Embracing Electrification: Media Reports Toyota is Close to Mass Production of Solid-State Batteries
The road to full commercialization of solid-state batteries is still long.
Although Toyota has not yet made a decisive move towards electric vehicles, the company claims to have made a breakthrough in battery material technology and aims to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2027 or 2028.
Solid-state battery technology is a key advancement in the field of electric vehicles. Traditional power batteries currently face issues such as long charging times, small battery capacity, and the risk of combustion. Solid-state batteries, on the other hand, completely overcome these problems. If Toyota's technological breakthrough becomes a reality, electric vehicles using solid-state batteries could achieve a range of 1,200 kilometers, more than double the range of their existing electric vehicles, with charging times of less than 10 minutes.
The only challenge lies in the high cost, technical complexity, and difficulties in mass production. Goldman Sachs previously pointed out in a report that "the road to scaling up solid-state batteries in the next decade is relatively difficult."
According to calculations by China Post Securities, the current manufacturing cost of solid-state batteries is more than 30% higher than that of liquid-state batteries. Even for semi-solid-state batteries, which are more mature in terms of technology, the manufacturing cost is expected to be 10%-20% higher than that of liquid lithium batteries after achieving mass production.
Toyota stated that one of the most critical and challenging aspects of large-scale production is the assembly process, which requires the rapid and high-precision stacking of anode and cathode battery layers without damaging the materials.
When asked if Toyota can currently produce solid-state batteries at the same speed as lithium-ion batteries, a Toyota engineer told the media:
"In terms of stacking speed, we have almost reached that level. We will increase production and inspect the quality."
Despite growing confidence in manufacturing technology, Toyota executives acknowledge that continuous improvement of their processes is necessary to ensure battery material quality during the mass production stage.