The Japanese automaker says it will soon be able to manufacture a solid-state pack that can charge in 10 minutes
Toyota claims it has made a technological breakthrough that will eventually lead to a solid-state battery capable of delivering up to 745 miles (1,199 kilometers) of range, all while completely recharging in 10 minutes, according to The Guardian, quoting Keiji Kaita, president of the company’s research and development center for ‘carbon neutrality’.
The Japanese car manufacturer said yesterday that it had simplified production of the material used to make both solid-state and liquid-based batteries, [allowing] it to halve the weight, size, and cost of the packs that end up in vehicles.
“For both our liquid and our solid-state batteries, we are aiming to drastically change the situation where current batteries are too big, heavy, and expensive,” said Kaita. “In terms of potential, we will aim to halve all of these factors.”
Solid-state batteries are seen as the logical next step in the development of EVs, as they are considered safer and more reliable than lithium-ion cells that use a liquid-based electrolyte, but at the same time, they’re much more expensive and harder to manufacture.
Several startups such as Solid Power, QuantumScape, Factorial, and StoreDot have been working to make solid-state batteries more affordable and easier to produce, but as of today, their products haven’t been fitted to any new EV sold on the market.
Now, however, Toyota says it believes it could simplify the manufacturing process, potentially making solid-state batteries easier to produce than lithium-ion ones.
Last month, the Japanese automaker – which is seen by many EV enthusiasts as a laggard when it comes to fully electrifying its lineup – unveiled a massive plan to change its focus from ICE vehicles to EVs, all while keeping hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen-powered vehicles alive.
As part of its plan, Toyota wants to build an all-new EV-only architecture that will spawn a raft of new vehicles from 2026, including a US-made three-row SUV that will reportedly go into production in 2025 with batteries sourced from North Carolina.
Furthermore, the car group estimates that it will be able to make an advanced solid-state battery that’s capable of offering over 900 miles (1,448 km) of range after 2028, thanks in part to lighter, less complicated cars that have fewer components.
Top photo by Julius Tejeda
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It’s still a fact that the faster you charge a battery the shorter the life of that battery by the heat created from the fast charge.
I’m putting this artticle into the fake news bucket.
Without a proven technology and test results from independent engineers, this is just talk.
Toyota have disappointed me lately. The diesel engine in their new model Hi-Luxe isn’t so good these days. (The old models were very good) I know of a variety of mechanical problems as well as high fuel consumption but we never hear about solutions to these issues from Toyota.
That said, I know this car maker is very capable which is proven by their past product sales success.
I wonder if Toyota is stalling for time, giving the environmentalists false hope, to keep them off their back. Let Ford’s and GM’s big leaps of faith find the bottom. Nobody knows how deep the EV buyer pool is.
Yes it is just a spoiler campaign to make customers for lithium battery EVs hold off purchase because Toyota has something better…They do not.
The claims being made by Toyota are indeed good news. I hope they come true. However, the old saying is if it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t real. Time will tell.
One possibility is part of their solution is to make cars very small. These are adequate for a one person commute to work, but don’t work for families and might even be too small for a major grocery shopping trip.
The article did mention making a three-row SUV so they apparently aren’t planning on only “Smart Car” sized vehicles. But as you say, if it appears too good to be true it probably is.
Do the math on the charging rate. If you want to get enough power into a battery to move a vehicle 745 miles, and you want to get that power in a 10 minute period, the required load is somewhere around 7000 amps. Most homes have 100 amp service. Most small businesses have about 200 amp service. 7000 amps is a lot of power.
I didn’t do the math but I knew that was a lot of juice in a short amount of time. Big amperage requires big fat wires. You’re right. Hardly any home has access to that kind wattage.
You brought up wire diameter. There is a formula for amperage load vs copper wire diameter. To get 7000 amps of power, you need to use 440 volt, 3 phase power. (Three phase power uses three cables plus a ground rather than two cables plus a ground). The copper core of each of the three cables needs to be 2.75 inches in diameter. Add insulation on each wire, a ground wire, and an outside covering, and the charging cable is over 6″ in diameter! (and is very heavy because most of it is copper)
Important points! To add to what others have said:
If we look at this in terms of the effect on the power infrastructure and power plants, we will use a “middle of the road” number of 3.5 miles per kWh for an EV.
To get 745 miles of range would require a net input of 212 kWh in 10 minutes charge time.
Including a modest charging loss of about 15% (to heat)…each charger would have a load of 1.5 megawatts.
Consider that typical central station power plants are rated in the range of about 650 to 2500 megawattts, it would not take very many chargers to soak up the output of one large power plant.
Good point, and most smaller commercial buildings, like convenience stores, gas stations, and small to medium office parks, are wire for 208 3 phase, not 480 3 phase…so the conductors get even bigger.
It would be amazing to have a battery that could move a vehicle 745 miles w/o a recharge. But agree with you about the 10 minute recharge. They gave no indication how that could be possible because of the amount of energy that needs to be pushed into this battery to move a some thousands of pounds of vehicle down the road that far.
“10 minutes”. They’re saying that this will compare with the time needed to fuel an ICE vehicle at a service station. Residential – will still take most of the night.
We are all reacting to the 10 minute charging claim for a battery that has a 745 mile range. My guess is this is sloppy communications from Toyota’s public relations department. What they might have meant that starting with a battery that is fully charged, then driving for a short trip to commute to work or go shopping, the battery could be brought back to a full charge in 10 minutes.