The Battery Breakthrough We’ve Been Waiting For: Solid-State
There are things that I can appreciate about electric cars, but the battery charging time and capacity aren’t among them. It’s not just cars, either. As our devices age, they seem to take longer to charge and hold less of a charge. None of this is new, and since necessity is the mother of invention, it should be no surprise that a solution is in development. We should expect solid-state batteries to come into commonplace use in the near future, which will address those issues. Solid-state batteries are poised to revolutionize the way we power our devices and vehicles, and they offer significant advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries. Let’s look at the benefits, as well as the challenges that impede progress.
Advantages of Solid-State Batteries
What we all want from our batteries is simple: it’s longer life and faster charging. Solid-state batteries offer both. Also, the thing that keeps electric cars off my wish list is my love of a good road trip. Right now, if a battery takes an hour to charge, that’s too long for me. It would ruin the momentum of the trip. It would require meticulous planning, and some routes would simply be out of the question. Rapid charges would open more roads to explore.
Along with the faster charging, solid-state batteries are expected to deliver roughly double the capacity of comparable lithium-ion cells once mass production stabilizes. If your laptop can normally run about 8 hours between plug-ins, imagine 16 – that would be a full work day and then some. Or, consider your smartphone. If you typically have to charge it every day, wouldn’t it be wonderful to extend that to every other day? It would for me!
Solid-state batteries also enhance safety by reducing the risks from overheating and leakage. Traditional lithium-ion batteries contain a liquid electrolyte, made from organic solvents. The solvents are flammable. If the battery overheats, experiences a puncture or break, or short-circuits, the solvent can ignite. Solid-state batteries replace the liquid with a solid electrolyte, which is non-flammable. That’s not to say nothing could cause a solid-state battery to catch fire, but it requires extreme conditions
Challenges in Development
As with any new technology, solid-state batteries didn’t just emerge fully-formed and fully-functional. There are always challenges to getting it right, not the least is the high cost of production. I believe we should expect the costs to come down for several reasons. After all, the first VCRs cost over $500, and the last ones went for about $100, before they nearly disappeared entirely.
As demand increases for any product, the manufacturer refines its processes for producing it. The producer will order larger quantities of raw materials, typically at lower unit prices. Production methods improve, muscle memory kicks in, and the process becomes more efficient and cost-effective. Integrating the new production line into existing devices and infrastructure, as well as the new product itself, poses some hurdles.
If the promise of solid-state batteries is strong enough in technology applications and the profit motive, we should expect improvements in both cost and availability. However, not every new technology becomes an everyday device. Remember Google Glass? It was a pair of glasses with computing technology built in. The product was expensive – $1,500 for a single pair – and the underlying and connective technologies weren’t fully mature yet. The original concept came about in 2013, and it’s possible that the succeeding twelve years have increased the likelihood of success. Google is considering a fresh release because many of the required connectivity technologies have significantly matured.
Your Turn
You probably won’t power your life with solid-state batteries tomorrow, or even next year. But with constant improvements in manufacturing made possible by advances in other technologies, we can say that solid-state batteries are on our horizon. As we step forward into that prospect, where do you want or need it most – in which of your devices? Phone, laptop, or electric car?
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