Honda set up a demonstration facility in Japan to show off its plan to mass-produce solid-state batteries at low cost to unlock higher-range, longer-lasting electric vehicles for the future. May be important.
Solid-state batteries have been elusive for many companies due to the complexity of scaling up production. This technology replaces the liquid electrolytes found in current lithium-ion batteries with dry conductive materials, promising higher energy density and longer lifetime. But it would require a whole new production process to succeed.
Honda says it is accelerating research and reducing the time needed to build a unit at its new 27,000-square-meter demo facility set up in Sakura city, Japan. The site contains full-scale equipment divided between three buildings: the first for cathode fabrication and cell assembly; the second for anode manufacturing; and the third for electrolyte activation and module assembly.
The plan involves the use of a continuous inline mixer which Honda says is “three times faster” than normal cell batch processing. Honda plans to manufacture batteries on this line in January.
Honda is preparing its solid-state technology for mass production in the second half of the 2020s. Company CEO Toshihiro Mibe has said that solid-state batteries will also The key to unlocking cheap EVs,