Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold, had announced a “breakthrough” in solid state battery materials late last year and had said it plans to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp, a late entrant into the battery electric vehicle race, is aiming to roll out next-generation solid-state batteries over the next three years, marking a milestone in the global race to commercialise this breakthrough technology that promises to double vehicle range and drastically lower charging time.

In the due course, the Japanese carmaker could potentially have two sets of battery electric vehicles or BEVs on offer across markets, including India – one range with existing lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries and a second range with its new and pricier solid state batteries, a senior company executive at Toyota’s joint venture in India indicated.

Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold, had announced a “breakthrough” in solid state battery materials late last year and had said it plans to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028. Solid-state batteries are seen as a major improvement in battery tech, countering concerns such as extended charging time and the risk of catching fire associated with traditional Li-ion batteries that have a liquid electrolyte.

With its new solid-state batteries, Toyota expects its electric cars powered by them to have a range of 1,200km — well over twice that of the current range of electric vehicles (EVs) — and a charging time of 10 minutes or less, far lower than that two-four hours that it takes to fast charge an EV with Li-ion batteries.

Other companies too are making progress on alternatives to Li-ion batteries. Chinese battery maker CATL revealed in end-2023 it was preparing to mass-produce its semi-solid batteries, while South Korea’s Samsung SDI has completed a fully automated pilot line for solid-state batteries. Germany’s Volkswagen, whose investment in American startup QuantumScape has been dogged by delays, was reported by Reuters as having held talks with France’s Blue Solutions, which already produces solid-state batteries for Daimler electric buses.

For more information visit at https://happenrecently.com/zepto/?amp=1