A few days ago, Solid Power officially announced that it has produced the first-generation all-solid-state battery (ASSB) prototype product, which is ready to be put on the market in 2021 and used in automobiles in 2026. Solid Power is an industry-leading solid-state battery technology startup company established in 2012 with funding from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Solid Power claims that each battery produced does not contain any liquid or gel material, and is a true solid-state battery with an energy density of 320Wh/kg. The battery is manufactured using Solid Power's MWh-scale roll to roll pilot line. In the third quarter of 2020, the pilot line batteries and solid electrolytes have been successfully verified by many automotive OEM partners and first-class battery suppliers.
Solid Power's ASSB adopts a ten-layer bag structure and is produced using conventional industrial processing techniques and equipment. The main purpose of the release of the first-generation battery is to demonstrate the use of lithium-ion winding processing technology and equipment for mass production, while testing the battery with external partners to prove that the mass market is feasible. At present, the output of new solid-state batteries is 100 per week, but Solid Power plans to expand the production to several thousand per month in the MWh-scale winding trial production line, which proves that a factory with multiple production lines can achieve a higher production scale. Although still a prototype product, compared with 18650 NMC battery, this 10-layer ASSB pouch battery can provide 320 Wh/kg energy density, while the weight is reduced by 30%.
According to the CEO of Solid Power: “Solid Power’s all-solid-state batteries are inherently stable over a wide temperature range. Although it is possible to eliminate cooling at the battery pack level, we do hope that the ASSB battery pack needs heating, especially For fast charging. We are currently working to lower the battery's operating temperature to match the lithium-ion battery, and we have made significant improvements in the past quarter, which is a direct result of the continuous improvement in manufacturing maturity and quality. As the quality of battery manufacturing continues to improve, we expect to continue to lower the operating temperature." It seems that Solid Power's all-solid-state batteries are expected to exert their best performance and life.
All in all, if Solid Power can mass produce batteries that are not affected by thermal runaway, then the battery industry may reshuffle, and the battle between liquid batteries and solid-state batteries for the "energy storage big brother" will officially begin.