The last time I looked in on StoreDot was well over 6 months ago. If you can recall Elon Musk was late to the party as many other car manufacturers were on board right from the beginning. He wanted to join in 2021 by getting involved as this is going to be game changing for the motor industry. There are many car manufacturers already testing and no doubt Tesla is as well, but they have competition as this is not their product. I have never been a fan of Musk and happy to see this product will be available for all car companies and not just one.
StoreDot is an Israeli start up company founded back in 2012 with the key goal of reducing charge up times for batteries. This is the key for Electric Vehicle mass adoption as realistically the current batteries available are just not convenient for the masses. The problem is the time it takes to charge as no one can really push the range knowing they will have to wait multiple hours before they can continue their journey.
StoreDot has reversed engineered the battery changing the entire workings of todays batteries. They have over 60 patents protecting their technology which is mainly geared around the fast charging.
A Tesla with a normal charger will take anywhere from 9-12 hours to fully charge. A supercharger will take roughly 15 minutes for 200 miles range which is great but you don't have those installed at home. Here is where StoreDot is the game changer with their 100 miles in 5 minutes which can be plugged in at home.
The battery known as the 100 in 5 will start mass production in 2024 and are currently being tested by over 15 car manufacturers globally. We know investors like Mercedes, Nissan, Volvo and BMW are already on board and judging by the map we can guess a few of the others.
StoreDot have over a 1000 technicians working in their laboratories with the key goal of reducing the charge times and also increasing the range. The biggest problem has always been safety as one can only imagine the chemical reactions and temperature build up taken place internally. With the pending launch dates set for next year they have not only overcome this but are on track to deliver faster charging times.
The 100 in 3 minutes is due for 2028 and the 100 in 2 set for 2032. Don't forget the range on offer is also being increased. One noticeable difference between StoreDot and all the other batteries is the size as current manufacturers do not have to alter their cars in order to fit this set up. Obviously the engine is removed, but the body of the car needs no altering.
The key take from all of this development is the the Electric Vehicle prices will start to tumble as the prices are expected to be on par with the normal combustion cars by 2025. This is good news and possibly why the majority of road users have not even considered an Electric Vehicle up until now along with the charging of the battery hassle.
In the past the EV manufacturers justified the extra purchase price as it saved you long term with the running costs, but now prices are going to be on par therefore the popularity should increase as EV running costs are that much lower. The only problem we have now is the cost of energy and in countries like South Africa where there are serious shortfalls.
With the roll out in 2024 another key development is just in the EU alone they are short of roughly 800 000 employees to push the battery industry. In order to avoid disruption to the industry the various Governments are looking at reskilling the work force in cooperation with car manufacturers.