Ford is betting that solid-state batteries will cut EV costs

Ford has raised its stake in a manufacturer of solid-state batteries - a move that its chief product and operations officer, Hau Thai-Tang, says will fortify the company's effort to improve the range and reduce the costs of its next generation of electric vehicles.

Ford, along with BMW, this week announced their investment in a $130 million funding round for Solid Power, a Denver-area company that's developing sulfide solid-state battery technology. Thai-Tang says the technology should give Ford the overall flexibility to either shrink battery sizes to create it less costly to manufacture some vehicles or keep the same size battery and achieve a greater selection of distance in other models.

Solid-state batteries, with their solid ion-conducting material instead of the liquid electrolyte within most lithium-ion batteries, can store more energy. This expands the vehicles' range from the same-size battery or permits smaller batteries, which are usually lighter with less risk of fire.

Simultaneously, it's harder to draw power from solid-state batteries than from lithium-ion batteries, said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Research. However the technology holds such promise, he said, that whatever company perfects it first could command a competitive edge.

The Associated Press spoke recently with Thai-Tang about the brand new chemistry and what it could mean to speed the adoption of electric vehicles. The interview was edited for clarity and length.

Q: Why are solid-state batteries so important to weigh against the lithium-ion batteries now found in electric vehicles?

A: Because of the promise of higher levels of energy density. For customers, that basically means they can drive farther with more range. So as you get better energy and power density, the cells get smaller. This allows the vehicles to become lighter for the same range, together with more space for folks and their things rather than for batteries. And then, of course, cost. Having the capacity to drive the cost-per-kilowatt-hour down will increase the adoption of battery electric vehicles.

Q. What's the benefit of lithium-ion batteries now?

A: The big thing is going from a liquid electrolyte to a good electrolyte; that gives you better conductivity. That’s the enabler for the energy and energy. The task has always been, can you actually scale it up to where in fact the format of the cell is large enough for automotive use? Then can you actually manufacture it at scale to hit the cost targets?

Q: There's been a lot of talk about potential shortages of lithium, copper, nickel, other treasured metals. Does solid state use fewer of those?

A: It is determined by the chemistry. For some companies, the cathode is about exactly like what’s in lithium-ion. That doesn’t really change. It’s really the anode and the electrolyte. Because you’re getting higher conductivity and higher energy density, so for the same power and range and energy, you'll use less. That alone will help, whether or not it had been the same chemistry. But according to which company you partner with, they would have different chemistries, that will reduce dependencies on things such as copper as well as cobalt, for example.

Q: What lengths along is Solid Power in this technique?

A: We think Solid Power is one of the leaders as a result of their capability to scale up to a multi-layer cell, up to 20 amp-hour. That is something that we are able to actually use in an automobile. Beginning next year, they’re targeting to provide us and also the other investor, BMW, a 100 amp-hour battery. That's at the size we can really use for automotive applications. The other big thing is, their chemistry can be built-in the same manufacturing process that we would spend money on to build lithium-ion batteries. So this allows us to ease into that new technology without needing to reinvest in all of this capital equipment.

Q: What timeframe do you see for switching to solid-state?

A: We think it’s realistic to focus on by the end of the decade if we continue steadily to make the progress we’re making.

Q: Just how much farther could the automobile go if you in the event that you perfect solid state?

A: You can either keep up with the current range and use fewer batteries, or you can provide customers a lot more range within the physical package of this battery size. We’re seeing roughly 25% to 30% improvement in energy density. So we are able to literally give that to more range. Or we could say 300 miles is optimal, and we'd just decrease the number of batteries and drive the cost down. And any place in between those two bookends.

Q: So in today's package for a Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, say roughly 300 miles, you'd be able to go around 400 miles?

A: Yes, you can aquire another 25% to 30%.

Q: Does this announcement mean you will have a much wider selection of electric vehicles coming?

A: Ford may lead the electric revolution and accelerate the transition from internal combustion engines to drive the cost down and improve the the range for our customers, which makes it safer. I think charging infrastructure is probably the other thing that might be the main element for a faster rate of adoption.

Q: Do you will need solid state to reach cost parity with internal combustion engines?

A: We see further opportunities to operate a vehicle the cost down below $100 per kilowatt with additional advances in lithium-ion technology. To take another incremental step with regards to cost, we think you must go to solid state.

Q: Just how much over the existing battery chemistry might you save in expense if this involves fruition?

A: If you are getting 25%-to-30% improvement in energy density and you could build it in the same process, you'll expect to see that degree of cost improvement versus today’s state of the art technology.