Toyota to launch world’s first EV with a solid-state battery by 2027 — they’re expected to last longer and charge faster
One of the world’s largest automakers has announced plans to mass produce a type of electric vehicle (EV) battery that can last much longer and charge much faster than current technologies.
On October 8, Toyota and Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Company announced a joint venture to mass produce cathode materials for solid-state batteries, which will be used in the automaker’s battery-powered electric vehicles.
Together, the companies “aim to realize the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries” in battery-powered electric vehicles, the release added.
A typical lithium-ion battery contains a liquid electrolyte solution sandwiched between two solid electrodes. The new solid-state battery would replace this liquid electrolyte with a third solid.
Because the liquid electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries is flammable, switching to a solid-state battery poses a lower fire risk. Solid-state batteries also have the potential to have higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries, meaning they could power a car for longer with the same size battery.
Toyota and Sumitomo Metal Mining have been researching materials for solid-state batteries together since 2021. As part of the search for a solid-state battery for electric vehicles, the two companies have developed what they describe as a “highly durable cathode material”, which will act as one of the electrodes for the planned solid-state batteries. Neither company has released details about the new cathode material.
Sumitomo Metal Mining plans to supply this cathode material to manufacturers starting in 2028, a company spokesperson said. Reuters.
“We will prioritize supply to Toyota and then respond flexibly to market demand,” the spokesperson said.
Besides Toyota, automakers such as Honda, Nissan, BMW and Volkswagen are developing their own solid-state batteries, either alone or in partnership with other companies. Many aim to commercialize electric vehicles containing solid-state batteries in the coming years, according to Inside electric vehicles.
Honda has already announced that it will start produce solid-state batteries for electric vehicles which could provide 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) on a single charge by 2030. This would more than double the range of the best electric vehicles on the market today.
ProLogium, a ceramic battery manufacturer, also revealed a solid-state battery concept last year, which could be charged from 5 to 60 percent of its capacity in just five minutes.
