Solid-state battery patent holdings topped by Toyota as it plans to be first with solid-state cell EV model in mass production

Toyota recently shook the EV industry with the announcement that its solid-state battery research is advancing into the vehicle commercialization stage with mass production slated for 2025. Not only that, but the quoted range of 1,200 km (746 miles), even if that's on the overly generous CLTC cycle, as well as the 10-minute charging time, were rather breathtaking.

While that 746-mile range will more likely be 485 miles on a charge when translated to the EPA estimates used in the US, and the 10-minute charging time quoted will be from 10% or 20% to 80%, the sheer claim that Toyota is "planning to be the first company to sell an electric vehicle equipped with a solid-state battery by mid-2020s" is a rather bold statement.

Toyota, however, seemingly has all the patents to back the ambitious timeframe and the viability of its solid-state battery research. A new study of the GlobalData database ranked the companies with the most solid-state battery-related patents, and found out that Toyota tops the list.

On the runup to pilot production, Toyota sped up its patent registration pace and in just 3 years - between October 2020 and October 2023 - it was granted more than 8,000 solid-state battery patents. Out of the actual battery manufacturers, LG leads the pack with 5,539 solid-state battery patents, being second after Toyota, while other automakers like Hyundai, Kia, and Honda, round up the top five solid-state battery patent holders' ranking.

Honda recently mentioned that its US$40 billion vehicle electrification transition includes developing and commercializing solid-state batteries, too, with pilot production slated to start next year. According to Honda, "once we introduce all solid state, maybe at that time, we may put double the energy volume into the same car," as it would gun for halving the current average battery weight, rather than doubling their capacity in the same footprint.

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