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This startup wants to pack more energy into EV batteries


This solid-state battery technology is still years away from commercialization—Solid Power plans to produce enough material for 800,000 cars a year by 2028—but if it proves practical, the batteries could significantly improve the performance of electric vehicles.

However, Solid Power will not manufacture and sell full batteries in the future. Instead, it will provide solid electrolyte material to other battery manufacturers, says CEO Doug Campbell.

Electrolyte shuttles charge inside a battery as it charges or releases power. In lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles today, the electrolyte is liquid; Solid-state batteries use a solid layer of electrolyte that is crushed between other layers of the battery to transport charge.

The approach unlocks new options for battery chemistry. In particular, lithium metal and silicon-based chemistries are unstable or unsafe when combined with a liquid electrolyte in the cell, but could in theory be used when a solid is replaced instead.

The result would be a battery that could pack more energy into a smaller space; this meant that cars could go farther before they ran out of charge. Campbell says Solid Power’s batteries can eventually increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by about half, thus extending the range of a vehicle that goes 350 miles before recharging to over 500 miles.

Campbell adds that draining the fluid will also make it easier to create safer cells. While lithium-ion batteries are designed with guards to ensure they do not catch fire or explode, removing the liquid would eliminate the need for these costly additions. Battery packs consisting of many cells together can be denser, as internal temperature controls and safety systems require less space.

The concept of getting liquid electrolyte from battery cells isn’t new, he says. Lei ChengA chemist and battery researcher in the materials division at Argonne National Laboratory, Dr. But most of the research on solid batteries over the years has focused on the use of organic polymers such as polyethylene oxide.



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