Porsche & Customcells close in on battery plant site

According to media reports, the Porsche Board of Directors wants to decide where to build the planned 100 MWh battery cell factory in the next few weeks. So far, Tübingen, Gärtringen or a location near Heilbronn are being considered.

Initially, the two German daily newspapers Stuttgarter Nachrichten and Stuttgarter Zeitung had reported on the approaching conclusion of the location issue, later company circles confirmed the information to the news agency DPA. The only thing that seems clear is that the plant is to be built in Baden-Württemberg. A favourite among the three locations does not emerge from the reports.

When Porsche and Customcells announced the foundation of their joint venture Cellforce Group in June, it was still said that Tübingen, as the headquarters of the new GmbH, was “on the shortlist for the location of the associated battery cell factory”. The site is to be located “in close proximity to the Weissach development centre and the headquarters of Porsche AG in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen”.

Gärtringen would be the closest location to Weissach, while Heilbronn is well connected to the A81 from Zuffenhausen – and would also avoid the congestion-prone area between the Leonberg motorway junction (A8/A81) and Stuttgart airport, which would have to be passed if the two locations were south of Stuttgart. The fact that the Porsche board decides on the location of the joint venture’s factory is simply due to ownership: The carmaker holds 83.75 per cent of Cellforce.

While the location has not yet been decided, other details about the planned factory are known. Production is to be 100 MWh per year, enough for 1,000 cars. The high-performance cells are to have a silicon anode. The high-performance cells are to be used in racing cars such as the Mission R presented at the IAA Mobility or in limited edition road sports cars – but no such model has been announced. The last limited edition super sports car from Porsche was the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder.

The battery cells for Porsche’s volume electric models are to come from Northvolt in future. The Swedish company is to supply the VW ‘standard cell’ for the premium vehicles, i.e. for Audi and Porsche.

stuttgarter-nachrichten.de, stuttgarter-zeitung.de (both behind Paywall), automobilwoche.de (all in German)