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Have an electric car with the Autonomy of a conventional diesel It is one of the objectives of the industry. The technology of the current batteries does not allow that without including huge modules and without harming load times, but there is something on the horizon that promises to fulfill the dream: the solid state batteries that They promise to change the rules of the game.
The goal is to achieve the 1,000 kilometers of autonomy and there are already companies like Saic -Dueña de Mg- They claim to have lists. It is not the only one: Mercedes says he has a that already endures those 1,000 kilometers, Byd wants to start implementing Short -term solid state batteries and Honda has just opened a megafactory of 270 million euros to manufacture them.
Other greats like Ford and BMW They began to show interest For this technology a few years ago, but it is precisely the current BMW that has launched into the air that, although those of solid state are the future, the current lithium -ion batteries still have much to say.
Lithium left kilometers away
The interest in solid state batteries is due to multiple factors. They are smaller and light than those of Lithium ionsbut also denser, so they can store more energy. They are also loaded at a much higher speed, it is estimated that it has a useful life of between 8,000 and 10,000 cycles before starting to degrade and are safer because the flammable liquid electrolyte is replaced by a solid one.
Toyota the ha qualified as “what can change the future of electric cars” and it is evident that all the main companies have interest in technology. However, in a recent interview To the Middle Autocar, the vice president of next -generation battery technology in BMW, Martin Schuster, has calmed the spirits a bit.
Like so many things, money is what the singing voice carries in the passage to new solid state batteries, and Schuster has commented that BMW is eight years after needing to have an option with this battery in the market. “The most important thing is now the lithium -ion battery. It is not finished and improvements are still observed. There is no single definitive battery and will not arrive, but at this time, the lithium -ion battery can constantly improve. ”
More than an improvement in performance, the real challenge is to reduce costs. For Schuster, the “main and most important” objective is to reduce costs. The manager commented that they can make solid state battery now, “but the cost makes no sense. There is still a long way to go with lithium -ion batteries. ”
BMW is clear that lithium -ion batteries are present and future. A key is to improve on the existing, but above all to lower development and packaging costs
Thus, plans such as Byd’s to start riding them in 2027, it seems that they do not fit what BMW has in mind because, in the end, who will pay those first batteries will be the users. “Would you be a customer willing to pay a much higher price for a solid state battery just for a load perhaps a little faster? The price is one of the most important points in the decision -making of electric vehicles, ”he added.
Schuster confirmed that his GEN6 battery will be the one they use in the immediate future because they have not observed ways of manufacturing millions of solid state batteries at a low price, with high efficiency, an obvious improvement of quality and a simple integration into current cars. But, of course, Mercedes has that aforementioned battery with 1,000 kilometers of autonomy and from Autocar they asked him about the matter.
“They are in a price range that is not competitive,” he replied. “That is the reality today and, when we see that they compete against lithium -ion batteries -in that cost/price relationship -then we will take note,” said the manager.
For Schuster’s words, it seems that BMW has a decade ahead To think about the introduction of solid state batteries in their vehicles and Neue Klasse With that battery Gen6 They are the bet of the German house. And these batteries will also be integrated into other models, such as the SUVs, being the X5 of 2026 the first in receiving them.
We will see if they maintain that bet at the time when the rest of the brands are launched by those of solid state, since it is not only the traditional marks that are in the fight: The Chinese They are very interested and giant like Huawei either Samsung They are developing their own.
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