What are the top five most important components of an electric car?
For many people, the battery will come in the top two and won't
be second!
The battery is very important because that is where the energy to move the
car comes from!
The EV industry has settled for the lithium ion battery, but the
battery has several drawbacks that do affect EV performance!
To beat the competition, many carmakers are in a race to make the
best battery!
One of those leading the race is Toyota, whose solid state battery has
finally hit the market!
What is a solid state battery, how is it better than the standard
lithium ion battery, and how far has Toyota come in developing its breakthrough?
In this video, we bring you Toyota's solid state battery
that is finally hitting the market!
If you take delivery of a battery electric vehicle today, you will most likely get a
lithium ion battery.
The lithium battery has become very prevalent in today's technologies that
you will find it everywhere!
Your phone uses lithium ion batteries, the same as your
laptop and many other gadgets that you might even think of right now!
Lithium ion batteries were a massive improvement over the lead-acid, and this is most
evident in the electric car industry.
Before Tesla showed the world what lithium ion
batteries can do by putting them in its first car, the Roadster, electric vehicles were
severely limited in range, making them impractical!
However, the Roadster showed everyone that an electric car, especially
a high-performance one, could last more than 200 miles before it needed to be charged!
Since then, the lithium ion battery has seen lots of improvements, resulting in the
procurement going down.
However, the lithium ion battery has its own set of problems
that hold back EVs!
To eliminate these issues is why battery scientists have been
looking for the next big thing in the industry!
Toyota has found that very battery next big thing in the form of the solid state battery!
However, what are the lithium ion battery problems that Toyota wants to solve with the
new solid state battery?
It is important to know to fully appreciate Toyota's brilliant
effort with the new battery!
Lithium ion requires higher protection.
Lithium-ion batteries are not as sturdy as other
kinds of rechargeable technologies.
They need protection from getting overcharged and
discharged to a great extent.
Apart from this, lithium-ion batteries require maintenance
within safe limits.
Hence, to maintain these safe limits, every lithium-ion battery
demands protection circuitry that is a significant disadvantage.
It adds weight and increases the complexity and the cost.
It also makes recycling very difficult.
Lithium ion batteries also weigh a lot.
The battery can take up about one-third of the
car's weight.
This makes the tires wear out more quickly.
The designers also have to balance the weight distribution in the car,
something that complicates the development.
Also, lithium ion battery performance declines with time.
Even though the lithium-ion battery life is long-lasting, it never remains
the same throughout its lifespan.
The effectiveness and performance of lithium-ion
batteries tend to decrease as time passes.
In addition to this, lithium-ion batteries can also reduce their performance whether
they are in use or not.
Notwithstanding the usage, there is also a time-related factor to the
decline in capacity.
Another disadvantage of lithium-ion batteries is that they are not safe to use at higher
temperatures.
Lithium-ion batteries can become explosive and catch fire.
This risk increases when an EV is involved in a car
crash.
On the other hand, very cold temperatures negatively affect lithium ion batteries.
The driving range drops significantly, especially
where snow falls.
For similar reasons, charging the battery takes longer in cold
weather.
However, perhaps the biggest drawback of EV lithium batteries is the cost.
These batteries are expensive because of the materials
used, especially in the cathode.
Cobalt, nickel, etc., cost a lot and the supply chain fluctuates, leading to volatile prices.
Battery prices are indeed falling, but they are still expensive!
Enters the solid state battery!
As mentioned before, Toyota is not the only company
working on solid state batteries.
For example, Samsung, yes, the same Samsung that
makes the popular Galaxy line of phones, is involved in solid state batteries.
QuantumScape is also into solid state batteries and has raised more than one billion in
funding.
It is supported by more than 17 investors.
BrightVolt is another company deeply involved in solid state battery development.
Fisker made a lot of noise about solid state batteries but gave up the project.
However, none of these companies have close to Toyota's speed or recorded as many
breakthroughs!
But how does a solid state battery work?
Surprisingly, solid state batteries have a lot in common with standard
lithium-ion batteries.
The only difference is that a solid-state battery consists of a solid
electrolyte in place of a liquid electrolyte.
Materials such as glass, ceramic, etc., can be used for this purpose.
A solid-state battery makes use of solid electrodes as well as solid electrolytes.
The solid electrolytes include oxides, sulfides,
phosphates, polyethers, polyesters, nitrile- based, polysiloxane, polyurethane, etc.
The performance of the battery depends on the type of electrolyte used.
Ceramics are suitable for rigid battery systems due to
their high elastic moduli, while the low elastic moduli of polymers make them fit for flexible
devices.
How solid-state batteries work is similar to lithium-ion batteries.
You have the anode and cathode made up of electrically conductive
materials.
An electrolyte is still present between the two electrodes that contain the
charged ion particles.
The lithium ions move through the electrolyte between the electrodes.
This movement of charged particles in a particular direction produces
current.
When the ions move from the cathode to the anode, i.e., from the positive
electrode to the negative electrode, you are charging.
Similarly, the movement of ions in the reverse direction, i.e., from the anode to
the cathode, discharges the battery and supplies the current to the load!
What does Toyota's solid state battery offer?
They are numerous even though we told you they are similar to standard lithium-ion
batteries!
Solid-state batteries are capable of delivering 2.5 times more energy density as
compared to lithium-ion batteries.
This means, for the same battery size and mass,
Toyota can significantly increase the driving range of its EVs!
Toyota could be on its way to the first EV with more than 1,000
miles of range!
Solid-state batteries are comparatively more durable and safe.
This is because of the solid electrolyte used in solid-state batteries,
which is non-flammable.
Hence they are less prone to catch fire.
Apart from these, solid-state batteries are comparatively less expensive and compact.
In addition, solid-state batteries are comparatively lighter in weight.
As such, Toyota's cars will weigh less, allowing the battery
to last even more miles on the road!
Less mass means less energy consumed during operation.
The recharge rate of solid-state batteries is 4-6 times more than regular batteries.
This is a very important advantage because one
of the biggest complaints about EVs is the charging times!
An average EV can take up to an hour to charge fully, and this could be
a problem for drivers on longer trips who have to stop to refill the battery.
It is also a sticky point for fleet operators whose time
is literally money!
However, solid state batteries will allow Toyota to make cars that
can charge in under 10 minutes, which is not so bad compared to internal combustion
engine cars!
Just how far has Toyota gone with its own solid state battery?
Very far, and it has left all others behind!
The Japanese company already has a working prototype running
completely on its solid state battery!
In the video released by the company, you can see it is a version of Toyota's LQ
Concept, which first debuted at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show as an AI and self-driving
demonstrator.
Since then, it's had a starring role in a series of commercials for the
Tokyo Olympic Games.
Thus far, it was simply reported to be a "battery electric
vehicle"; however, in this release, it bears a large decal announcing its "All-Solid-State"
battery.
Far from a static model, the prototype was filmed driving down the road under
its own power.
Toyota's VP of Mobility communications, Shiro Tachimoto, explains that his company
has obtained license plate registration for vehicles equipped with all-solid-state batteries
and conducted test drives.
Toyota is already talking about the first cars to get the new solid state battery.
In an interview, Gill Pratt, Toyota's chief scientist
and head of the Toyota Research Institute, said that the first Toyotas to receive the
new batteries would actually be hybrids instead of fully electric vehicles.
The company does have practical reasons for making the decision.
In a hybrid, the smaller battery is charged and recharged far
more often, and Pratt suggested that the increased amount of cycling for the batteries
will make hybrids a good testbed for the new technology.
So the battery will get better before it is used in a BEV that you might
buy!
Let's hear what you think of Toyota's new solid state battery in the comment section
below!