On December 8, QuantumScape, a start-up company supported by Volkswagen and Bill Gates, announced the amazing performance data of its latest solid-state battery. It is said that it can increase the cruising range of electric vehicles by 80% and can charge 80% of the electricity in 15 minutes.
In a virtual "Battery Day" event for investors, the recently listed company announced that its solid-state batteries for electric vehicles will charge faster, have a larger capacity, and have a longer lifespan than traditional electric vehicle batteries. It may also be the first commercially viable solid-state battery. Although most of the start-ups dedicated to solid-state batteries are still in the product development stage, QuantumScape said the company will start production in 2024.
In fact, most electric car companies have been using "wet" lithium-ion batteries for decades, which use liquid electrolytes to move energy. They are relatively slow to charge, may freeze at sub-zero temperatures, and contain flammable materials, which may be dangerous in the event of a collision.
However, the solid-state batteries developed by QuantumScape this time have a significant improvement over traditional lithium-ion batteries: they can not only increase the range of electric vehicles by 80%, but also charge much faster (in 15 minutes. It usually takes 40 minutes or longer to charge up to 80% of the capacity, and it can still maintain more than 80% of the capacity after 800 recharges without significant deterioration.
In addition, they are non-combustible, and the volumetric energy density of the battery exceeds 1,000 watt-hours per liter, which is almost twice the density of the top commercial lithium-ion battery pack and four times the current Tesla Model 3 battery. In terms of weight, it can provide 380 to 500 watt-hours/kg of energy. In contrast, current Tesla batteries can provide approximately 260 watt-hours/kg.
The key to all breakthroughs in this battery is the use of ceramic separators to replace the liquid electrolyte used in traditional batteries. As a medium for the flow of positive and negative ions, this ceramic is flexible, not rigid. In the extremely low temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, energy can continue to move in the entire battery, and battery performance will not be affected.
Stan Whittingham, the inventor of lithium-ion batteries and one of the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, said, “The most difficult part of manufacturing a solid-state battery is that it needs to meet the requirements of high energy density, fast charging, long cycle life and wide temperature range. Requirements. The data shows that QuantumScape's solid-state batteries fully meet all these requirements, which has never been reported before. If the company can put this technology into mass production, it may change the entire industry."