Volkswagen Battery Partner Northvolt Snaps Up Cuberg And Aims For 1000Wh/l

Volkswagen Battery Partner Northvolt Snaps Up Cuberg And Aims For 1000Wh/l

Northvolt CEO and and founder Peter Carlsson has lead the acquisition of Stanford solid-state ... [+] battery cell spin-off, Cuberg, to deliver 1000Wh/liter of charge capacity. Northvolt also aims to be the greenest cell maker in Europe. Photo: TOVE ERIKSSON/AFP via Getty Images



AFP via Getty Images

The Volkswagen Group is chasing unprecedented electric-vehicle (EV) energy density and range by 2025 after its Swedish battery cell partner snapped up the US cell research company, Cuberg, today.

Northvolt, which is 20% owed by the Volkswagen Group, announced today that it had nabbed the Stanford University battery cell spinoff to help it reach its mass-production target of 1000Wh/liter of energy density by 2025.

It already claims a 70% improvement over lithium-ion batteries in aviation applications.

The acquisition means Northvolt, which also supplies its cells to BMW, Scania, ABB, Siemens, Vattenfall and Vestas, now has a new research center in Silicon Valley as well as Sweden on its way to heavy- and medium-truck cell supply, as well as automotive use.



Cuberg will lead the development of Northvolt's next generation of lithium-metal solid-state battery cells, with the targets of reduced pricing, improved performance and greater safety.