news from PowerCo, the battery division of Volkswagen Group, which seems very promising: A solid-state battery that could power a vehicle for more than 500,000 kilometres “without any noticeable loss of range,” as the company said. In addition to Volkswagen, obviously, the Group also includes Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Skoda, and more.
Electric vehicles are almost always a joint effort, and in this case, the battery is being developed by QuantumScape, a California-based company that’s working on solid-state lithium-metal batteries. Volkswagen has been working with the start-up company since 2012 and is a major investor in it.
Regular lithium-ion batteries contain liquid electrolyte, while a solid-state battery has solid electrolyte. Generally, solid-state batteries are considered safer, since liquid electrolyte is flammable, and that can be a problem if the battery is damaged and the liquid escapes. The solid electrolyte stays in place; it also has higher energy density and could potentially result in batteries being smaller and lighter, as well. On the down side, current solid-state batteries can take longer to charge and are slower to release their energy, which is what companies like QuantumScape are trying to overcome.
In the latest development test, the QuantumScape solid-state battery retained 95 per cent of its capacity after more than 1,000 charging cycles — that translates into a reported half-a-million kilometres, depending on the model of vehicle it’s in, without any issues to its range. PowerCo reports that the battery also met other test requirements including its fast-charging capacity, self-discharge, and its safety.
Source: driving.ca
