Cummins joins Volt Storage

The US engine manufacturer wants to diversify its own business in this way. The Munich-based start-up plans to use the capital to accelerate its market launch.

The US company Cummins is investing in the Munich-based start-up Volt-Storage. This was reported by the Handelsblatt. The expert for diesel and gas engines comes from the conventional energy sector and wants to focus more on renewable energies as part of its own energy transition.

The start-up has developed huge batteries using iron salt technology. The manufacturer claims that these are only around a tenth as expensive per kilowatt hour as conventional lithium-ion batteries. The company put the prototype into operation in December. The first customer-based trial programs will begin in 2023. The technology is intended to help solve one of the main problems of the energy transition: electricity from renewable sources is often available in abundance - and is lacking when demand is high. Operators of wind and solar parks are therefore very interested in storage options.

Volt-Storage's first customer pilot projects have been announced for 2023 and operators of solar and wind farms are very interested in storage options. With further financing and a new strategic investor, the startup Volt-Storage wants to push ahead with the commercialization of its iron salt batteries. "We now have planning security and want to accelerate the market launch," says Managing Director Jakob Bitner.

"Cummins can help us, for example, with its experience in series production and plant construction," said Bitner. Nevertheless, Volt-Storage should remain an independent company, which is why it is a minority shareholding.