Although today’s electric vehicles are far from being fully popularized, we all know that electric vehicles are destined to be the future of the automotive industry. So what are we missing from the era of electric vehicles all over the street? Is it the number of charging piles, the cruising range, or the charging speed? In fact, what we are missing may be a breakthrough in battery technology, and solid-state batteries must be one of the most important directions.
Some people describe solid-state batteries as the last straw that crushes the era of fuel vehicles. Many people in the industry have high expectations for electric vehicles. The power battery is more advanced.
A company called QuantumScape in the United States recently announced that its solid-state battery has made an important breakthrough. The cruising range is 80% higher than that of the current lithium battery. For models with solid-state batteries, the maximum battery life can reach nearly 2,000 kilometers, and it can be fully charged to 80% in 15 minutes. It can still maintain more than 80% of the capacity after 800 cycles, which means it can travel more than 1 million kilometers.
QuantumScape was founded by Stanford University scientists Jagdeep Singh, Fritz Prinz and Tim Holme. It currently has more than 200 patented technologies in solid-state batteries and has received investment from Bill Gates, Volkswagen Group, Continental Group and SAIC Motor. , currently a leader in research and development of solid-state battery technology, QuantumScape went public last November, and today, the company has a market capitalization of nearly $20 billion.
Compared with traditional lithium batteries, the biggest change of solid-state batteries is the use of solid electrolytes, which replace the electrolyte and diaphragm of traditional lithium-ion batteries. Because there is no electrolyte, the material of the solid-state battery is more stable, basically there will be no thermal runaway phenomenon of the lithium-ion battery, and the safety is greatly improved. There is also no need for an additional cooling device.
In addition, the charging speed of solid-state batteries is also faster. Compared with traditional batteries, the solid-state batteries of QuantumScape in the United States have two layers, including cathodes and solid ceramic separators, and no anodes are manufactured. Instead, during the charging process, lithium ions are removed from the cathode, diffused through the solid-state separator, and form a pure metal lithium anode on the anode current sheet. Based on the results of the single-layer battery test, the company’s solid-state battery can charge 80% in just 15 minutes. %, the charging time is greatly reduced compared with traditional lithium batteries.
At present, the company has started to build a factory, and it is expected to start trial production of some solid-state batteries in 2023 and achieve mass production in 2025. At that time, the cruising range of electric vehicles will be greatly improved, and the charging speed will be greatly reduced. Electric vehicles may really replace fuel vehicles and become the mainstream models in the market.