Everyone should be familiar with lithium-ion batteries but what about next-generation solid-state batteries? Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with Taiwan's ProLogium Technology to jointly develop solid-state batteries for vehicles, hoping to create a safer and longer-lasting vehicle battery system.
It can be said that battery technology is the heart of electric vehicles. In the past few days, many car manufacturers have announced their plans in the field of batteries. This includes the solid-state battery partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Prologium, a battery resource and recycling industry-academia research project undertaken by Panasonic and Toyota, and a new electric vehicle battery plant project with partners LG Energy Solution and General Motors (GM).
Mercedes-Benz hopes market forces will allow it to realize their goal of all-electric vehicles by 2030. Now Mercedes-Benz is also studying solid-state battery technology. Recently, it signed a technical cooperation agreement with Taiwanese solid-state battery manufacturer Prologium Technology to develop next-generation batteries. It is expected that in the next few years a test vehicle with a solid-state battery will be launched.
Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG Chief Technology Officer Markus Schäfer stated, “We believe that range and efficiency will be the new industry standards for electric vehicles and solid-state battery technology can help reduce battery size and weight which is why we decided to work with companies such as Prologium to ensure that Mercedes-Benz can achieve continuous breakthroughs in the automotive field for the benefit of customers.”
At present, most lithium-ion batteries on the market are "liquid batteries" and use liquid electrolytes. Therefore, accidental fires can easily start if the liquid electrolyte leaks. Solid-state batteries mainly use solid electrolytes. In addition to safety advantages, energy density is also relatively high, thereby prolonging the battery life of electric vehicles. Prologium primarily studies silicon and lithium metal anodes, as well as solid-state batteries using bipolar technology.
Prologium CEO Vincent Yang stated, “Our team has been testing its own EV batteries with Mercedes-Benz since 2016 and we are excited to deepen and broaden our partnership.”
Recently, LG Chem electric vehicle battery subsidiary, LG Energy Solution, and GM have also devised a new battery plan. They plan to invest US$2.1 billion to build a fourth electric vehicle battery factory in the United States. It is expected to be located in Lansing, Michigan. This factory will start mass production in early 2025 and, once fully operational, will produce 50GWh of electric vehicle batteries per year.
The aforementioned battery is the Ultium battery jointly developed by GM and LG Chem. This special large-sized pouch-shaped battery can be stacked vertically or horizontally in the battery pack.
LG and GM are also currently building two other battery manufacturing hubs in Ohio and Tennessee, both of which will be able to manufacture 35GWh batteries. LG Energy Solution CEO Young-Soo Kwon stated, with a shared vision, GM and LG Energy Solution can gain a head start in electric vehicles and capture new opportunities in the market.
In addition to studying battery development technology, the future of the battery must also be considered. Now Toyota and Panasonic have started researching battery resources and recycling with the University of Tokyo to develop new processes in an integrated manner, from the development of nickel, lithium, and cobalt metal resources to battery material development, manufacturing process refining, and the consideration of developing new processes to recycle battery waste and used batteries. In the future, this project is expected to promote the development of efficient, waste-free recycling technologies for battery manufacturing and residual materials from used equipment.
(Image: ProLogium Technology)