Toyota to launch world’s first EV with a solid-state battery by 2027

… expected to last longer and charge faster

One of the world’s biggest car manufacturers has announced plans to mass-produce a type of battery for electric vehicles (EVs) that can last far longer and charge much quicker than current technologies.

On October 8, Toyota and the Japan-based Sumitomo Metal Mining Company announced a joint venture to mass-produce cathode materials for solid-state batteries, to be used in the automaker’s battery-powered EVs.

Toyota plans to launch a line of cars featuring the new solid-state battery in 2027 or 2028, company representatives said in a statement.

A typical lithium-ion battery has a liquid electrolyte solution sandwiched between two solid electrodes. The new solid-state battery would replace that liquid electrolyte with a third solid.

Because the liquid electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries is flammable, switching to a solid-state battery comes with a lower fire risk. Solid-state batteries also have the potential for higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries, meaning they could power a car for longer with the same size battery.

Toyota and Sumitomo Metal Mining have been researching materials for solid-state batteries together since 2021. As part of the push toward a solid-state battery for electric vehicles, the two companies have developed what they describe as a “highly durable cathode material,” which will act as one of the electrodes in the planned solid-state batteries. Neither company has released details about the new cathode material.

Sumitomo Metal Mining plans to supply this cathode material to manufacturers beginning in 2028, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

“We will prioritize supplying Toyota, then respond flexibly to market demand,” the spokesperson said.

MIKE OCHONMA
EDITOR