Honda's new 295,000-square-foot demonstration production line in Sakura City, Japan, leaves little doubt about the company's commitment to developing promising solid-state battery tech.
The factory is designed to establish and vet a manufacturing process for the packs, with the goal of having them ready for EVs by the end of the decade, according to a press release.
Solid-state batteries use a hard electrolyte, contrary to common lithium-ion packs that are made with a flammable liquid version, used in most EVs. Solid versions are championed by developers — including Harvard and Porsche experts — as having strong performance and safety benefits. They are mostly only used to energize small devices, per Popular Mechanics.
But Honda's team sees great potential in transportation.
"The all-solid-state battery is an innovative technology that will be a game changer in this EV era," Honda Research and Development Co. President Keiji Otsu said in the release.
The demonstration line will provide a good manufacturing examination, from weighing and mixing electrode materials, to coating, roll pressing, and cell and module assembly, Honda added.
The team will look to build upon the typically lighter, safer tech, which Top Speed reported can offer fast charge times and long lifespans. Affordably producing solid-state electrolytes has been a hurdle, which will be part of the conundrums being considered in Sakura.
To that end, the new line will include efficiencies in the roll-pressing process unique to solid-state production. Speeding up certain parts of the assembly, and reducing power consumption, are some other cost-saving measures Honda cited as a way to make the technology more feasible.
"We believe that advancement of batteries will be a driving force in the transformation of Honda," Otsu said.
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Batteries using liquid electrolyte are reliable energy providers. Honda's first all-electric SUV, the Prologue, for example, has an estimated 296-mile range and is capable of fast charging. DC charge tech provides a juice-up in 20 minutes, according to the U.S. Transportation Department, though breakthroughs promising a charge in only minutes are being developed. Tesla says its 60,000-strong Supercharger network can provide 200 miles in 15 minutes.
As far as safety, EV fires can be catastrophic, hard-to-extinguish headline-makers. But multiple reports confirm that internal combustion rides are in fact more likely to catch fire than EVs.
Honda officials envision even safer solid-state packs soon powering next-gen motorcycles and aircraft, too. And the company plans for its new lineup to include only EV and fuel cell vehicles by 2040, per the release.
It's part of a transformation happening in our transportation sector, as nearly 14 million EVs were sold globally in 2023 — a 35% increase from the prior year, according to the International Energy Agency. The cleaner rides prevent thousands of pounds of air pollution annually, when compared to gas-burners, reducing increased risks to human health linked to the exhaust, all per U.S. government health and energy data.
As for Honda, officials said in the release that they plan to begin solid-state production testing in January.
"We will continue taking on challenges to launch our mobility products equipped with our all-solid-state batteries as quickly as possible," Otsu said.
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