Solid-state batteries - future energy sources for electric vehicles!

Thomas Wachsmuth 5 May 2023 Advertising, Tips, products, information & Co.

Reading time 4 Min.

The battery concerns those interested in electric cars more than anything else, as it is responsible for the range and can cause high costs if a defect occurs. It also enables the e-car or plug-in hybrid to move without emissions. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are mainly used, but they have some disadvantages. Solid-state batteries are traded as the future energy source for e-vehicles and promise more safety and a longer service life.

The disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries

The future belongs to electromobility, as a look at political decisions and scientific publications reveals. With good reason, climate protection instruments such as the greenhouse gas reduction quota, which is abbreviated to the GHG quota, are gaining in importance. Since January 1, 2022, owners of pure battery cars have been able to receive money for the saved CO₂ emissions through the GHG quota. To do this, the electric vehicle is registered with the energy supplier or a processing company. About a THG provider comparison a high premium can be secured.

The pivotal point for e-mobility is the available battery technology. Lithium-ion batteries, which are mostly installed in electric cars these days, are able to store a lot of energy per kilogram of dead weight and then release this energy again reliably over a longer period of time. But there are also disadvantages with mobile energy storage: It often takes hours for the batteries to be recharged, and sometimes lithium-ion batteries can catch fire or even explode due to a short circuit, for example.

Another problem is that finite resources such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel and copper are used to manufacture them. for one positive environmental and energy balance these must be recycled to a sufficient extent. In addition, lithium mining represents a major encroachment on the environment. Due to the necessary pumping out of saline brine, the groundwater level drops and a hostile environment regularly develops in the vicinity of mining sites.

Solid-state batteries – a conceivable solution

In view of the disadvantages, scientists are vigorously researching alternatives to the lithium-ion battery. Solid-state batteries could be the solution in the future, as a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe reveals. The study shows the potential and market opportunities of solid-state batteries, but also the hurdles that still have to be overcome in order to use this type of battery with classic lithium-ion batteries can compete.

Solid-state batteries work in a similar way to classic lithium-ion batteries. The solid-state batteries under investigation are also based on lithium-ions and will initially come onto the market in large numbers. However, the technologies differ from each other. Today's lithium-ion batteries contain a liquid electrolyte, i.e. a liquid component. In solid-state batteries, this liquid electrolyte is replaced by a solid substance, the so-called solid electrolyte.

The advantages of the solid electrolyte - and the existing hurdles

On the one hand, there is no risk of leaking flammable liquids with solid electrolyte batteries, since these are usually not included. Although other battery components can still cause malfunctions and fires, at least one risk factor has been ruled out. On the other hand, solid state batteries may offer higher energy densities, meaning they can store more energy in the same footprint, in the same volume, or with the same dimensions.

The new solid-state batteries promise automobile manufacturers and their customers the shortest charging times, enormous ranges, maximum fire safety and low costs. Almost all major car manufacturers have high hopes for this technology. Nissan has already announced that it will start pilot production in 2024 and launch the first production vehicle in 2028. Other manufacturers have formulated even more ambitious goals.

One of the main tasks of the industry is still the mass production. Nissan claims lower costs compared to the liquid battery, but the practical proof is still pending. Other experts expect higher prices for solid state cells. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how the price-performance ratio of the new technology in its various possible variants will be in the future. In addition, different material combinations are extensively tested so that the actual performance of the end product cannot yet be foreseen.

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