What Are Solid-State Batteries And Could They Change EVs?

A lot of the contract processing world focused on managing minerals and chemicals is looking with particular interest at the many future potential battery technologies that are slowly reaching the mass production stage with the potential to supplant the lithium-ion hegemony.

Whilst sodium-ion is one potential future path, one of the most fascinating is the development of solid-state batteries, described as a game changer for the electric battery world, as they avoid a lot of the problems the incumbent popular battery technology has.

Traditionally, batteries use liquid electrolytes to store electrical charge and then discharge it as required, which has led to some common issues becoming evident such as limited voltage, lower strength, instability and flammability.

The latter has become a much more significant concern as the electric car has increased in popularity, leading to a wider range of advanced safety measures to avoid the potential for very hazardous and long-running electric fires.

One solution is to use less volatile materials such as sodium-ion, which also reduces the issue of the cost to mine and source lithium. However, as energy density is an issue that has only started to be solved recently, a popular alternative was solid-state.

Instead of a liquid electrolyte, a solid-state battery uses a solid material for its electrolyte instead. Hypothetically this would allow for greater energy density per volume, safer batteries in general and thus lower safety management costs, as well as much quicker charges.

The energy density benefits, in particular, would potentially make electrically-powered aircraft possible in a way they simply haven’t been with lithium-ion.

If they could be created, they would change most of the devices people use in their day, from consumer electronics to cars.

That is a significant if though, as at present cost is a significant problem, as is operation in low-temperature environments.

The potential has been shown for their functionality, however, but it is a matter of making them commercially viable at scale.