Japanese legacy automaker Toyota is on track to produce its solid-state batteries at the same rate as its current li-ion batteries, Financial Times reported on Monday.
Toyota expects to commence the mass production of its next-gen solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.
What’s special about Toyota’s solid-state battery?
EV-a2z reported Toyota’s battery breakthrough that claims to reduce cost, weight, and size by 50%.
More significantly, it can boost the driving range by up to 1,200 km. Meanwhile, charging time will only take 10 minutes or even less.
The solid-state battery production will undergo two phases, with the first one starting from 2027 to 2028.
Meanwhile, the second phase will commence sometime after 2028. The driving range will increase to up to 930 miles. However, its charging capacity remains unclear.
Apart from these, solid-state batteries are also safer to use in electric vehicles compared to traditional li-ion batteries.
For context, li-ion batteries are prone to fire risks as they house electrical charge in a liquid electrolyte, which is highly flammable. Meanwhile, Toyota’s solid-state batteries store electrical charge in solid electrolytes, eliminating the risks of leaks.
Toyota partners with Idemitsu
As part of Toyota’s solid-state battery project, it recently partnered with oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan. They aim to collaborate on the mass production of these innovative solid-state batteries.
The parties will cooperate in developing solid electrolyte mass production technology to boost efficiency. It will also enable them to expand and solidify the supply chain network for these next-gen batteries.
“By bringing together the material development technologies of both companies, Idemitsu’s material manufacturing technology, and Toyota’s battery mass production technology, we will engage in full-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries.”
Toyota CEO Koji Sato said in the press release
Challenges
Solid-state batteries undoubtedly offer significant advantages in electric vehicle technology. However, there are still major challenges in its mass production.
Solid-state batteries’ large-scale production will be hard and expensive. According to BNN Breaking, this particular battery tech is very susceptible to oxygen and humidity and requires careful handling to prevent degradation.
It also requires battery layer maintenance through mechanical pressure. Alarmingly, Insufficient pressure may lead to dendrite formation and short circuits.
Nonetheless, Toyota claims its engineers will soon address these mass production challenges.
Toyota aims to hit an annual electric vehicle production of 1.7 million units by 2030. The planned mass production of solid-state batteries will significantly aid the Japanese automaker in achieving its 2030 target. Given the solid-state batteries’ offered technological advancements, it can also boost demand for Toyota EVs.
