Gotion High-Tech (Guoxuan), a Chinese manufacturer of Lithium-ion batteries and partner of the manufacturer Volkswagen, has just announced the availability of a semi-solid battery with a capacity of 160 kWh. Enough to allow electric vehicles to offer a range close to 1,000 km.
We have been talking about solid batteries for several years now. This technology is not yet ready – it should not be before 2028 at best according to Nissan – but the rise of electric cars is pushing manufacturers to find solutions to offer greater autonomy to vehicles. And this is where semi-solid batteries come in.
Semi-solid batteries are an in-between between the traditional Lithium-ion battery and the future solid battery. Manufacturers of semi-solid batteries keep their manufacturing secrets well, but the American company 24M (supported by the American government) allows us to learn more.
By their design, semi-solid batteries are closer to conventional batteries than to their solid counterparts. Thus, the electrolyte is still liquid (and not solid as on a solid battery), but no longer uses a binder and the various ingredients that make it up are mixed before manufacture.
This makes it possible to obtain a kind of clay, less liquid than a traditional lithium-ion battery. This would allow, according to 24M, to offer thicker electrodes for batteries with better energy density and more affordable. The American company announces a cost reduction of around 50% compared to a conventional battery.
160 kWh batteries in sedans for 2023
And it is precisely a semi-solid NCM battery that the Chinese Gotion High Tech has just unveiled. Thanks to an energy density of 360 Wh/kg, the company indicates the possibility of installing a 160 kWh pack in a sedan. To be compared to the 108 kWh of the Mercedes EQS. Enough to offer nearly 1,000 km of all-electric range. This battery will be available from this year for car manufacturers.
The company also has a working prototype of a semi-solid battery with an energy density of 400 Wh/kg. This will make it possible to offer batteries with a capacity greater than 160 kWh for a similar size and weight. If the Hummer EV offers a 200 kWh battery, it is in fact by superimposing two packs on top of each other.
The Nio ET5 and ET7 in the crosshairs
This is good news for the entire automotive industry and in particular the German manufacturer Volkswagen, majority shareholder of Guoxuan. These batteries could therefore be found in future models of Volkswagen electric cars.. But the first manufacturer expected to offer a car with a semi-solid-state battery is Nio.
The Chinese company, to which we owe the ET5 and ET7, plans to market these two models by the end of the year with a long-range version equipped with a semi-solid battery with a capacity of 150 kWh. Compare to the 100 kWh battery in the Tesla Model S Plaid. But do we really need such great autonomy in an electric car? The question is posed and legitimate.
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