Solid-state batteries promise to disrupt the electric car world by lowering prices and improving performance, and Nissan wants to be an early adopter. The automaker now plans to launch its first solid-state battery electric vehicle by fiscal 2028. To that end, he has just unveiled a prototype production facility for these batteries at a Japanese research center and will open a pilot production line in Yokohama in fiscal year 2024.
The move away from conventional batteries should already make electric vehicles significantly more affordable thanks to the use of less expensive materials. Nissan plans to reduce the cost of solid-state batteries to $75 per kilowatt-hour by 2028 and $65 thereafter. EVs would cost about the same as gasoline-based cars at these prices, Nissan said.
The technology has other advantages. Solid-state batteries charge faster and offer about twice the energy density of existing lithium-ion batteries, potentially resulting in longer range, lighter weight, and faster charge times. These, in turn, could make electric vehicles practical for potential owners
Nissan isn’t the only brand introducing solid-state batteries. Toyota, for example, expects to use the technology in hybrid vehicles by 2025. However, this is one of the clearest and most ambitious strategies for the technology. It also suggests that Nissan’s still-small EV lineup will expand significantly over the next few years as electrification becomes viable for more of its lineup.
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