- Local news reports out of South Korea suggest that Hyundai is planning to reveal its first solid-state battery pack in March.
- A pilot production line has reportedly been built at its research center, and the first prototype EV with solid-state battery may roll out within a year.
- If true, Hyundai would join a growing list of brands betting on solid-state batteries to alleviate range and charging anxieties.
Hyundai has a strong momentum when it comes to battery-electric and hybrid vehicles. Over the past year, we’ve seen EV and hybrid sales records over consecutive quarters. Now, Hyundai is reportedly developing a solid-state battery to eliminate common anxieties around range and charging.
The automaker plans to reveal its first solid-state battery in March, according Korea’s ET News. The batteries will be made on a pilot production line at Hyundai’s new Uiwang Research Center in South Korean’s southern Gyeonggi province.
The new solid-state battery pack is called the “dream battery” and Hyundai is aiming for mass production by 2030, according to the report. The packs manufactured on the pilot production line will be installed into EVs for testing, and at least one prototype vehicle is expected to roll out this year.
Nissan Prototype Production Facility For All-Solid-State Batteries
Hyundai is joining a growing list of automakers betting on this technology. Toyota and Honda are also leading their own in-house solid-state battery development efforts. And in the U.S., multiple battery start-ups have promised to mass manufacture these batteries by the end of the decade.
Solid-state batteries are considered a game-changer for the EV industry, but the technology has not really proliferated or been commercialized yet. A traditional lithium-ion battery uses a liquid electrolyte to shuttle charge-carrying ions between the anode and cathode.
A solid-state battery replaces the liquid with a solid electrolyte made either of polymer, oxides or sulfides. The solid electrolyte allows more energy storage in a similar pack size, delivers better thermal stability and can move electrons much faster, improving charging speeds. That makes solid-state batteries lighter and safer at the same time, with better charging performance to boot.
However, cost reduction, local sourcing of the raw materials and mass manufacturing have so far proven to be a challenge. Battery companies are also exploring semi-solid state packs with a gel-like electrolyte to fast-track the process.
Lithium-ion battery technology for EVs took decades to reach where it is today, so the gradual build-up to solid-state packs isn’t necessarily an anomaly. EVs today equipped with lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries already deliver impressive range and charging speeds.
If the roadblocks around solid-state batteries are cleared, that could unlock a new level of range and charging performance to make the EV ownership experience as convenient as owning a gas car. Add in the superior daily driving performance and the environmental benefits of no tailpipe emissions and you’ve got a winning formula.
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