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Under the Hood of the Electric Vehicle Sector
Solid-state batteries – the next big thing in electric mobility? Electric vehicle companies are in hot pursuit of a new kind of battery that is safer, lighter and more powerful than the lithium-ion products in today’s Teslas and Nissan Leafs. Cleantech specialist Jason Deign investigates if solid-state batteries could become the future of electric mobility. BY JASON DEIGN
Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturer Donfeng Motor Corporation is hardly a Tesla or BMW. The average citizen in markets outside China would struggle to identify its logo. But the company raised eyebrows among electric vehicle (EV) watchers in January 2022 – and did so with an innovation that was not even visible to observers. The fuss surrounding
50 demonstration units of its Aeolus E70 model was all to do with their batteries. Dongfeng claimed the cars were the first to be equipped with solid-state batteries, a technology that automakers believe could soon replace standard lithium-ion battery packs in the growing number of electric vehicles on the road. Critics were quick to
Chinese carmaker Dongfeng claimed a solid-state first in 2022. Photo: dreamstime.com
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point out that Dongfeng’s batteries were not actually solid-state, but something of a hybrid between them and today’s lithium-ion chemistries. But the interest in solid-state batteries remains very real. The technology is expected to allow carmakers to overcome several shortcomings in present-day lithium-ion batteries. These