NRG matters — Porsche leads $400m investment in EV battery startup Group14; Solarwatt joins hands with Stiebel Eltron

RIYADH: Electric vehicle battery startup, Group14 has raised $400 million from a group of investors led by Germany’s Porsche, the firm said on Wednesday.

Part of that money, which boosts Group14’s valuation to more than a billion dollars, will be used to build a second battery materials factory near the firm’s current site in Woodinville, outside Seattle, CEO Rick Luebbe said in an interview.

Luebbe described the firm’s silicon-carbon anode material as “transformational technology,” that will enable EV batteries to charge more quickly, and hold more energy than those that use graphite.

Most of the lithium-ion batteries in today’s EVs use anodes made of graphite, which mainly comes from China, with smaller quantities from Canada and Japan.

Because Group14’s silicon-carbon anode material enables lithium-ion batteries to hold up to 50 percent more energy, Luebbe said they can provide the same range as current graphite-based batteries, but with fewer cells, thus reducing the overall cost and size of the battery pack.

Solarwatt joins hands with Stiebel Eltron

Germany’s Solarwatt has entered a partnership with home technology and heating specialist, Stiebel Eltron, to help households escape dependence on fossil fuels, the solar company said on Wednesday.

Owners of rooftop photovoltaic systems can save money and carbon emissions if they store unused electricity in batteries to be used later around the house, to charge electric vehicles or feed electric heat pumps.

Solarwatt provides PV systems, batteries and energy management devices.

The partnership, announced on Wednesday, will entail Stiebel Eltron heat pumps being fitted by Solarwatt tradesmen to link them to household PV systems.

Solarwatt last year hooked up with carmaker BMW BMWG.DE in a tie-up, as both companies seek to maximize the electric vehicle sector’s growing potential.

(With inputs from Reuters)