Innovation Paves the Road to Lower Emissions
The rise of solid-state batteries highlights the key role of better, cheaper products in the energy transition, according to Brett Olsher, Co-founder of GVP Climate.
Solid-state batteries have long been regarded as a game-changer for electric mobility, promising longer range, faster charging times, and improved safety. The technology can allow automakers to manufacture lower-cost electric vehicles (EVs) and deliver a superior experience to consumers without subsidies, tax incentives, or the need to pay a ‘green premium’. Carmakers and battery companies are investing heavily in solid-state to overcome the limitations of current lithium-ion batteries, and now the technology is finally hitting the streets.
Mercedes-Benz has begun testing an EV with a lithium metal solid-state battery developed by Factorial Energy, in which GVP Climate is an investor and board member. Whether you are decarbonising mobility, industry or power, the only way the energy transition will succeed is through innovative technologies that enable superior products that cost less, while still reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Solid-state batteries are starting to do just this in the EV space with their cutting-edge technology. Offering a 620-mile (1,000-kilometre) range, a Factorial solid-state battery has been fitted into an existing model – a Mercedes EQS production car, showing it is no one-off, theoretical testbed. This is a pivotal moment for solid-state batteries as they roll out of the laboratory and on to the road.
No perfect battery
Why is the EV market crying out for new battery technology? At present, car makers must choose between the two most mature battery chemistries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which together represent about 90% of the market. The most important thing to understand is there is no perfect battery, so automakers must decide which characteristics they require across cost, range, charge time, and safety, to name a few.
LFP is the cheapest, but has lower energy density, limiting its range, and takes longer to charge. This is the chemistry of choice for standard-range EVs. NMC is more energy-dense, allowing for a longer driving range, and can charge faster, but is more costly, largely due to cobalt and nickel prices. NMC is used in premium EVs and the SUV market, where the number of LFP batteries needed to power these larger vehicles would be too heavy. Both chemistries, however, have safety issues related to their liquid electrolytes, exposing them to the risk of thermal runaway, the cause of the high-profile, seemingly unquenchable fires that make headlines.
Solid-state batteries seek to solve a number of these shortcomings, including safety. Their ‘solid-state’ name refers to the fact that there is no liquid electrolyte, which hugely reduces the risk of thermal runaway. They also offer greater range, shorter charging times, and, at scale, lower cost.
Better product, prices and outcomes
The only way consumers and industry will transition to cleaner solutions is through better products at better prices with better climate outcomes. That’s why GVP Climate seeks technologies that are superior to current products, save consumers and customers money, and tackle environmental issues. This fundamental approach to investment means we are not relying on green premiums, which customers have shown they do not want to pay, or handouts from governments, which can ebb and flow as administrations change. Instead, we are backing superior solutions – and that is exactly what solid-state batteries are to the EV ecosystem.
The obvious is worth re-stating: better products at better prices will produce better climate outcomes.
Better products – An increased energy density allows solid-state batteries to pack more energy into a smaller, lighter form, translating into longer driving ranges. A 600+ mile range is an incredible value proposition for the many would-be adopters holding back due to ‘range anxiety’. Add solid-state’s faster charging capability and lower fire risk compared to lithium-ion, along with the superior user experience of an EV, and automakers can offer a much better product than current internal combustion and EV offerings.
Better prices – While the extended range will grab headlines, solid-state also means smaller batteries, making for lighter, more efficient – and crucially – cheaper vehicles. Every pound of weight saved reduces the cost of a vehicle by US$5. Solid-state batteries could reduce the weight of power packs by up to 1,000lbs, translating to a significant reduction in an EV’s sticker price. Lighter EVs also require less energy to operate, enabling the added benefit of reduced running costs.
Better climate outcomes – The International Energy Agency calculates that combustion-powered road transport is responsible for about 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. By offering a path towards increased adoption through superior and affordable EVs, solid-state batteries are set to provide a meaningful contribution to the emission mitigation story.
Improved experience, competitive price
Many of the other companies seeking to develop solid-state batteries are struggling with high costs alongside production, commercialisation, and integration problems — and none have yet to get a car on the road. Their choices of chemistries and materials (oxide-sulfide electrolytes, silicon anodes) have also led to challenges in scaling up, limitations to capacity and energy density, and cost competitiveness. Factorial’s battery material choices can mitigate these issues, allowing it to utilise a significant portion of existing manufacturing facilities while also employing dry coating, an energy- and cost-saving process that many battery makers have struggled to develop.
Government intervention has to date played a key role in supporting EV adoption through subsidies and tax credits. However, for the clean mobility transition to truly take hold and endure, the product suite on offer must satisfy consumer demand for an improved experience and be competitive on price – paying a green premium is simply unrealistic.
Solid-state batteries can deliver on this transition, and Mercedes’ successful road test demonstrates that this game-changing technology is now ready to put its foot to the floor.
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