Photo: Toyota
Toyota intends to launch mass production of solid-state traction batteries together with… the oil company Idemitsu! In fact, the collaboration between these two giants in the development of such batteries has been going on for more than ten years. Moreover, Idemitsu has been working on this topic since 2001, and Toyota since 2006. Now the key issue has become the production of such batteries on an industrial scale. By the way, other automakers are also working on their own solid-state batteries (Hyundai, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, Stellantis).
As stated by the head of Toyota Motor Corporation, Koji Sato, in recent years the company’s specialists have made significant progress in the field of solid-state batteries. Such batteries have a number of advantages over classic lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolyte. Firstly, they charge noticeably faster, and secondly, they hold a charge longer. Last summer, Toyota announced that it would be able to produce electric vehicles with a range of up to 1,200 km, and charging them would only take about ten minutes. In addition, solid-state electrolyte tolerates temperature changes better and is not as sensitive to heat and cold. Finally, new generation batteries with equal capacity are more compact than lithium-ion ones. There are two weaknesses: the high cost of production and, most importantly, a modest resource. Frequent charging and discharging quickly reduces battery capacity. Engineers from Toyota and Idemitsu are working to solve these problems.
The cooperation program between the two Japanese concerns is divided into three stages. The first is the joint development of improved solid electrolytes. The production of prototypes will be carried out at Idemitsu facilities. The second stage is the experimental production of batteries in relatively large volumes at the oil corporation’s plant. Finally, the final stage will be entering mass production. Toyota expects that electric vehicles with solid-state batteries will enter the market in 2027-2028.
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2023-10-13 16:52:58
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