Porsche investing in new battery cell factory in Germany

Porsche is teaming up with a world-leading tech firm to produce batteries for its hybrid and fully-electric cars at a dedicated facility in Germany.

The carmaker announced, alongside its joint venture partner Customcells, it will be investing in high-performance battery production in the town of Tübingen – all driven by a new Porsche subsidiary, the Cellforce Group.

The town is likely to be where Porsche will build a new factory to make the batteries, as it's close to its headquarters in Stuttgart and the brand's R&D centre in Weissach.

Both the German Government and the state of Baden-Württemberg have announced funding of close to €60 million (AU$95m) for the overall project which will employ up to 80 people by 2025.

Porsche has said it will be developing cells which utilise silicone as the anode material rather than graphite, theoretically delivering a much larger capacity for the same size battery pack.

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Porsche's chairman of the executive board, Oliver Blume, said: "The battery cell is the combustion chamber of the future. As a new Porsche subsidiary, the Cellforce Group will be instrumental in driving forward the research, development, production and sale of high-performance battery cells.

"This joint venture [with Customcells] allows us to position ourselves at the forefront of global competition in developing the most powerful battery cell and make it the link between the unmistakable Porsche driving experience and sustainability.

"This is how we shape the future of the sportscar."

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Customcells CEO Torge Thönnessen believes the annual capacity of the proposed factory could produce at least 1000 vehicles, though Porsche's focus is on quality, not quantity.

"We founded Customcells with the aim of developing customer-specific battery cells for the most demanding of applications, and this is exactly what we can now realise together with Porsche," said Thönnessen.

"The goal for the planned production plant is to reach a minimum annual capacity of 100MWh. This is equivalent to high-performance batteries for 1000 vehicles."

The only EV Porsche model for sale in Australia currently is the Taycan, a vehicle which can develop up to 560kW and 1050Nm with a WLTP range of 416km.