Copyright Michael Sohn/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.
By Doloresz Katanich
Published on 21/08/2025 -
German sports car giant Porsche plans to close the majority of operations at its subsidiary Cellforce, a factory for high-performance battery cells.
According to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, the sports car manufacturer plans to lay off around 200 of its 286 employees at the factory in Kirchentellinsfurt, Germany.
The cuts suggest that, at best, a small research and development unit would remain at Cellforce’s site.
Porsche declined to comment on the reports, but Der Spiegel noted that a corresponding mass layoff was reported to the employment agency in the nearby city of Reutlingen on Wednesday.
Porsche invested in Cellforce Group GmbH in 2021. At first, it was a joint venture between Porsche AG and battery cell manufacturer CustomCells.
In an effort to establish Baden-Württemberg as a leading battery location, the state also offered €17 million in funding to Cellforce in 2022.
Porsche reports significant plunge in European and Chinese deliveries
In 2023, Porsche then took over the business entirely with the promise of producing high-performance battery cells on a much larger scale than previously planned.
However, it was a short-lived ambition. In April this year, Porsche announced that it would not continue to operate the battery cell subsidiary independently.
According to Der Spiegel, representatives from BMW visited the site at the beginning of August, and defence companies were also said to have been interested in the factory for developing batteries for military drones. Yet the latest media reports suggest that no new investors are on the horizon.
The depreciation of Cellforce's production facilities is allegedly costing Porsche €295mn.
Meanwhile, around 200 employees face unemployment because, unlike its parent company Porsche, there is no employment guarantee and no works council at Cellforce.
All employees have been invited to a town hall meeting on 25 August, at the "Cellforce 1" building in Kirchentellinsfurt. Employees are also banned from taking holiday on that day, according to reports. Michael Steiner, Porsche's chief development officer and vice president, will address the staff.
The closure of the battery business highlights fundamental challenges to Porsche’s electric strategy, pursued by CEO Oliver Blume. Cellforce was intended to help increase the firm's EV sales and profits by allowing the manufacturer to draw upon its own high-performance cells.
New AI model can help extend life and increase safety of electric vehicle batteries
image:
Daniel Brandell, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry and Director of the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University
view moreCredit: Tobias Sterner/Bildbyrån
Batteries in electric vehicles wear out too quickly and this is slowing down the electrification of the transport sector. Researchers at Uppsala University have now developed an AI model that can provide a much more accurate picture of battery ageing. The model could lead to longer life and enhanced safety for electric vehicle batteries.
It is not uncommon for batteries in electric cars to be the first component of the vehicle to age. This is a major waste of resources today and is holding back the transformation of the transport sector. To address this issue, the automotive industry is developing software, often based on AI, to optimise battery management and control. Researchers at Uppsala University have now produced a new model that can increase the robustness of battery health predictions by up to 70 per cent.
“Being able to learn more about the life and ageing of batteries will benefit future control systems in electric vehicles. It also shows how important it is to understand what happens inside the batteries. If we stop looking at them as black boxes that are simply expected to provide power, and instead acquire a detailed picture of the processes, we can manage them so that they stay in good condition longer,” says Professor Daniel Brandell, who led the study and is in charge of the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University.
Can map the battery life cycle
Several years of battery testing are behind the study, carried out in collaboration with Aalborg University in Denmark. A database was built up by collecting data from numerous very short charging segments. This was then combined with a detailed model of all the different chemical processes taking place inside the battery.
“Altogether, this gives us a very precise picture of the various chemical reactions that result in the battery generating power, but also of how it ages during use,” says Wendi Guo, who conducted the study.
Reduces need for sensitive vehicle data
The discovery could also affect the safety of electric vehicles. The safety problems that can occur in the battery are often due to design flaws and side reactions, which can also be predicted by studying data from the battery’s charging and discharging.
“The fact that we only use short charging segments is probably an added advantage. Battery data from electric vehicles is sensitive, both for the industry and from an anonymisation point of view for users. This research shows how far you can get without needing complete datasets,” says Brandell.
Journal
Energy & Environmental Science
Article Title
Uncovering the impact of battery design parameters on health and lifetime using short charging segments
Article Publication Date
20-Aug-2025
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