Japanese Consortium Targets Solid-State Batteries

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is launching a 1.6 billion yen ($14 million) program to accelerate the development and commercialization of solid-state batteries for next-generation electric vehicles, The Nikkei reports.

The program teams Japan’s Consortium for Lithium Ion Battery Technology and Evaluation Center (LIBTEC) with Honda, Nissan, Toyota and battery suppliers Panasonic and GS Yuasa. Formed in 2013, LIBTEC includes material suppliers such as Asahi Kasei, and Toray Industries.

Solid-state batteries, which use glass electrolytes rather than liquid material, promise to be better performing, safer and cheaper than current chemistries. This includes enabling substantially farther driving ranges and faster recharging times.

LIBTEC expects EVs with solid-state batteries will have a driving range of 550 km (342 miles) by 2025 and 800 km (500 miles) by 2030. The latter would double the current best-in-class range, The Nikkei notes.

Carmakers and battery suppliers have been developing solid-state systems on their own for several years. Toyota, which is thought to be one of the early leaders, aims to launch an EV with a solid-state battery in 2022, according to a report last year.

Japan hopes the consortium can accelerate these efforts to counter growing competition from South Korean and Chinese battery suppliers. The country’s share of the global automotive lithium-ion battery market plunged from 70% in 2013 to about 40% in 2016, according to the newspaper.