The partner of Mercedes in solid-state battery development, ProLogium, has showcased the fruit of its multi-year research in silicon electrodes at the ongoing Paris Auto Show which it said will be in prototypes as soon as next quarter. The solid-state battery solution that ProLogium has developed hits the 100% silicon oxide anode threshold for the first time:
The highly stable oxide electrolyte is used to replace flammable liquid polymer electrolyte to prevent or delay thermal runaway effect. The electrolyte material stability allows for the use of high-utilization cathode and anode materials to enable higher energy density in cells and lower manufacturing costs.
ProLogium’s “world premiere of 100% silicon oxide anode” brings with it solid-state battery energy density increase to the 295-330 Wh/Kg range, alongside other virtues of the technology like lower costs of production and much higher safety than the current flammable EV batteries with liquid electrolyte. For comparison, Tesla’s 4680 batteries in the Model Y boast sub-300 Wh/kg energy density, while CATL’s upcoming M3P phosphate packs for the standard range Model Y are rated at 160 Wh/kg.
Silicon usually doesn’t take more than 10% of the anode components in current batteries due to swelling concerns, but ProLogium’s proprietary chemistry makes the 100% silicon electrode a reality. Moreover, the use of expensive lithium in its solid-state concoction is reduced to a minimum, lowering the overall production costs once the prototype batteries enter the mass production stage.
There are a lot of solid-state battery breakthroughs happening at the moment, including one from NASA with up to 500 Wh/Kg energy density, so CATL’s prediction that solid-state batteries won’t be utilized en masse in electric vehicles before 2030 may have been overly pessimistic. Provided that someone manages to crack the mass production conundrum, of course, as solid-state prototypes are a dime a dozen, too.
