Windsor's Flex-N-Gate partners to produce 'extreme fast charging' batteries for U.S. EV market

Battery electrode coating line at Flex-Ion in Windsor, Ont. (Source: StoreDot)

Windsor company Flex-N-Gate is joining a partnership to produce ‘extreme fast charging” (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles in the U.S. market.

Flex-N-Gate is collaborating with StoreDot to sample and scale up the commercialization of StoreDot's game-changing extreme fast charging battery cells for electric vehicles.

Samples of StoreDot's 100in5 battery cells will be produced next year at Flex-N-Gate Group's "Flex-lon" lithium-ion cell pilot factory in Windsor, while working with local automotive OEMs to produce cells with specified performance and formats.

The 100in5 cells can deliver 100 miles of range in five minutes of charging.

"This is an exciting and significant agreement which further supports and enhances our path to OEM commercialization,” said StoreDot COO Amir Tirosh in a news release. “Working with Flex|N|Gate, a tier one manufacturer and global leader in mass-scale automotive component production, opens vast new opportunities for StoreDot in the North American market, including the ability to localize its cell production.

Tirosh said the 100in5 battery cells are already being tested by electric vehicle manufacturers.

“This strategic agreement gives us ability to scale up rapidly to mass production and flexibility to produce OEM li-ion battery cells at the scale and in the form factors required by this burgeoning industry,” said Tirosh. “Enabling owners to charge their cars safely in minutes is no longer an option, as range and charging anxiety remain the main barriers for mass EV adoption.”

Flex-N-Gate VP of Global Sales Guido Benvenuto said they are honored and excited to collaborate with StoreDot, an acknowledged innovation leader in the EV battery space.

“Producing extreme fast charging battery cells at giga-scale is a key competitive requirement in the electric vehicle industry. Applying our mass production manufacturing expertise to StoreDot's cutting-edge technologies will create an ideal framework to establish world-class cell manufacturing facilities,” said Benvenuto.

Early next year, cells will be produced at Flex-Ion's pilot plant in Windsor, where Benvenuto said they have established the capacity and flexibility to service the needs of the automotive industry.

“This will be a significant and rewarding development as the Americas transition to electrified mobility," he said.