When you think of the efficient and small cars you certainly think of the Japanese names Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.
These three Japanese automakers saw an opening in the North American market at the time and began to bring in the small and efficient vehicles that allowed us to continue to drive and avoid the stiff penalties of the larger US automakers at the time. Now, it seems these three are teaming up to find a solution that will be the future of power in the automotive world.
The Current Battery Issue
Currently, EV models make use of lithium-ion batteries to make the power and the range we experience in these vehicles. In order to have a greater range, more battery cells are needed, which adds weight to the vehicle. These batteries make use of liquid electrolytes and have been widely accepted, but are also limiting in their performance. Finding a mileage range that will rival that of a gasoline engine is the challenge for automakers as most have committed to offering a large number of EV vehicles over the next several years to bring cleaner and more sustainable propulsion to the market.
The Solid State of the Japanese Collaboration
It’s already been proved that solid-state batteries are the future and lithium-ion batteries are the past, but not one manufacturer has been able to make this technology work in vehicles yet. A solid-state battery uses a solid form instead of liquid which makes it better. These batteries are supposed to be easier to manufacture and are safer for the drive. They are denser and allow automakers to pull more performance from them to offer us range numbers that will easily rival those of the gasoline vehicles we drive right now.
Support from the Japanese Government
In addition to the three Japanese names working together to develop this technology, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is providing $14 million to support this initiative. Other companies that have joined this initiative include Panasonic and Libtec which will help with the research and development of these batteries. The goal of this group is to provide a solid-state battery with a range of 341 miles by 2025 with the long-term goal to produce a battery pack that can reach 500 miles of range by the year 2030 to make sure we can drive as far as we need to.
Longer Rangers in the Future of Driving
Not only do we need batteries to offer longer ranges if this is going to be the future of automotive power, but we need these new solid-state batteries to have the charging time reduced to a few minutes from several hours. That may be a separate issue once the range issue is solved. Other automakers currently working to make solid-state batteries that can be used for the future include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Fisker. The race is on, which company will make the first solid-state batteries in vehicles and offer the range we need to be able to have the future desires for EV driving.
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