More and more battery manufacturers and automakers are embarking on the development of solid-state batteries to design a next generation of very long-range electric vehicles. Toyota, General Motors and BMW are examples.
We must now add to the list the Korean duo of Hyundai and Kia, which have just joined forces with Factorial Energy to test their new technology and possible integration into future electric vehicles.
To fully understand, solid-state batteries (not to be confused with microchips suffering a major global shortage right now) use solid and non-liquid electrolyte as well as larger capacity electrodes. Their energy density is far greater than that of conventional lithium-ion batteries, which would allow motorists to travel greater distances with a full recharge.
Without giving precise figures, Hyundai and Factorial Energy evoke a gain varying between 20 and 50%. If we take the example of the new Hyundai IONIQ 5 2022, which promises up to 480 kilometers, that would mean increased range somewhere between 575 and 720 kilometers.
Photo: Hyundai
The Massachusetts company was not born overnight, by the way. It even relies on its advisory board names like Joe Taylor, Dieter Zetsche and Mark Fields, the former bosses of Panasonic, Daimler AG / Mercedes-Benz and Ford respectively.
Unlike Toyota, which plans to unveil a prototype vehicle powered by a solid-state battery very soon, and BMW, which talks about 2025, neither Hyundai-Kia nor Factorial Energy have advanced a date for a prototype or even a vehicle. of production. It is reasonable to believe, however, that it will be before the end of this decade.