On July 4th, Toyota, the world’s second-largest automaker, announced on Tuesday that it has made significant breakthroughs in battery technology, which can reduce the weight, volume and cost of batteries by half. This could provide a huge boost for the advancement of electric vehicles.
Toyota had previously planned to launch cars with advanced solid-state batteries by 2025, which have many advantages over liquid batteries. The Japanese company announced on Tuesday that it has simplified the production process for the materials used to manufacture solid-state batteries, calling the discovery a significant breakthrough that could greatly reduce charging time and increase range.
Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Development Center, said, “Whether it’s liquid or solid-state batteries, we are committed to changing the current situation of batteries that are too large, heavy, and expensive. In this regard, we will strive to halve these factors.”
David Bailey, professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said that if Toyota’s claims are true, this could be a milestone event for the future of electric cars. “There are usually breakthroughs during the prototype phase, but scaling up production is difficult,” he said. “If this is a true breakthrough, it could be a disruptive innovation, the holy grail of electric cars.”
Kaita said the company has developed methods to improve battery durability and believes solid-state batteries with a range of 1,200 kilometers and a charging time of 10 minutes or less can now be manufactured. According to the Financial Times, the company expects to start producing solid-state batteries for electric cars in 2027.
Solid-state batteries have long been seen as a potential disruptor of electric cars, reducing charging times, increasing capacity, and reducing the risk of fires associated with lithium-ion batteries that use liquid electrolytes. However, solid-state batteries are generally more difficult and expensive to manufacture, limiting their commercial applications.
Toyota said it believes it can simplify the production process, making solid-state batteries easier to produce than lithium-ion batteries compared to its competitors. Toyota is considered a laggard in the electric car market compared to its competitors. We note that in June of last year, the company recalled 2,700 of its first electric cars due to the risk of wheel detachment. Last month, the UK and Irish advertising standards authorities banned ads from Toyota and Hyundai for exaggerating the speed of electric car charging and misleading consumers about the availability of fast charging points in the UK and Ireland.
