Honda To Launch Solid-State EV Batteries With 620 Miles Of Range

The Japanese car marque even plans to launch an updated version of these batteries with 776 mi. (1,249 km) of range by 2040

Honda has announced “game-changing” solid-state EV batteries with a claimed 620 miles (998 km) of range on a single charge. However, this will only be a reality by the end of this decade. Also, the Japanese auto giant isn’t stopping there. It has plans to update these to reach 776 miles (1,249 km) by the end of 2040. In a constantly evolving environment, that looks too far into the future. Hence, the 620-mile-battery is something that deserves our attention.

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Honda To Launch Solid-State EV Batteries

During a briefing last month in Japan, Honda’s executives announced the plan to launch solid-state EV batteries. Note that it had already said that it would build a pilot production facility to make these batteries sustainably and at a mass scale. In fact, the test production will commence next month. Honda claims that these EV batteries will be 50% smaller, 35% lighter and 25% cheaper to manufacture than current liquid-based lithium-ion cells.

Moreover, solid electrolyte cells also promise to be much safer than what is readily available on the market today. This will ensure higher charging speeds. Carrying forward innovation in this regard, the batteries in 2040 will have 776 miles (1,249 km) of range with a smaller size, less weight and lower cost. Hence, short-term and long-term plans are in place to transition into the EV age.

Even though all this looks promising, Honda even highlighted the challenges with this technology. For instance, the prototype battery cells are tiny and can’t be used on any vehicle. Honda R&D’s Chief Engineer of Innovative Research Excellence, Takeshi Ueda said, “That’s why we have created the pilot line to identify and deal with any issues in terms of size and mass production as soon as possible. We have to make our prototype battery 100 times bigger. We are working on how to bring them to the mass production phase.“

On top of that, there are some issues with the production process too. The ceramic separators can crack and dendrites can form in the putty-like electrolyte which can lead to a short-circuit. There’s also a climate control problem–the humidity in the facility has to be low, which usually means huge equipment that needs massive amounts of energy.

Possible Solutions

Since Honda highlighted the things that are not in place or could be wrong with its solid-state EV batteries, it is certain that it will overcome these hurdles. For pressing the electrolyte in an even and ultracompact layer, it chose a roll-pressing technique that it says achieves thin films at fast speeds. The electrolyte slurry will be made using a continuous mixing method, which is allegedly three times faster than the batch process mixing used for conventional lithium-ion cells.

To keep the humidity low, Honda chose to encapsulate each production process in its own climate-controlled area, which should help keep energy costs down because there’s no need to warm or cool a vast volume of air in a single room. In fact, Honda R&D’s President, Keiji Otsu said, “Our all-solid-state battery will be a game changer in this EV era.”

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Learn Electric Cars Says

The solid-state EV battery technology is not something new. In fact, many legacy carmakers are already in the process of equipping their EVs with these. A lot of research and innovation is going on to make these available for the mass market. As electric cars become more common, we will keep getting updated tech including batteries to make the next-generation EVs much more efficient. Let us keep an eye out for more details in this field.