Israeli specialty materials innovator StoreDot has raised $18 million for its new Electric Vehicle (EV) business unit. Investors in this round include existing investors such as Norma Investments Limited, representing Roman Abramovich, Samsung Ventures, and Moshe Hogeg's Israeli Singulariteam fund.
Although the Tel Aviv based company is best known for its attempts to develop a battery that can fully charge a smartphone in 30-90 seconds, this latest financing is focused on the development and commercialization of the EV business unit. One of the company’s immediate goals is to build the first ever instantly-charging car prototype. This funding will also allow new hiring and additional labs for the new business unit.
The new business unit will allow future electric vehicles to fully charge in only five minutes as opposed to the long hours it currently takes. With StoreDot’s proprietary FlashBattery technology, drivers will be able recharge in five-minutes which could make a dramatic impact on global EV adoption. In addition to perfecting the FlashBattery itself, the funding will support the development of a powerful charging station, a fast charging standard, and an integrated FlashBattery management system.
StoreDot CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf said, "This new EV division is a natural extension of our proprietary FlashBattery technology originally developed for the smartphone domain. This funding brings StoreDot closer to fulfill its vision of a care-free fast-charging future. Together with our strategic partners, StoreDot will accelerate the process of delivering our FlashBattery technology to the EV market."
this latest financing was in fact first revealed by Myersdorf in an intervirew with "Globes" G Magazine in January. He said, "We have no electric car prototype but we have a number of investors wanting to develop a venture that will be involved in this field. I'm not prepared to make it part of the company because this might hurt our smartphone activities. For that reason, the investors said they would put $20 million dedicated only to electric vehicles."
Myersdorf explained that, "The fastest battery today for electric cars belongs to Tesla and that takes 30 minutes to fully charge the battery and that suffices for 160 kilometers. We can do that in several minutes and double the distance to 320 kilometers."
On the smartphone battery, he said, "What we have done new at StoreDot is to say right, we don't know how to improve the density of the energy but we know how to do it faster. The battery will perhaps run down more quickly but I suggest charging it quickly wherever possible, perhaps at Starbucks or McDonald's branches while you're waiting to pay at the cash till."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 19, 2015
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