What are the solid-state batteries that will revolutionize the electric car?

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They could reduce the carbon footprint of any electric vehicle’s battery by 24%

Solid-state batteries promise to solve many of the shortcomings of today’s electric cars, improving their autonomy and reducing charging time, while reducing higher purchase costs. Giants like Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan or Toyota are working on this technology.

Nissan estimates that charging time will be reduced by a third. At the same time, the price of batteries could be reduced from the current $130 per kWh to $75 or even $65, making it possible to equate the purchase cost of an electric vehicle with that of a gasoline car.

This type of battery removes the liquid electrolyte found in most batteries and replaces it with a solid one. In solid state cells it is much easier to control heat, so cooling is much cheaper and easier. Bulky and heavy protective cases are also needed less.

In addition, a lighter battery reduces the average weight of the vehicle. This means that it needs less energy to move and the battery can also be smaller to achieve the same autonomy. “Safety, durability and energy density can take further steps forward once we start using solid-state batteries,” said David Labrosse, Kia’s head of R&D in Europe.

The carbon footprint of electric cars could be reduced by almost two-fifths thanks to solid-state batteries, which would put them in an even more advantageous position compared to vehicles using fossil fuels. This is apparent from a study commissioned by Minviro, a company specialized in the life cycle analysis of raw materials, in which emerging solid-state technologies are compared with current chemical batteries.

Solid-state batteries are able to store more energy with far fewer materials. According to this study, this could reduce the carbon footprint of the battery of any electric vehicle by 24%. The analysis compared one of the most likely successful solid-state batteries in development, the NMC-811, to current lithium-ion technology. To transfer electricity, solid-state batteries use ceramic material instead of liquid electrolytes, reducing their weight, increasing their charging speed and making them cheaper in the long run. Battery manufacturers expect solid-state batteries to be used in electric vehicles in the second half of the decade.

For Carlos Rico, policy officer at T&E in Spain, “Electric vehicles are already a much better option for the planet than petrol vehicles. The carbon footprint of batteries is shrinking every year, but solid-state technology represents a substantial change, as the higher energy density translates into much less material use for production and thus a significant reduction in emissions.

The study also indicates that the use of this type of technology can further reduce the climate impact of batteries – namely 39% more, compared to current lithium batteries – if these batteries are manufactured with sustainably harvested raw materials. New mining methods, such as the extraction of lithium from geothermal sources, generate a much lower climate impact than conventional techniques, such as the traditional extraction of this mineral, which is mined in Australia and refined in China.

Solid-state batteries may require up to 35% more lithium than current lithium-ion technology, but use far less graphite and cobalt. T&E says the requirements in the proposed EU battery regulation that lithium be sourced responsibly – in terms of environmental and social impact – and recycled is a ‘no regrets’ policy that will ensure adequate supply of solid-state batteries.

Carlos Rico says: “If we find cleaner ways to extract and process the raw material, we can further reduce the climate impact of solid-state batteries. The key to this is to improve the methods used in the supply chain. The EU Battery Regulation offers a valuable opportunity to ensure that all batteries manufactured or sold in Europe are produced from sustainable raw materials, have a lower environmental footprint and can be recycled at the end of their life.”

The said regulation is currently being debated in the European Parliament. T&E is asking legislators that the regulation promotes the production of batteries with a lower carbon footprint on the one hand, and that the lithium recycling targets be increased to 70% by 2025 and 90% by 2030 on the other – above the European Commission’s proposal. Likewise, “companies should be required to respect human rights and the environment at all stages of battery production,” they explain from the environmental organization.

According to Andreas Hintennach, director of battery cell research at Daimler, there are other types of alternatives to current batteries and even technologies that are superior to the lithium-ion battery. Among them is the solid state battery. “However, its energy density is lower, making it relatively large and slow to charge. Therefore, it is good for commercial vehicles, but not for passenger cars. Therefore, we will have the lithium-ion battery with us for years to come.”

Another possibility is the lithium-sulfur battery. In this case, replacing nickel and cobalt in current batteries with sulfur would significantly increase durability. The energy density also has a lot of potential, but the lifespan is not yet long enough. “Lithium air batteries really only contain lithium,” he says. The rest, oxygen, just comes from the air. “Chemically, it is a concept similar to that of the fuel cell, where we use hydrogen. The energy density would be excellent, but this technology is far from a reality.”

For his part, Tom Flux, vice president of sales of Toyota Europe, confirms that it is necessary to seek as many approaches as possible to reduce and eliminate CO2 emissions. In that sense, «in Europe we already have 90% of electric vehicle sales in Toyota, we are number 1 in average CO2 reduction. But you have to look at all the available options, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, synthetic fuels, and not everyone in the world can drive electric at the moment, both in terms of infrastructure and charging capacity» .

The manager explains to this newspaper that “the geographical aspect must also be taken into account. In some countries, such as Norway, where most of the electricity production comes from renewable sources, especially hydropower, it is easier to drive an electric car. In Poland, where most of the production comes from coal-fired power stations, it makes little sense. And then, in terms of use, there are sectors where battery electric vehicles cannot work, for example heavy or long-haul transport, and hydrogen may be a better option. Whole transport sectors, such as trucks, airplanes, ships, where it is much more difficult to apply electric motor and battery technology, and there we have to resort to both the hydrogen fuel cell and synthetic fuels if we really want to achieve the goal of CO2 neutrality for the whole society.

Bruno Mattucci, general manager of Nissan Iberia, explained to ABC that “the future is a solid-state lithium battery.” From his point of view, this technology brings many advantages as these batteries weigh less, charge 40% faster and store 40% more charge than current batteries.

Source: La Verdad

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