- Hot on the heels of announcements on solid-state battery tech from manufacturers such as SAIC Motor and Samsung SDI, Mercedes-Benz has announced that it is partnering up with US battery manufacturer Factorial.
- The two firms will work on a solid-state battery, ready to go into production before 2030.
- The solid-state battery, called ‘Solstice’, will reportedly be capable of extending range by up to 80%, over current conventional lithium-ion EV batteries.
Mercedes-Benz enters the solid-state battery race
Alongside Mercedes, Factorial has also been partnered with OEMs Stellantis and Hyundai for a number of years. The battery manufacturer hopes to put a semi-solid-state battery, much like SAIC’s solution, on road-going EVs by 2026, ahead of the fully solid-state Solstice release at the end of the decade.
Factorial and Mercedes-Benz claim that the new battery will be able to near double the range of existing batteries, with an energy density of around 450Wh/kg. That range increase is right on target with the sort of capabilities manufacturers such as Samsung SDI and Toyota, are expecting from their own solid state batteries. Much like other battery manufacturers, you can expect Factorial’s battery to initially make its way into the premium EV segment, before the technology reaches more affordable EVs. Mercedes’ flagship EQS luxury saloon can already crack up to 481 miles between charges on a lithium-ion battery, which makes it a ripe vehicle for future solid-state adoption, thanks to the possibility to pack even more energy into a similarly sized battery pack. On the other end of the scale, however, solid-state batteries will also be able to boost the range of small city cars with battery size limitations, making them even more capable EVs.
Solid-state batteries aren’t the only solution EV manufacturers will adopt in the run up to 2030. Both Panasonic and LG plan to put energy-dense 4680 cylindrical cells into mass production by next year, hoping to boost EV range before the arrival of solid-state solutions.
