Solid-state battery price to break key 'one yuan' barrier with new Gemstone cell

Volkswagen-backed Gotion has shown its hand on mass solid-state battery production plans, and it intends to go below the key "one yuan per Wh" cost barrier southwards for the first time. While that is still double what LFP batteries in mass-market electric vehicles command, it equates with the ternary lithium ones in premium and performance EVs.

At the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, the company said that it is targeting more than 400 Wh/kg energy density for its sulfide-based Jinshi (Gemstone) cells in mass production and added that they survived puncture and high-temperature tests without smoke or flames. Doubling the energy density of LFP cells and a higher safety record are precisely the added value of solid-state batteries, making them suitable for premium electric vehicles despite their higher costs.

This way manufacturers can fit a 140 kWh battery pack in the footprint of the current EV average and provide much longer range on a charge. The more interesting part of the announcement, however, is the expected cost. Gotion plans to usher in the "one-yuan era," meaning 1 yuan per Wh for the first time in the history of solid-state battery manufacturing. This works out to roughly $150/kWh and would be a notable achievement for a technology that has so far been synonymous with luxury pricing. Gotion has already locked in the design of a 2 GWh pilot line.

The $150/kWh price is double what fourth-gen LFP cells currently cost in China, though they usually land somewhere around 160 to 200 Wh/kg energy density at the cell level. In a nutshell, Gotion's solid-state battery would offer roughly twice the energy density at twice the price. That would make it a premium yet commercially feasible product.

The Gemstone solid-state battery looks competitive against other production plans, too. Mercedes-backed ProLogium started production of 381 Wh/kg cells, while BYD is expected to put a solid-state battery into a vehicle next year, possibly the Yangwang flagship sedan. There is a long list of Chinese battery makers that are lining up solid-state battery trial production for 2027, too.

They consider them a chance to leapfrog the big dogs CATL and BYD with the nascent technology, as it is near impossible to unseat them with the current liquid electrolyte paradigm where their economies of manufacturing scale reign supreme. There is the subsidy aspect, too, as China recently prioritized the solid-state battery technology development in its latest five-year plan, intending to become the world leader in the next EV battery generation as well.

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