Advantages:
- Faster charging
- Lower fire risk
- Increased energy density
- Longer life
- Lower manufacturing costs
Battery engineers and chemists at Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen and other automakers, as well as most major battery suppliers, are working to develop a solid separator robust enough for use in automobiles.
Challenges:
- Ceramic separators can crack.
- Solid-state batteries also can form dendrites, small growths of lithium that can short-circuit the battery.
- Developing a high-volume manufacturing system for solid-state batteries is another hurdle.
Because solid-state batteries are far more energy dense, automakers can use fewer of them without sacrificing driving range or performance. They have the potential to greatly reduce vehicle weight. And, because they operate at cooler temperatures and are far less prone to fires, battery pack cooling systems can be made less complex.
Images: KEVIN HEINL
Source: Automotive News research, Samsung, Chemical & Engineering News
