SK On aims to sell solid-state batteries by 2029, opens pilot plant

Solid-state batteries are always right around the corner, and yet never actually arrived on the market so far. But, that is now set to change "by 2029", at least according to SK On. That's one year earlier than the company previously estimated.

The Korean battery maker has just opened a pilot plant for its all-solid-state batteries (aka not semi-solid-state like the one in the new MG4, aka what everyone actually meant when talking about solid-state batteries throughout the years). It's located in Daejeon, about 93 miles south of Seoul.

SK On's plant is the first one in Korea to use a WIP-free process, which involves optimized mixing of battery materials and reducing the internal resistance within the electrodes in order to minimize heat generation without going the WIP route (which involves applying uniform pressure to electrodes at elevated temperatures to improve density and performance, a difficult process to implement in continuous automated production according to SK On).

The pilot plant will produce prototypes and then assess and validate their quality and performance before full-scale production. The newly unveiled plant will primarily be used to develop sulfide-based solid-state batteries, but will still have some lines dedicated to lithium-metal batteries. SK On's solid-state batteries will initially have an energy density of 800Wh/l, while its long-term goal is to eventually reach 1,000Wh/l.

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