Volkswagen claims to have achieved a breakthrough towards the serial use of solid-state batteries, which are considered the next generation of electric car batteries. The new battery passed a long-term test in the VW laboratory in Salzgitter, said the PowerCo subsidiary responsible for the battery business.
The cell had completed more than 1,000 charging cycles, which corresponds to a total range of around 500,000 kilometers, it was said. The battery cell, developed together with the US partner QuantumScale, was tested over several months in the laboratories of the VW battery subsidiary PowerCo in Salzgitter . The group is currently building its first battery cell factory there. According to PowerCo, the cell still had over 95 percent of its capacity at the end of the long-term test. This means that they have significantly exceeded the test requirements. “These are very encouraging results that impressively underline the potential of the solid-state cell,” said PowerCo boss Frank Blome. “At the end of this development there could be a battery cell that enables long ranges, can be charged extremely quickly and practically does not age.” Series production not before 2025 According to the announcement, QuantumScale boss Jagdeep Singh announced that the new technology would now be ready for series production “as quickly as possible”. to want to bring. However, there is still work to be done. According to “Handelsblatt”, the first pilot production with low quantities is planned for the end of 2024. The aim is to increase the number of units noticeably by the end of 2025, the paper reports, citing the QuantumScale boss. After that, series production begins. The solid-state cell is seen in the industry as the next big step in battery development. Unlike the lithium-ion batteries previously used in electric cars, there is no liquid electrolyte used inside, but rather a solid one. The manufacturers hope that this will result in more range, faster charging and less wear. Other manufacturers have also been working on the new battery technology for years. BMW wants to build a pilot plant in Parsdorf near Munich together with its partner Solid Power and, according to previous information, is planning the first test vehicle with a solid-state cell before 2025. Nissan has announced a first pilot plant in Japan for 2024, Toyota announced in the fall that it wanted to bring the technology into series production by 2027.
source site-13