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That is why automakers are competing to enlist startups in the search for breakthroughs. The legacy metal-benders are betting these specialists have new battery know-how.
Last year, Ford Motor Co. and BMW led a $130 million funding round in a solid-state battery startup called Solid Power. An earlier funding round for Solid Power attracted backing from South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics.
Solid Power, of Thornton, Colo., says its battery will be safer, less expensive and more powerful than today’s lithium ion batteries. The company is focusing on a sulfide-based solid electrolyte, which it says has the best balance of conductivity and defect-free manufacturability.
“We expect to scale electrolyte production to power 800,000 electrified vehicles using our all-solid-state battery cells annually by 2028,” Solid Power says on its website.
Also in the solid-state game is QuantumScape, a Volkswagen-backed startup based in San Jose, Calif., that is targeting 2024 for introducing its batteries. QuantumScape is working on a flexible ceramic separator and lithium-metal anode in a single-layer, pouch-style battery cell.
Meanwhile, rival Factorial Energy from Woburn, Mass., has won funding for its solid-state battery development from the likes of Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is among those seemingly convinced that times are about to change.
“Our investment in Factorial and other highly recognized battery partners boosts the speed and agility needed to provide cutting-edge technology for our electric vehicle portfolio,” Tavares said.
“Initiatives like these will yield a faster time to market and more cost-effective transition to solid-state technology.”
Peter Sigal of Automotive News Europe and Richard Truett contributed to this report.
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