Varta, the German battery manufacturer, and renowned automotive manufacturer Porsche, have announced negotiations regarding a possible investment by Porsche in Varta’s V4Drive cell production (round large-format lithium-ion cells for EVs).
The companies said in a statement that Porsche is evaluating the possibility of a majority shareholding in V4Drive Battery, a company founded in 2022 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Varta. The companies have already entered into a non-binding term sheet. The parties are in the first phase of agreeing terms.
The first step under any agreement would be to transfer Varta’s V4Drive business to V4Drive Battery. Porsche would then enter ownership in the spin-off company via a capital increase. In the present EV market situation, Porsche and Varta will carry out due diligence. If successful, it will be followed by the approval of certain stakeholders of the Varta Group.
Porsche has recently launched a high-performance version of its sports EV Taycan and, despite plunging sales of EV models, the company plans to introduce a fully electric SUV Macan, developed in cooperation with Croatian company Rimac.
According to the German magazine Automobilwoche, Porsche has long indicated that it wants to produce its own battery cells. Three years ago the company founded a battery subsidiary called Cellforce, initially with Customcells as a partner.
Cellforce is currently building a pilot plant near Reutlingen with a production capacity of up to 1.3GWh. However, the potential demand is 20GWh – hence the discussions with battery specialist Varta.
Whether Porsche will carry out an investment is currently still open. Varta declined to comment further.
