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New partnership teases next-gen battery with unbelievable capabilities — here's how it could slash the price of EVs

The packs can also hold more power than common ion-based batteries.

The packs can also hold more power than common ion-based batteries.

Photo Credit: iStock

Big battery news is coming out of Texas and the Netherlands that promises to improve electric vehicle fast-charging speeds by 50%, as well as cut pack costs in half. 

It's all part of a partnership between Hoofddorp-based automaker Stellantis and Houston-based Zeta Energy, a lithium-sulfur battery maker. And the expectation is for production to start by the end of the decade, according to a joint news release. 

"Our collaboration with Zeta Energy is another step in helping advance our electrification strategy as we work to deliver clean, safe, and affordable vehicles," Stellantis Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Ned Curic said

Stellantis is a well-known company with 14 brands, including Jeep, Dodge, and Abarth in its portfolio. Zeta might be lesser-known to most readers. It was founded in 2014, per the company website. The partnership intends to leverage expertise from both outfits to bring cutting-edge lithium-sulfur batteries to market as an alternative to lithium-ion packs, according to the news release. 

Abundant sulfur is a cheaper material to use for cathodes. The packs can also hold more power than common ion-based batteries. As for hurdles, corrosion problems inside the units have derailed early versions of the tech developed elsewhere, according to reports from Argonne National Laboratory and ScienceDirect

But experts from labs in Australia, California, and elsewhere are continuing work to perfect the sulfur-based packs. Argentina-based researchers are even including cow hair in their battery invention. 

Stellantis and Zeta's creation is remarkable partly because it will be much lighter than common packs while offering the same "usable energy." This will provide better range, as well as improved handling and performance. That's in addition to the 50% charge-time improvement and steep cost break, all per the news release. 

The latter point could contribute to lower EV prices, helping more people make the switch to the cleaner, cost-saving rides. EV owners can save up to $1,500 per year in gas and maintenance expenses while preventing loads of air pollution. 

The packs are planned to be made with waste materials and methane as part of a process "with significantly lower CO2 emissions than any existing battery technology," the report continued. 

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While millions of tons of battery materials per year are mined through invasive and dirty processes, often tied to foreign supply chains, common power packs remain cleaner energy providers compared to fossil fuels. A leading reason is because they don't emit planet-warming gases when used. 

Billions of tons of nonrenewables are pulled from the ground annually, as detailed by Sustainability by Numbers. Burning them for energy created more than 40 billion tons of heat-trapping air pollution in 2023, a 1.1% increase compared to 2022, according to NASA. The fumes are linked by the agency to an increased risk for severe weather, including wildfires and droughts. 

Stellantis and Zeta could make battery production cleaner if the collaboration proves fruitful. The news release said manufacturing can be completed in existing plants using a domestic supply chain in North America and Europe. The packs also don't need costly cobalt, graphite, manganese, or nickel, the report added. 

"The combination of Zeta Energy's lithium-sulfur battery technology with Stellantis' unrivaled expertise in innovation, global manufacturing, and distribution can dramatically improve the performance and cost profile of electric vehicles while increasing the supply chain resiliency for batteries and EVs," Zeta CEO Tom Pilette said in the release.

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