Electric Mobility in China Will Solid-State Batteries Soon Be Affordable?

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Solid-state batteries for electric vehicles could soon be as cheap as their semi-liquid predecessors. The development chief of Chinese battery manufacturer Sunwoda made this forecast in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

Sunwoda has developed a solid state battery with a capacity of 20 Ah and an energy density of over 400 Wh/kg, emphasized Xu Zhongling, Vice President of Research and Development of the company, in a conversation with the newspaper. The production lines for this are currently being built and production is planned to start by 2026 at the latest, said Xu. Thanks to technical innovations, Sunwoda will be able to reduce the costs of these polymer-based solid-state batteries to two yuan (around 25 euro cents) per watt-hour, the development manager is convinced. This would then be about as much as a semi-solid-state battery costs today.

Higher ranges, safe technology

This new generation of batteries, without liquid electrolytes, is considered by many experts to have the potential to give a significant boost to the adoption of electric vehicles. This is due to their higher performance allowing for better range, thus eliminating drivers' fear of being stranded far from a charging station. Solid state batteries are also considered safer than the commonly used lithium phosphate batteries, as they are virtually non-flammable. Therefore, battery and car manufacturers around the world are working fervently on their development to overcome the final technical hurdles before they can be commercially mass-produced.

Key factor costs

The cost per battery will be decisive in determining whether solid-state technology will prevail in the market. Japan and South Korea are currently leading in terms of their purely technical development, the Chinese manager indicated in an interview with China Daily, but no one can compete with Chinese manufacturers in reducing costs, the Sunwoda manager believes. "China has a complete battery supply chain, a robust industrial ecosystem, and scaling advantages," Xu Zhongling told China Daily. If you then include the support from the Chinese government and the enthusiasm of Chinese investors, "China has advantages in reducing the cost of such batteries."

Possible funding?

Regarding the support from the Beijing central government, it has just provided six billion yuan, or about 760 million euros (approx. 826 million USD) of new state funds specifically for the development of solid-state batteries, as reported by our sister  publication Automobil Industrie (German Edition). With this, China follows the example of Japan, where the government has been providing significant sums for the promotion of research and development in the field of solid-state batteries since 2018.

In China, it is anticipated that, just like in Japan, such a signal from the government will also be picked up by private investors, whose interest in the new, but expensive to develop, technology will be even more critical than public funds.

Scaling effects expected

The costs of new technologies are often cited as the most important counter-argument, because green technologies not only have to solve problems, but also have to be economically sustainable for their manufacturers. If the current forecast by the Sunwoda developer is correct, the cost of a power battery with a capacity of 150 kWh could be reduced to around 300,000 yuan (about 38,100 euros or 41,400 USD ) by 2026.

Even at this price, solid-state batteries would initially only be of interest for electric cars in the upper price segment, similar to the models with semi-solid-state batteries that are on the market today. However, as past experience with solar technology and electric vehicles has shown, the scaling effects that are starting to take effect in China due to the large market usually lead to a drop in prices that is faster and more noticeable than initially assumed. (se)

*Henrik Bork, longtime China correspondent for the German Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Rundschau, is Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a Beijing-based consulting agency specializing in China.