Despite lagging sales of its first electric muscle car, the Dodge Charger Daytona EV, and overwhelming demand for a return of the Hemi V8, Stellantis is still progressing with its plans to introduce solid state battery technology to a pilot fleet of test cars by 2026, and things are thankfully on track. The only catch is that the claimed performance isn’t what it could be once compared with the claims coming from Chinese automakers also working on solid-state battery tech.
Stellantis has previously announced plans to develop solid-state batteries for future production cars by the end of the decade with development partner Factorial. Today, the partnership has released updated details regarding the performance of its battery tech.
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New SSB Specs From Stellantis And Factorial
The newly validated 77Ah cells demonstrated an energy density of 375 Wh/kg with over 600 cycles, achieving 15% to over 90% charge in just 18 minutes at room temperature. The batteries can now also optimally perform within an expanded range of -30°C to 45°C (-22°F to 113°F), making them far more compatible with production cars sold in most US climates, save for a few extremes.
“Battery development is about compromise. While optimizing one feature is simple, balancing high energy density, cycle life, fast charging, and safety in an automotive-sized battery with OEM validation is a breakthrough,” said Siyu Huang, CEO of Factorial Energy. “This achievement with Stellantis is bringing next-generation battery technology from research to reality.”
Chinese Battery Competition
Stellantis claims this puts them at the forefront of battery tech, but that’s only really true among US competition. In China, Chery claims to be developing a 600 Wh/kg solid-state unit, and SAIC and GAC Group have both promised cars featuring at least 400 Wh/kg solid-state batteries by 2026.
Solid-State Battery Benefits: Why Everyone Wants SSB Power
Solid-state batteries are considered next-gen technology for the variety of benefits they have over traditional liquid-electrolyte batteries found in current EV tech. Solid-state batteries offer higher energy density and faster charging, and since they don’t have a fluid element, they are typically designed to be safer when punctured compared to a normal battery. Some solid-state batteries can reduce the necessary volume by 40% and the mass by 25% over traditional options, making them more efficient for packaging.
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State Of The Industry In The US
Stellantis previously announced it would have a test fleet of solid-state Charger muscle cars on the road with Factorial batteries by 2026. Other automakers, namely those in Japan, are also rapidly developing solid-state tech, with most having ambitions to field production cars with the new batteries by the end of the decade. Back in 2022, GM announced a multi-billion-dollar investment into new solid-state battery tech, and Ford made a similar investment in 2021 with SK Innovation, though we haven’t heard much since.
But the promise of SSBs has been continually derailed by problems bringing them to market. Great strides have been taken in recent years, and the likes of BMW have started testing prototype units, but there are still some industry experts who claim solid-state batteries are not truly viable for mass production, with the CEO of battery manufacturer CATL labeling them unsafe. Time will tell.
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