Saturday, 28 October 2017

Toyota produces 'game changer' EV battery

Reuters reports that Toyota is pushing hard to bring a new battery to market.

The company is hoping to commercialise the battery (which incorporates higher capacity and better safety) in the first half of the 2020s.

All solid-state battery technology is a next-generation, high-capacity energy storage device that improves on today's lithium-ion batteries, replacing the liquid or gel-form electrolyte with a solid, conductive material.

'There are a few next-generation battery technologies we're looking at, and the most promising is an all solid-state battery,' Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada said in an interview ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, which opened to the public yesterday.

'We're scrambling to finish developing this technology, but a few issues still remain as we try to mass produce this.'

One of the stumbling blocks is how to produce a long range battery that lasts for the life of the vehicle. 'Nobody would buy a car like that, if you had to replace the battery after just three years,' said Takeshi after claims that batteries would last three years.

'We believe our solid-state battery technology can be a game changer, with the potential to dramatically improve driving range,' executive vice president Didier Leroy told reporters on Wednesday.

Toyota believes solid-state battery technology can double the capacity of today's lithium-ion battery technology, and help EVs travel further on a full charge.