Factbox-Solid state: EV giants chase 'holy grail' of batteries
By Eric Onstad
LONDON (Reuters) — Solid-state batteries hold the promise of more energy storage, longer driving ranges and faster charging for next-generation electric vehicles. Yet despite decades of research and billions of dollars invested, their future still looks elusive.
Here are some of the companies developing these kind of batteries. EV market leader Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), an industry outlier, has not detailed any solid-state development plans.
U.S. startup QuantumScape, which has deals with six automakers including Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), has developed a semi-solid state cell with no anode that uses lithium metal, a ceramic separator and liquid electrolyte. The company says it could boost an EV's driving range from 350 miles to 400-500 miles, an increase of 14%-43%. The expected range increase is down from earlier estimates of 50%-80%.
QuantumScape shipped its first prototype samples in late 2022, which VW said showed the battery could drive more than 500,000 miles without any noticeable loss of range and had a fast charging time to 80% capacity in 15 minutes.
France's Blue Solutions is already selling solid state batteries for buses with a charging time of four hours, but is developing a new product for cars that uses a polymer electrolyte and ultra-thin lithium metal anode, aiming to have a charging time of less than 20 minutes and enabling a range increase of about 30% to nearly 1,000 km.
The company says it aims to build a gigafactory for its new batteries by 2029 and has signed a joint development agreement with BMW (ETR:BMWG).
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's biggest automaker, said in June it had achieved a breakthrough in solid-state technology that addressed durability problems. It said it planned
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