The EV Battery Tech That’s Worth the Hype, According to Experts

you have seen Title: this battery The breakthrough is about to change Electric vehicles forever. And then… silence. You go to the local showroom, and the cars all look and feel the same.

WIRED got upset about this incident. So we spoke to battery technology experts about what’s really going on in electric car batteries. Is there any technology here? Which will, probably, but not yet, so don’t hold your breath? What is probably not coming soon?

“It’s easy to get excited about these things, because batteries are so complicated,” said Pranab Jaswani, a technology analyst at IDTechX, a market intelligence firm. “So many small things are going to make such a big impact.” That’s why many companies, including automakers, their suppliers and battery-makers, are experimenting with many bits of battery life. Swap out one electrically conductive material for another and the range of an electric car battery can increase by 50 miles. Reengineer how battery packs are assembled, and a carmaker could lower production costs enough to give consumers pause on the sales lot.

Still, experts say, getting even minor changes to production cars can take a long time — sometimes 10 years or more. “Of course, we want to make sure that what we put in an EV works well and that it passes safety standards,” said Evelina Stoiko, who leads the battery technology and supply chain team at BloombergNEF, a research firm. Ensuring that scientists are coming up with new ideas, and suppliers are figuring out how to implement them; Automakers, in turn, rigorously test each iteration. All the while, everyone is asking the most important question: Does this improvement make financial sense?

So it’s only logical that not every breakthrough in the lab makes it to the road. Here are the ones that really count – and the ones that haven’t been completely panned, at least not yet

It’s Really Happening

The big deal battery breakthroughs all have one thing in common: they’re all about lithium-ion batteries. There are other battery chemistries – more on those later – but over the next decade, it’s going to be hard to catch up with the dominant battery form “Lithium-ion is already very mature,” says Stoiko. A lot of players have invested big money in the technology, so “any new entrant has to compete with the status quo.”

Lithium Iron Phosphate

Why is it exciting?: LFP batteries use expensive and hard-to-source nickel and cobalt instead of iron and phosphate, which are found in conventional lithium-ion batteries. They are more stable and slow to degrade after multiple charges. The result: LFP batteries can help lower the cost of building an EV, an especially important data point as Western electrics struggle to compete cost-effectively with conventional gas-powered cars. LFP batteries are already common in China, and They’re set to become more popular in European and American electric vehicles in the coming years.

Why is it difficult?: Lower power density than LFP alternatives, meaning you can’t pack as much charge or range into each battery

More nickels

Why it’s exciting: The increased nickel content in lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries increases energy density, meaning more range in a battery pack without much size or weight. Also, more nickel can mean less cobalt, which is a metal Both are expensive and questionable to obtain ethically.

Why is it difficult?: Batteries with higher nickel content are potentially less stable, meaning they carry a higher risk of cracking or thermal runaway – fires. This means that battery-makers experimenting with different nickel materials must spend more time and energy on the careful design of their products. That extra fuss means more cost. For this reason, expect to see more nickel used in batteries for high-end EVs

Dry electrode process

Why is it exciting?: Generally, battery electrodes are made by mixing the material in a solvent slurry, which is then applied to a metallic current collector foil, dried and pressed. The dry electrode process reduces solvents by mixing materials in dry powder form prior to application and deposition. Fewer solvents means fewer environmental and health and safety concerns. And getting rid of the drying process can save manufacturing time—and increase efficiency—while reducing the physical footprint needed to manufacture batteries. All of this could lead to cheaper manufacturing, “which should be less to make a cheaper car,” Jaswani said. Tesla has already incorporated a dry anode process into its battery manufacturing. (The anode is the negative electrode that stores lithium ions while charging the battery.) LG and Samsung SGIO are also working on pilot production lines.

Why is it difficult?: Using dry powder can be more technically complex.

Sell-to-pack

Why is it exciting?: In your standard electric vehicle battery, individual battery cells are grouped into modules, which are then assembled into packs. Not so in cell-to-pack, which places cells directly into the pack structure without an intermediate module step. That allows battery-makers to fit more batteries in the same space and could lead to about 50 extra miles of range and a higher top speed, Jaswani said. It also lowers production costs, savings that can be passed on to the car buyer. Big-time automakers, including Tesla and BYD, and Chinese battery giant CATL, are already using the technology.

Why is it difficult?: Without modules, it can be difficult to control thermal runaway and maintain battery pack structure. Also, cell-to-pack makes it more difficult to replace a defective battery cell, which means that small defects may require opening or replacing the entire pack.

Silicon anodes

Why is it exciting?: Lithium-ion batteries have graphite anodes. Silicon is added to the mixtureHowever, there could be huge upsides: more energy savings (ie longer driving range) and faster charging, potentially burning down to six to 10 minutes to top up. Tesla already mixes some silicon into its graphite anodes and other automakers—Mercedes-Benz, General Motors-Say they are getting close to mass production.

Why is it difficult?: Silicon mixed with lithium expands and contracts as it goes through charging and discharging cycles, which can lead to mechanical stress and even fracturing. Over time, this can lead to a more dramatic loss of battery capacity. For now, you’re more likely to find silicon anodes in small batteries like phones or even motorcycles.

It’s kind of happening

The battery technology in the more speculative buckets has gone through a lot of testing. But it’s not yet at the point where most manufacturers are building production lines and putting it into cars.

Sodium-ion battery

Why it’s exciting: Sodium-it’s everywhere! Compared to lithium, the material is cheaper and easier to find and process, meaning tracking materials to make sodium-ion batteries could give automakers a supply chain break. Batteries seem to perform better in extreme temperatures and are more stable. Chinese battery maker CATL Says it will begin mass production Battery and that battery could eventually cover 40 percent of China’s passenger-vehicle market next year.

Why it’s hard: Sodium ions are heavier than their lithium counterparts, so they typically store less energy per battery pack. This may make them more suitable for battery storage than vehicles. It’s early days for this technology, which means fewer suppliers and less time-tested manufacturing processes.

Solid state battery

Why it’s exciting: Automakers have been Committed for years That groundbreaking solid state batteries are just around the corner. That would be great if true. This technology substitutes a liquid or gel electrolyte in a conventional Li-ion battery for a solid electrolyte. These electrolytes should come in different chemistries, but they all have some major advantages: more energy density, faster charging, more durability, less safety risk (no liquid electrolyte means no leaks). Toyota says so Will finally launch Its first vehicle with solid state battery in 2027 or 2028 BloombergNEF project That by 2035, solid state batteries will account for 10 percent of EV and storage production.

Why is it difficult?: Some solid electrolytes have a hard time at low temperatures. But the biggest problems are related to production. Assembling these new batteries requires new tools. It is really difficult to make defect-free layers of electrolytes. And the industry hasn’t come to an agreement on which solid electrolyte to use, making it difficult to build a supply chain.

Maybe it will happen

Good ideas don’t always make a ton of sense in the real world.

Wireless charging

Why is it exciting?: Park your car, get out and charge it while you wait—no plug needed Wireless charging may be the pinnacle of convenience, and some automakers insist it’s coming. Porsche, for example, A prototype is displayedWith plans to roll out the real thing next year.

Why is it difficult?: The problem, says Jaswani, is that the technology underlying the chargers we currently have works perfectly well and is much cheaper to install. He hopes that eventually, wireless charging will appear in some limited use cases — maybe on buses, for example, that can charge throughout their route if they stop on a charging pad. But this technology may never go truly mainstream, he says.