Volkswagen claims new battery retains 95% capacity after equivalent of 310,000 miles
Breanne Deppisch
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Volkswagen’s solid-state electric vehicle battery prototype has shown promising results in early rounds of testing, company representatives said Wednesday, in a step toward building cheaper and more efficient EVs.
The news portends a broader shift in vehicle battery technologies as automakers look to roll out models that are more reliable and affordable than current offerings.
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Speaking to reporters on a call on Wednesday, VW said its solid-state battery prototype “significantly exceeded” industry expectations during recent tests conducted at its plant in Germany. After more than 1,000 charging cycles, or the equivalent of driving some 310,000 miles, VW’s solid-state battery was found to have retained 95% of its original storage capacity, it said.
That’s far better than industry targets for this stage of development, which estimate a loss of 20% capacity over 700 charging cycles.
“These are very encouraging results,” Frank Blome, the head of VW’s battery arm PowerCo, told Bloomberg.
“The final result of this development could be a battery cell that enables long ranges, can be charged super-quickly and practically does not age,” he added.
Solid-state batteries have been hailed as the potential next generation for EV technology. While development is still in its infancy, these new batteries are expected to be both cheaper and more reliable than current lithium-ion batteries.
That’s because sodium resources are much more abundant than lithium and are cheaper to produce, according to a report from Fastmarkets, a commodities pricing firm.
Solid-state batteries also charge faster than lithium-ion models, averaging about 15 minutes for a full charge, as evidenced in VW’s early tests, and offer much greater range than other batteries.
They are also able effectively to operate at a wider temperature range than lithium-ion batteries, which can quickly lose charge in freezing conditions, and struggle to charge as quickly when the weather is either very hot or cold, researchers said.
These factors could help alleviate the concerns about range and access to public charging infrastructure cited by many would-be EV buyers, especially those living in regions affected by greater temperature extremes.
EVs made up at least 9% of all new passenger vehicles sold in the United States in 2023, up from 7% in 2022, according to data from the Atlas Public Policy group. The Biden administration’s goal is for EVs to make up 50% of car sales by 2030, a target that the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed 2027-2032 vehicle emissions targets would sharpen further, aiming for 60% new EV sales by 2030 and 67% new EV sales by 2032.
These cheaper, more reliable EVs could be a way to bridge some of these gaps and incentivize more drivers to make the switch from their gas-powered cars.
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VW is not the only company to make inroads in this space, however.
EV makers have scrambled to develop their own solid-state batteries in recent years. Toyota and Chinese carmaker BYD are already working on their own plans for sodium-ion batteries, and Chinese-owned battery maker CATL signed a deal last year to provide them to Chevrolet.