Nissan is one of the companies in the race for the next stage of EV evolution; solid-state batteries. It says it will launch its first EV powered by the new battery in 2028.
The Japanese carmaker was the first to launch a mass-market electric car, the Nissan Leaf, in 2010. It has let that first mover advantage fall to the wayside but it is trying again, announcing its road map for the new battery type. Nissan will set up a pilot solid-state battery production plant in 2025. It will complete the required engineering work on the tech in 2026, after which mass production will start in 2028.
SVP of R&D in Europe for Nissan, David Moss, provided updates on the company’s solid-state battery journey. “We think we have something quite special and are in a group leading the technology. We want to get the cost down [compared with lithium-ion batteries] by 50%, to double the energy density, and to offer three times the charging speed,” as reported by Autocar.
Moss added that Nissan had moved on to larger 10 cm square cells from smaller dimensions. The final size will be comparable to the standard laptop size.
Nissan has been collaborating with the University of Oxford’s leading scientists in developing its solid-state battery. It had an improbable partnership with NASA on the same battery last year.
According to Moss, its own battery is ahead of others who still use liquid electrolytes. He says solid-state batteries would enable larger pickup trucks and SUVs. He also touted the faster charging speed, comparable to filling up with petrol.
NIO announced a shorter time-to-market in 2022, but it didn’t materialize. Mercedes-Benz is partnering with ProLogium on its solid-state battery. Samsung is also in the race.
