Toyota has announced exciting advances in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), pointing to longer battery life as early as 2026. The breakthrough came on two fronts: increased optimization of lithium-ion batteries and advances in solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.
Findings on lithium-ion batteries will lead to longer battery life and faster charging times, common concerns among potential EV buyers. Current EVs allow for a range of around 330 miles on a single charge, while the updated battery could do up to 621 miles.
Solid-state batteries would push this even further, allowing about 745 miles on a charge. Developed for devices such as pacemakers and smartwatches, they are similar in structure to lithium-ion batteries, but historically have not been durable enough to support electric vehicles.
Toyota’s new breakthrough could bring solid-state battery electric vehicles to market by 2027, and they’ve mentioned a focus on a cheaper manufacturing process that relies more on automated processing than human labor on the assembly line.
The best part is that electric vehicles offer a long list of user benefits.
Currently, driving an electric car costs about half as much as driving a petrol-powered vehicle. Public charging costs are billed by the minute – meaning that battery life breakthroughs make owning an EV even more affordable.
In addition, there are state and local financial incentives based on where you live, and EVs require less maintenance overall.
Electric vehicles also have a much lower environmental impact. Just a single electric car on the road can save 1.6 tons of pollutants a year, while petrol-powered vehicles produce an average of over 10,000 pounds of noxious gases a year.
A recent Portal article dubbed solid-state batteries as “the deathblow” for petrol-powered cars – an indication of just how practical and pocket-friendly this new range of electric vehicles could be.
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