Geely says we will see its 500 Wh/kg solid-state in vehicles next year

While Geely is building its first in-house solid-state battery pack plant, Geely Holding is working on its next-generation solid-state battery for EVs, which is supposed to offer a whopping 500 Wh/kg energy density.

If Geely indeed achieves that number, it will make the batteries twice as space-efficient as the best lithium-ion battery packs currently in the market. Right now the NMC batteries offer 250 to 300 Wh/kg energy density at a cell level, but when integrated into a battery pack, that number falls significantly.

For instance, Geely's Golden Brick LFP battery that charges insanely fast has an energy density of 128 Wh/kg at the pack level.

Why is this metric so important? Doubling the energy density opens the door for smaller batteries with the same capacity or far larger capacities at the same volume. Manufacturers will thus be free to design a far broader array of vehicles.

In case manufacturers decide to keep the same battery weight, they can produce EVs that can compete with diesel-powered cars with over 620 miles range on a single charge. The lifespan of the battery is also quite impressive, as Geely claims up to 1 million km.

One of the biggest issues with solid-state batteries is temperature. The cells can usually stay stable at pretty narrow temperature ranges, but according to Geely's materials partner, Dow Chemical, the adhesive used for the battery pack can keep the cells stable from -40 °C to 120 °C.

The carmaker says it will launch its pilot program in 2027, which essentially means it will have these batteries in (a few) actual cars on the road next year. Sadly, actual mass manufacturing at scale will take more time, depending on how testing goes.

Via