Renowned as the ‘Battery King’, Dr. Robin Zeng, the founder and CEO of CATL, the world’s foremost producer of lithium-ion batteries, has publicly criticised the safety and dependability of the new solid-state battery technology championed by Toyota. The CATL chief, in an interview with the Financial Times, raised serious concerns about the unreliability, lack of durability, and potential safety hazards associated with the much-touted solid-state batteries.
CATL, also known as Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited, commands a substantial 36.8 per cent share of the global supply of lithium-ion batteries, significantly ahead of its closest competitor, BYD, which holds a 15.8 per cent share. These lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles produced by companies such as Tesla, Hyundai, BYD, MG, Porsche, and Ford.
Solid-state batteries have been presented as a breakthrough solution for addressing the driving range limitations of electric vehicles, with Toyota claiming that they could potentially allow for up to 1200 kilometres of driving range after just a 10-minute charge from a completely flat battery. Furthermore, they are said to be more cost-effective than lithium-ion batteries, potentially enhancing their affordability and contributing to overcoming a key barrier to the widespread adoption of electric cars.
However, Dr. Zeng has cast doubt on these lofty promises, characterising them as misleading and unsubstantiated. Despite years of research and development, the solid-state battery technology has failed to deliver a viable, commercially feasible solution, according to the CATL chief. Even after extensive investments and close monitoring of the progress in this field, Zeng asserted that significant challenges, or ‘showstoppers’ as he termed them, continue to impede the development of solid-state batteries.
While Toyota has been at the forefront of solid-state battery development, with plans to introduce this technology into their vehicles by 2027 or 2028, CATL’s collaboration with the Japanese car maker for lithium-ion batteries has since been supplanted by Toyota’s alliance with Idemitsu Kosan, a Japanese oil and petroleum company, to focus on solid-state technology.
Dr. Zeng argued that the current solid-state batteries entail significant drawbacks and risks, such as the need to subject them to extreme pressure, repeated expansion during recharging, and potential safety hazards in the event of an accident. In light of these challenges, CATL has diverted its focus towards sodium-ion battery technology as the next frontier in advancing electric car development. This alternative technology holds the promise of doubling the potential range of lithium-ion battery packs, much like solid-state technology, albeit without the same volatility and cost implications.
The concerns raised by the ‘Battery King’ paint a cautionary picture of the future of solid-state battery technology, highlighting the need for a more thorough and rigorous approach towards its development and implementation. As the electric vehicle sector continues to evolve, the industry must critically assess the suitability and viability of new technologies, prioritising reliability, safety, and sustainability above all.