Solid-state battery with 525 Wh/kg energy density moves to production and road tests
The second generation solid-state battery cell of one of the world's top 10 battery makers - Gotion - has managed to achieve a 50% capacity boost over the first generation's 350 Wh\kg.
After a year of validation, Gotion managed to tweak its Gemstone battery formula for a 60% improvement in solid sulfide electrolyte ion conductivity that brought on an energy density increase to over 500 Wh/kg.
For comparison, Tesla's 4680 battery cells with liquid electrolyte that power the Cybertruck pack half the energy density, while the LFP batteries that are in mass market electric cars or popular power stations like the Anker Solix C1000 come with even lower capacity numbers.
The solid-state battery has now entered pilot production, says Gotion, starting it slow with 200 MWh factory capacity that returns 90% yield, and the packs are currently undergoing road testing in electric vehicles.
The second generation Gemstone solid-state battery also achieved a 90% reduction in stacking pressure pre-tension force, allowing Gotion to pass all safety procedures like nail penetration, crash tests, or thermal runaway experiments with flying colors.
Given the increasing number of top tier manufacturers like CATL that have initiated solid-state battery testing and even pilot manufacturing, the self-imposed 2027 deadline for mass solid-state battery deployment in electric vehicles looks increasingly within reach.
This is when Toyota, Samsung, BYD and CATL said they will start mass solid-state battery production, although Toyota warned that the safer, high-capacity cell technology will first be installed in premium electric vehicles in the Lexus brand due to its higher costs.
Gotion is partially owned by Volkswagen, so the pilot Gemstone cells might have been installed in its vehicles for road trials. BMW also started solid-state battery testing with its i7 sedan on May 20th, indicating that the race who will be first to initiate mass production of an EV with solid-state battery is already on.
