Stellantis
says
it
will
put
a
“demonstration
fleet”
of
Dodge
Charger
Daytonas
on
the
road
by
2026,
equipped
with
solid-state
battery
technology
that’s
lighter,
more
energy-dense,
and
could
eventually
make
for
cheaper
EVs.
The
company
calls
the
demo
fleet
a
“key
next
step”
toward
making
solid-state
EVs
that
you
can
actually
buy.
The
cars
will
be
built
on
its
STLA
Large
EV
platform,
which
is
meant
to
underpin
more
than
just
the
Chargers
it’s
demoing
next
year.
If
its
demo
is
successful,
there’s
a
chance
that
cars
from
brands
like
Maserati
and
Jeep
will
get
the
new
battery
tech,
too.
A
demo
fleet
of
the
Dodge
Charger
will
get
semi-solid-state
batteries
in
2026,
Stellantis
says.Image:
Stellantis
There’s
probably
a
reason
Stellantis
says
“solid-state
battery
technology”
rather
than
simply
solid-state
batteries.
That’s
because
these
Chargers
will
use
semi-solid-state
batteries,
which
means
they’re
still
made
with
liquid
electrolytes
too.
That
hybrid
approach
carries
benefits
like
lighter
weight
and
more
range,
but
doesn’t
totally
obviate
the
fire
risk
of
traditional
lithium
batteries.
Factorial,
which
makes
the
batteries
Stellantis
will
use,
claims
its
semi-solid-state
tech
could
push
EV
range
up
by
as
much
as
50
percent
versus
today’s
electric
cars,
and
that
the
batteries
have
“drop-in
compatibility
with
existing
lithium-ion
battery
manufacturing
infrastructure,”
making
them
cheaper
and
easier
to
produce
than
switching
to
full
solid-state
tech
would
be.
Solid-state
batteries
have
been
hard
to
develop
and
not
every
company
has
been
able
to
hack
it.
Nissan
had
promised
it
would
be
producing
“all-solid-state”
EVs
by
2028,
but
seemed
to
walk
that
back
this
year.
Fisker
totally
abandoned
its
own
efforts
to
make
solid-state
batteries
in
2021.
But
Volkswagen,
which
was
to
provide
Fisker’s
platform,
recently
announced
that
its
batteries
had
passed
an
endurance
test.
Stellantis’
announcement
is
a
sign
of
progress,
and
it’s
not
the
only
company
making
some.
Hyundai
is
a
Factorial
investor,
and
so
is
Mercedes,
which
said
it
would
have
Factorial’s
semi-solid-state
batteries
“in
EVs
on
the
road
in
2026,”
according
to
Reuters.
Honda
plans
to
introduce
solid-state
EVs
in
the
latter
half
of
the
decade,
while
Toyota’s
roadmap
includes
mass-producing
solid-state
batteries
that
enable
more
than
621
miles
of
range
by
2028.
In
China,
IM
Motor
launched
the
L6,
a
semi-solid-state
battery-driven
EV,
in
April,
while
its
sister
brand,
MG,
announced
it
will
unveil
one
in
Europe
next
year.
(Originally posted by Wes Davis)
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