Porsche has acquired V4Drive from the VARTA Group, making it the new majority shareholder of the company, while VARTA will retain a minority stake without any operational influence.
Porsche and VARTA are combining their expertise in the development and production of high-performance cylindrical cells. V4Drive is being rebranded as V4Smart to reflect the realignment of the company and emphasize that the potential applications of the high-performance cells extend well beyond the automotive sector. The move is expected to open up new customer groups for ultra-high-performance lithium-ion cylindrical cells.
Cells from V4Smart have already made their way into series production at Porsche as booster cells in the 911 GTS models. Production of these cells currently takes place at the company’s Ellwangen site in Germany. The production facility there has already been brought to series-production readiness with significant input from Porsche Werkzeugbau. It is planned that from April onward, the cylindrical cells will also be manufactured in a new facility at the company’s Nördlingen site.
“The booster cells enable us to bring motorsport technology to our production cars,” said Albrecht Reimold, member of the executive board for production and logistics at Porsche. “As a key component of the T-Hybrid drive system, they ensure exceptional driving performance from our iconic 911 sports car. As we establish V4Smart – with a great deal of momentum and energy – I am looking forward to working with our new team, whose expertise will further strengthen our capacity for innovation.”