It’s easy to see why battery tech advancements are all the buzz in the EV scene these days. I mean, anyone who’s anyone in the automotive and motorcycle industries is working hard in pushing the bounds of electrification.
But up to now, the biggest hurdle when it comes to EVs is reducing charging time and increasing range. This is where solid-state (SS) batteries enter the picture. We’ve been talking about these things here on RideApart for quite some time now. And the potential they have in the future of mobility is simply undeniable.
Now, some of the biggest players in the tech industry are hopping aboard the SS battery bandwagon in full force. For example, at the SNE Battery Day 2024 Expo in Seoul, South Korea, none other than Samsung showcased its latest battery technology: an EV-specific solid-state oxide battery with some impressive claims.
How does a 20-year lifespan and a nine-minute charging time sound?
Plus, Samsung’s solid-state battery comes with all the perks associated with these types of batteries including lighter weight and improved safety thanks to a more stable thermal balance. But perhaps the best part is that Samsung’s solid-state battery tech has around 500 watt-hours per kilogram. That’s nearly double the energy density of the batteries found in most EVs today. And so in the real world, we could be looking at about 600 miles of range on a single charge.
Indeed, at present, Samsung’s already working with big automakers to incorporate its solid-state battery tech into tomorrow’s EVs. Toyota and Samsung have agreed to begin mass production of SS batteries in 2027, with Toyota noting that its premium Lexus vehicles will be among the first to benefit from this new tech.
Now, if you’re thinking that all this sounds too good to be true, well, that’s because it kinda is. There definitely is a catch, and that catch is the fact that these ultra-fast charging batteries require some pretty solid infrastructure for you to get the claimed nine-minute charge time. If we look at China, whose EV makers offer similar charging speeds, 480kW and sometimes even 600kW chargers are an absolute must. But even in China, charging stations of this capacity are far and few in between.
So the real challenge here isn’t so much whether or not it’s possible—we know that it certainly is—but rather, how quickly ultra-fast-charging infrastructure can be made available to the masses.
Then, of course, there’s the issue of cost. At present, it costs way more to manufacture solid-state EV batteries than Lithium-ion and LFP batteries found in current EVs—around three or four times, to be specific. Perhaps that’s why Toyota plans on introducing solid-state batteries on its Lexus vehicles first, where profit margins are much higher.
At the end of the day, the advancement of solid-state batteries is a good thing for everyone. Sure, at the moment, they’re super expensive and require specialized tech to make the most out of. But less than 20 years ago, SSDs were super expensive and HDDs were the norm. But now, even boomers have SSDs in their laptops and home computers.
Who’s to say that in the next 20 years, or maybe even less, SS batteries will be the standard for EVs?
