Colorado based Solid Power is at the cutting edge of solid state battery technology for electric vehicles. The company spun out of the University of Colorado Boulder with DARPA funding in 2011 and after ten years of R&D it is now on the verge of major commercialization of their solid state battery cells.
Solid Power’s all-solid-state battery chemistry provide several advantages over lithium ion cells currently used in electric vehicles. The technology will allow for lighter packs, increased range, longer life, more safety and a lower price point.
Solid Power’s co-founder and CEO Doug Campbell recently noted in an interview how solid state battery packs could impact the electric vehicle industry saying, “In a solid-state battery we have replaced that volatile and flammable liquid and gel polymer electrolyte with a very stable, solid ion conducting material,” Campbell said. “Our cells may still fail, but they do so in a very benign. non-catastrophic manner... In other words, instead of a thermal runaway on your hands, you simply have a dead brick.”
Campbell continued, ““We believe, and our partners believe, that the design of future EV battery packs incorporating solid-state batteries will be substantially simpler,” Campbell said. “So that would drive down the cost.”
In September, Solid Power announced they would be quadrupling their total manufacturing footprint which the company called “a key inflection point in the company’s mission to commercialize its all-solid-state battery technology for deployment in electric vehicles.” The new facility will greatly expand Solid Power’s capacity to produce key materials for its all-solid-state battery cells, including the ability to produce up to 30 metric tons of sulfide-based solid electrolyte material annually, representing a 25 times throughput increase to current capacity.
Electrolyte production at the new facility is intended to directly feed the company’s forthcoming all-solid-state EV cell manufacturing line, which is expected to produce cells for automotive qualification testing and future battery pack design. Solid Power expects to produce and deliver its first 100 Ah cells for formal automotive qualification testing in 2022. Once fully qualified, Solid Power intends to work closely with automotive OEMs and top tier battery cell producers to manufacture 100 Ah all-solid-state battery cells widely for in-vehicle use.
Long term, Solid Power plans to sell the company’s proprietary sulfide-based solid electrolyte material to support full-scale all-solid-state cell production for its partners, including Ford and BMW. Solid Power also intends to sell the solid electrolyte material to other solid-state cell producers who may not be using the company’s unique all-solid-state cell designs. Solid Power is working to produce 40,000 metric tons of electrolyte material per year by 2028, which could support the annual production of 800,000 electric vehicles using the company’s all-solid-state battery cell designs.
Solid Power’s research and development activities and battery cell testing capabilities remain ongoing. Future product and material development, such as next-generation electrolytes and conversion reaction cathodes for Solid Power’s third all solid-state cell design, are anticipated.