Early next year Solid Power will deliver 100 Ah solid-state pouch battery cells for BMW and Ford to test.
The investment positions Solid Power to produce full-scale automotive batteries, increase associated material output and expand in-house production capabilities for future vehicle integration. The BMW Group and Ford aim to utilize Solid Power’s low-cost, high-energy all solid-state battery technology in forthcoming electric vehicles.
Solid Power has demonstrated its ability to produce and scale next-generation all solid-state batteries that are designed to power longer range, lower cost and safer electric vehicles using existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure.
Solid Power’s leadership in all solid-state battery development and manufacturing has been confirmed with the delivery of hundreds of production line-produced battery cells that were validated by Ford and the BMW Group late last year, formalizing Solid Power’s commercialization plans with its two long-standing automotive partners.
Solid Power is currently producing 20 ampere hour (Ah) multi-layer all solid-state batteries on the company’s continuous roll-to-roll production line, which exclusively utilizes industry standard lithium-ion production processes and equipment.
Both Ford and the BMW Group will receive full-scale 100 Ah cells for automotive qualification testing and vehicle integration beginning in 2022. Solid Power’s all solid-state platform technology allows for the production of unique cell designs expected to meet performance requirements for each automotive partner. Solid Power’s truly all-solid cell designs achieve higher energy densities, are safer and are expected to cost less than today’s best-performing lithium-ion battery cells.
Currently, Solid Power has been producing 20 Ah cells with an energy density of 330 Wh/kg. However, the new 100 Ah cells designed for automakers will be more energy dense, as the company aims to surpass 400 Wh/kg by 2022.
By replacing the flammable liquid electrolyte in a conventional lithium-ion battery with a sulfide solid electrolyte, battery cells become much safer even with NCM cathodes. This means that battery packs will not only become more energy dense, but also simpler and cheaper to assemble.
It seems that next year we’ll surpass 300 Wh/kg at the battery pack level and almost double what we have today in most electric cars.
Anyway, Chinese battery cell makers also aim to mass produce solid-state batteries by next year. Soon we’ll see who delivers this long-awaited technology first.
