Nissan has unveiled its prototype production facility for laminated all-solid-state battery cells for electric vehicles (EVs). This prototype facility, located within the Nissan Research Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, is aimed to further promote the development of solid-state batteries and the company aims to bring them to market in 2028.
Under its long-term vision, Nissan Ambition 2030, the brand aims to launch an electric vehicle with solid-state batteries developed in-house by 2028. The company plans to establish a pilot production line at its Yokohama Plant in the 2024 fiscal year, with materials, design and manufacturing processes for prototype production on the line to be studied at the prototype production facility.
Nissan believes all-solid-state batteries can be reduced to $75 per kWh in the 2028 fiscal year and to $65 per kWh thereafter, placing electric cars at the same cost level as petrol internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. This will be a huge game changer in the transition to driving electric cars around the globe.
Solid-state batteries have an energy density of approximately twice that of conventional lithium-ion batteries. They also benefit from significantly shorter charging time due to superior charge/discharge performance and best of all lower cost thanks to the opportunity of using less expensive materials.
With these benefits, Nissan expects to use all-solid-state batteries in a wide range of vehicle segments, including pickup trucks, making its all of its electric vehicles more competitively priced.
Kunio Nakaguro, executive vice president in charge of R&D at Nissan, said: “Nissan has been a leader in electrification technology through a wide range of R&D activities, from molecular-level battery material research to the development of safe, high-performance EVs. Our initiatives even include city development using EVs as storage batteries.
“The knowledge gained from our experience supports the development of all-solid-state batteries and we’ve accumulated important elemental technologies.
“Going forward, our R&D and manufacturing divisions will continue to work together to utilise this prototype production facility and accelerate the practical application of all-solid-state batteries.”
