Electric Cars Get Up to Speed

StoreDot (opens in a new tab), co-founded by a Technion alumnus, recently received an investment from Volvo that could accelerate development of the startup’s fast-charging batteries for electric cars. StoreDot has been working with strategic investors such as BP Ventures, Daimler AG, and Samsung Ventures, but with this latest collaboration, StoreDot expects to get its revolutionary technology into mass production as early as 2024.

The investment marks yet another example of Technion graduates collaborating with industry to better our world through breakthrough technology.

“We are extremely excited and proud to be entering into a collaboration with a premium automotive brand,” said StoreDot co-founder and CEO Doron Myersdorf ’89, ’91, Ph.D. ’94. “Volvo Cars’ commitment to zero emissions electric vehicles is hugely impressive and one that fits perfectly with StoreDot’s mission.” Volvo aims to become a pure electric car company by 2030.

StoreDot’s revolutionary battery technology, dubbed “100in5,” could result in electric cars that would run nearly 100 miles with just a five-minute charge — the same time it takes to fill up a conventional gas tank. By comparison, it currently takes about 4 hours to charge the average electric vehicle for that distance using the 220-240-volt chargers commonly installed in public charging stations. Increasing driving range and reducing charging time have been among the most vexing concerns for electric car manufacturers.

“We are working to ensure that EV drivers will never have to be concerned with anxiety over charging times, currently the major barrier to EV ownership and a cleaner world,” said Myersdorf.

Based in Herzliya, StoreDot was founded in 2012 and has been developing lithium ion-based battery technologies using nanomaterials and organic and inorganic compounds that enable extremely fast-charging (XFC) batteries. The current breakthrough replaces graphite in the battery with silicon nanoparticles to optimize energy density and to overcome issues of safety and lifecycle. The technology has been in development for three years, is backed by 12 patents, and is currently undergoing real-world testing by leading automotive manufacturers.

Myersdorf earned his Technion B.Sc. in industrial engineering management and M.Sc. in information systems — both cum laude — and his Ph.D. in R&D management. He is a tech industry veteran with expertise in building established companies as well as launching his own. Most recently, he served as senior director of the SanDisk SSD Business Unit, where he established and managed the division in Israel. Before that, he managed strategic sourcing for a global flash memory company resulting in annual revenue of more than $1.5 billion. As an entrepreneur, he founded and served as CEO of InnerPresence, a Silicon Valley security software company, and co-founded Siftology, an interactive media search company.

With growing attention on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate climate change, Myersdorf has ambitions for StoreDot to push the envelope even further. Assembling multidisciplinary teams of scientists with expertise in organic chemistry, nanotechnology, and state-of-the art- data science, StoreDot aims to get 230 miles from a 5-minute charge within the next couple of years. They are also raising money for a manufacturing facility that would eventually produce 300,000 cars yearly.

“People say that in the future fast-charging cars will happen. But it’s already here. We’re demonstrating it on our labs,” said Myersdorf. “The world of batteries is changing, and prices are coming down. Our grandchildren will not believe that there was a time that we actually charged overnight. This will be something archaic.”