financing and valuation
StoreDot raised over 6 million dollars in an initial investment round, and by the end of 2014 had raised another 42 million dollars. It raised another 62 million dollars by the end of 2017. The company was in negotiations in March 2021 for a SPAC merger at a $3.5 billion valuation. A further funding round of 70-80 million dollars in 2022 gave it a $1.5 billion valuation. The company plans as of 2023 to raise further capital in 2024 or 2025 in order to build up its silicon nanoparticles supply chain and secure dedicated manufacturing capacity for its batteries from existing manufacturers.
References
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