Nissan has unveiled its prototype production facility for solid-state battery cells, which the company aims to bring to market at scale from 2028.
The materials, design and manufacturing processes developed at the Nissan Research Center will be used in a pilot production line at Nissan’s plant in Yokohama in 2024. Longer term, Nissan is aiming to incorporate all-solid-state batteries in pickup trucks and other vehicles as part of Nissan Ambition 2030, its long-term plan for EVs to comprise half its global sales by the end of the decade.
Solid-state battery technology is seen by many as the key to unlocking cheaper, longer-range EVs. Solid-state batteries have double the energy density of a conventional lithium-ion battery, which theoretically translates to longer range and faster charge times, all while using cheaper materials than other EVs on the road today. In addition to higher energy density, these batteries last longer and are considered safer than a lithium-ion battery.
Although they are currently expensive and challenging to manufacture, Nissan predicts production costs of all-solid-state batteries can be reduced to $75 per kWh in 2028 and to $65 per kWh thereafter, placing EVs at the “same cost level as gasoline-powered vehicles”.
Kunio Nakaguro, Nissan’s executive vice president in charge of R&D, says, “Nissan has been a leader in electrification technology through a wide range of R&D activities, from molecular-level battery material research to the development of safe, high-performance EVs. Our initiatives even include city development using EVs as storage batteries. The knowledge gained from our experience supports the development of all-solid-state batteries and we’ve accumulated important elemental technologies. Going forward, our R&D and manufacturing divisions will continue to work together to utilise this prototype production facility and accelerate the practical application of all-solid-state batteries.”
Featured at MOVE!
Nissan fleet director Csaba Vincze is speaking at MOVE, which is taking place in London on 15/16 June. With over 600 speakers across 33 themed stages, MOVE is the world’s most important mobility event. Find further details here:
