Nissan teases solid-state EV battery with consistent 400kW charging rate for 2024 pilot

While many an automaker have pledged solid-state battery developments, Nissan may be farther ahead with its homebrew solid cell plans than thought, as it just teased pilot production in 2024. According to its senior R&D VP in Europe David Moss, Nissan has developed an all-solid-state battery based on a research partnership with University of Oxford.

"When you commit to something like solid-state, you have to change the whole mechanism and architecture of the vehicle," he added, and that is why Nissan envisions that its first mass-produced electric vehicle with solid-state batteries will only land in 2028. That's still a bit earlier than the 2030 deadline that the world's biggest EV battery maker CATL gave for mass solid-state EV battery adoption.

Nissan didn't specify exactly which of the numerous solid-state battery technologies that are vying for pilot production it has been working on with the Oxford researchers, but divulged some info about the charging speeds it expects from the cells:

If you can put in energy three times faster, is it any different to filling a gas vehicle? We don’t know yet, but we might have two sizes of battery – one for really heavy users who need massive range, but if you can put energy in like petrol, do you need the size?

While there are already 400kW+ charging systems on the market from various Chinese manufacturers like XPeng or NIO, solid-state battery technologies like the one from Nissan allow for consistent charging at that rate that won't be as dependent on the cell temperature as current ternary lithium batteries. Still, cost will be a factor, too, so Nissan will keep developing current lithium battery technology for at least two more generations, arriving at a 65% cheaper cobalt-free cell in 2028 as well.

"Lithium ion is constantly changing, with better energy density, efficiency, and lower cost. The cost is key, as this opens up EVs to even more customers. We believe there are a couple of steps left in lithium ion. A big drive for us is to go cobalt-free. We expect this to be on the market in 2028," reiterated Moss.

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