Stellantis says it will have a “demonstration fleet” of Dodge Charger Daytonas on the road by 2026, equipped with solid-state battery technology that is lighter and more energy dense and could ultimately lead to cheaper electric vehicles. The company calls the demo fleet an “important next step” toward producing solid-state electric vehicles that you can actually buy.
The cars will be built on the STLA Large EV platform, which is intended to support more than just the chargers that will be demonstrated next year. If the demo is successful, there is a chance that cars from brands like Maserati and Jeep will also receive the new battery technology.
There's probably a reason why Stellantis talks about “solid-state battery technology” and not just solid-state batteries. This is because these chargers are used half-Solid-state batteries, which means they are also still made with liquid electrolytes. This hybrid approach brings advantages such as lighter weight and longer range, but does not completely eliminate the fire risk of traditional lithium batteries.
Factorial, which makes the batteries that Stellantis will use, claims that its semi-solid-state technology could increase the range of electric vehicles by up to 50 percent compared to today's electric cars and that the batteries have “drop-in compatibility with Existing lithium-ion batteries would have “manufacturing infrastructure,” making them cheaper and easier to produce than would be the case if they switched to fully solid-state technology.
Solid-state batteries were difficult to develop, and not every company was able to hack them. Nissan had promised to produce “all-solid-state” vehicles by 2028, but appeared to backtrack on that this year. Fisker completely abandoned its own efforts to make solid-state batteries in 2021. But Volkswagen, which was supposed to provide Fisker's platform, recently announced that its batteries had passed an acid test.
Stellantis' announcement is a sign of progress, and it's not the only company making some. Hyundai is a Factorial investor, as is Mercedes, which said it will use Factorial's semi-solid batteries “in on-road electric vehicles in 2026.” Reuters. Honda plans to introduce solid-state electric vehicles in the second half of the decade, while Toyota's roadmap includes mass production of solid-state batteries that will provide a range of more than 621 miles by 2028.
In China, IM Motor launched the L6, a battery-powered semi-solid-state electric vehicle, in April, while its sister brand MG said it would introduce one in Europe next year.