Mercedes-Benz and ProLogium have signed a technology cooperation agreement to develop next-generation solid-state battery cells.
The German automaker will also make a high double-digit million EUR investment in ProLogium and take a seat on ProLogium's board of directors.
It's actually a second such deal for Mercedes-Benz, which recently invested in Factorial Energy, another solid-state battery developer.
According to the press release, the investment by Mercedes-Benz will be used to support the development of the technology and ProLogium's plan of establishing production capacity in Europe.
It's expected, that the first Mercedes-Benz test vehicles, equipped with co-developed solid-state batteries, will be introduced "in the coming years."
It appears that the strategic goal is to launch the first models in the second half of the decade:
The companies also agreed on milestones that would enable integration of the solid-state battery technology into a range of passenger vehicles in the second half of the decade.
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, Chief Technology Officer responsible for Development and Procurement, said:
"We believe that range and efficiency are the new industry benchmarks for electric cars. Solid-state technology helps to cut down battery size and weight. This is why we are partnering with companies like ProLogium to ensure that Mercedes-Benz continues to break new ground in the automotive sector – for the benefit of our customers."
Vincent Yang, CEO and Founder of ProLogium said:
"We have been working with Mercedes-Benz on the testing of our EV battery cells since 2016 and are excited to strengthen and expand our partnership. We expect to work with Mercedes-Benz to demonstrate the effective application of our safe, high-performance solid-state battery cells to meet the Mercedes-Benz top quality standards. At ProLogium, we believe that innovative technology must be backed by the scalability of production. We look forward to ramping up our new plant by the end of 2022 and working with our customers toward successful mass production."
See ProLogium presentation:
