Battery technology for electric vehicles is continuing to improve. The latest example is a new "bipolar electrode-to-pack (BEEP) technology" from Dallas-based company Solidion Technology, Dallas Innovates reported.
Solidion is claiming "an achievable range of over 900 miles on a single charge" with its patented, simplified solid-state battery design.
Solid-state batteries — which replace the liquid electrolyte in EV batteries with a solid electrolyte — are widely considered to be the future of the battery industry as they provide greater storage capacity and less risk of combustion. However, as Solidion explained, the two main factors holding back solid-state batteries so far are cost and size. The batteries are expensive to produce and contained in bulky casings.
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By using only a small number of connectors and a single casing, Solidion's BEEP technology addresses both of those issues.
"The internal bipolar electrode stacking in our patent-protected BEEP technology is intrinsically simpler and easier to develop as compared to making individual cells and using external cables to connect multiple pre-fabricated cells," Solidion Board Chairman and Chief Science Officer Dr. Bor Jang said in a statement. "Solidion's BEEP technology has the ability to deliver significantly improved manufacturability and reduced manufacturing cost — ultimately leading to a faster route to commercialization."
That 900-mile range, if it does come to fruition, would be a massive improvement over the ranges of currently available EVs. The current longest range in the U.S., according to Car and Driver, is the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which can travel 410 miles on a single charge. The Nio ET7 went on sale in China in late April, and the automaker has been touting its ability to reach about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) per charge, with the CEO even live-streaming a 14-hour drive across about 650 miles.
More than doubling the range of typical EVs could go a long way toward alleviating consumers' "range anxiety" and could consequently lead to more adoption of EVs over traditional gas-powered cars.
And that would be a good thing for the planet — according to the Department of Energy, a typical EV produces 10,000 fewer pounds of planet-overheating air pollution per year.
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