Solid-state technology promises to be cheaper and charge faster than any
battery available today, but no one has really figured out how to make it
happen.
Producing a cheaper, safer electric car that can travel 800 kilometers on a
single charge is easier said than done. If the automotive industry really wants
to build such a car, it needs to make a breakthrough in battery technology.
Scientists in Japan, China and the United States are working hard to find
ways to significantly increase the energy storage capacity of batteries so that
electric vehicles can have a range comparable to that of a conventional car full
of gas.
Currently, this exploration is focused on solid-state technology, which is
a radical transformation of the internal structure of the battery to use solid
materials instead of flammable liquids to achieve charging and discharging.
The technology promises significant improvements over existing lithium-ion
battery packs. Automakers say lithium-ion battery packs have reached their
storage capacity and may never be able to provide enough power for long-distance
vehicles.
Take Tesla's Supercharger station, for example, which can charge a depleted
car to 80% in 30 minutes. If solid-state technology can be mastered, it will
further accelerate the demise of internal combustion engine vehicles and
potentially shorten the charging time of electric vehicles from several hours to
about 10 minutes.
"We can't think of any other way to achieve our goals other than
solid-state technology," said Ted Miller, Ford's senior manager of energy
storage strategy and research.
Miller has researched a variety of technologies to enhance the capabilities
of electric vehicle batteries. “What I can’t predict right now is who will
commercialize solid-state technology,” he added.
Solid-state batteries use smaller battery packs to provide more range for
electric vehicles
Replacing combustion vehicles with electric vehicles is expected to drive
exponential growth in lithium-ion batteries and bring huge returns to
companies.
The latest report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) found that
electric buses and passenger cars accounted for 440 gigawatt-hours of
lithium-ion battery demand in 2017. By 2030, this demand is expected to surge to
more than 1,500 gigawatt-hours per year.
According to data from UBS Group, the market value of electric vehicle
batteries will reach approximately US$84 billion by 2025, while the current
market value is approximately US$23 billion.
Before solid-state batteries succeeded
Lithium-ion technology, a standard in mobile phones and personal
electronics for decades before making its way into electric vehicles and
utility-scale energy storage, uses a liquid electrolyte to transport ions
between a positive and negative electrode to charge or discharge a battery.
.
Solid-state batteries, as the name suggests, are battery products that use
solid materials such as ceramics, glass or polymers to replace liquids. This
will reduce the risk of battery fires and allow the battery pack to become
smaller and easier to install under car seats.
The researchers hope to pair the solid electrolyte with a lithium metal
anode to increase energy density. This not only allows electric vehicles to
travel longer distances after being fully charged, but also helps eliminate
consumers' concerns about the range of electric vehicles, thereby increasing
sales.
However, to achieve all this, a series of difficult problems need to be
solved.
The current prototype product has a short service life and a pitifully low
conductivity, making it unsuitable for electric vehicles. Not to mention, there
are excessive manufacturing costs, and adverse factors such as violent expansion
and contraction of materials may occur during charging and discharging.
"When scientists solve one problem, they often exacerbate the impact of
another problem," said Kyousheng Ishiguro, executive director of Japan's
Lithium-Ion Battery Technology and Evaluation Center (LIBTEC).
"Of all the players, it seems like everyone has solved 1, 2 or 3 of the
five most important things, but no one has really solved them all." Fisker
Electric Vehicles Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker offers this explanation.
More than 25 companies, including Toyota, Panasonic and Nissan, have
received about $90 million in government funding to accelerate the development
of solid-state technology.
China's Qingdao New Energy Research Institute will test the car within 2
years and consider commercializing it by 2025; China's largest battery
manufacturer CATL has also added solid-state batteries to its advanced battery
research.
South Korea's Samsung SDI, SK Innovation and Hyundai Motor have all stated
that they are studying this technology; the British company Dyson, which has
started to build electric vehicles, has also targeted solid-state batteries.
“As for passenger cars, we should see prototypes in the early 2020s,” said
Andreas Hintennach, head of battery research at Daimler.
Volkswagen plans to start trial production with its partner QuantumScape as
early as 2022.
The timelines given by the above companies may prove their positive and
optimistic attitude towards this technology. But Sam Jaffe, general manager of
Boulder and an industry consultant, said: "In fact, if you want to make this
type of battery work, companies will face a cruel battlefield, and no company
has won yet. The certainty.”
James Frith, an analyst at BNEF in London, believes that solid-state
batteries with all the above advantages will not be available until the late
2020s, and even then, their pricing may still be on the high side.
As for Tesla, the company says it regularly talks to developers and
evaluates battery prototypes, but has not found a technology that is better than
existing lithium-ion battery packs.
Its Model S can travel about 539 kilometers on a single charge. "We have
tried our best. If there is a better technology, the company is willing to try
it, but we have not found a better option yet." Tesla CTO Steward JB Straubel
said at an annual conference.
Tesla supplier Panasonic said it will continue to research solid-state
technology, although there are "many obstacles before achieving
commercialization."
Toyota's potential and its rivals
Taking into account the capabilities of its competitors, the company's
manufacturing capabilities and its patent data, the best hope for a breakthrough
may lie with Toyota.
Over the past 10 years, Toyota has sent as many as 200 employees to develop
solid-state battery technology, mainly at the Higashi Fuji Research Institute
near Mount Fuji.
Asia's largest car company has at least 233 patents or applications related
to solid-state technology. According to Bloomberg analysis, its number exceeds
its competitors by nearly three times.
Toyota made progress using solid-state batteries to power digital clocks,
two-wheeled scooters and conveyor belts, then tested the technology in a
modified version of its single-seat, low-speed COMS vehicle.
"For researchers, this car is more of an incentive than just a means of
transportation," said LIBTEC's Kyouo Ishiguro.
Not only that, according to Toyota's annual report released in October
2018, the company will invest 1.5 trillion yen ($13.9 billion) in the battery
business and plans to commercialize solid-state technology in the early
2020s.
Ford Motor Co said Toyota's main rivals are likely to be a group of U.S.
start-ups as many existing electric vehicle battery makers focus on boosting
production and cutting costs.
Considering this possibility, in 2018, Volkswagen invested US$100 million
to increase its stake in QuantumScape. QuantumScape was founded by former
Stanford University researchers and is headquartered in San Jose,
California.
Ionic Materials, based in Woburn, Mass., is backed by Sun Microsystems
co-founder Bill Joy, as well as venture capital funds from Renault, Nissan and
Mitsubishi Motors.
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