Volkswagen Plant In Wolfsburg
Audi parent company, Volkswagen AG, has announced that its battery startup has achieved promising results with solid-state cells for electric vehicles. This is a significant achievement for the automaker as it strives to make EVs both more efficient and less expensive.
According to Volkswagen, a solid-state prototype from VW’s U.S. partner QuantumScape Corp. has surpassed industry targets during recent tests. The cell saw only a 5 percent storage capacity loss after over 1,000 charging cycles (equivalent to 310,685 miles) during tests by VW’s battery unit PowerCo over several months. To put that into perspective, The industries standard is 700 charging cycles and a maximum loss of 20 percent capacity.
PowerCo head Frank Blome called these results “very encouraging,” adding that “the final result of this development could be a battery cell that enables long ranges, can be charged super-quickly, and practically does not age.”
EV and battery manufacturers are racing to commercialize new technologies, including next-generation anodes and sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, to power EVs so that they’re cheaper and more efficient.
QuantumScape founder and CEO Jagdeep Singh said he wants to bring the cell to market “as quickly as possible.” However, scaling up the production of automotive-grade batteries has proven difficult, leading the company to focus more on batteries for consumer electronics.
As a reminder, solid-state batteries replace both the conventional liquid electrolyte and the separator, the flammable components, with a solid separator made of ceramic, glass, or polymers. If the proven results work beyond the lab and are able to perform without error for hundreds of thousands of miles, this new technology could make EV batteries safer and more compact, along with faster charging.
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FAQ:
Q: What are solid state batteries?
A: Solid-state batteries replace both the conventional liquid electrolyte and the separator, the flammable components, with a solid separator made of ceramic, glass, or polymers.
