Has Toyota solved the electric car battery problem?
Dec 21, 2023
auto_awesome
Toyota has unveiled a revolutionary electric car battery with a range of 1,200 kilometers and 10-minute charging time. The podcast explores the implications for car making and transitions to electric vehicles. It discusses Toyota's approach and challenges of mass production. It also delves into the environmental impact of mining lithium and the need to secure supplies for batteries.
Toyota's solid-state batteries can power an electric car for over 1,200 kilometers and be fully charged in just 10 minutes, revolutionizing the electric car industry.
Replacing lithium-ion with solid-state batteries offers advantages like doubling the driving range per charge, reducing weight, and being more environmentally friendly, but challenges of lithium scarcity and increasing supply remain.
Deep dives
Toyota's breakthrough in solid-state batteries
Toyota announced a breakthrough in solid-state batteries that would revolutionize the electric car industry. These batteries can power an electric car for over 1,200 kilometers and be fully charged in just 10 minutes. The advantages of solid-state batteries include higher energy density, faster charging, and improved safety. While the production will take time and the batteries will still require lithium, Toyota's development is seen as a game-changer for electric vehicles.
Advantages and challenges of solid-state batteries
Replacing lithium-ion with solid-state batteries offers several advantages. They can double or triple the driving range per charge, withstand higher temperatures, and reduce the weight of thermal management systems. Additionally, solid-state batteries are expected to be less costly and more environmentally friendly to manufacture. However, they still rely on scarce lithium resources and face challenges in increasing supply to meet the growing demand.
Toyota's approach and the future of electric vehicles
Toyota's approach to solid-state batteries differs from other automakers' focus on fully electric cars. They believe in a broader view of environmental impact, including manufacturing processes. Toyota aims to gradually ramp up production over the next decade and integrate solid-state batteries into their vehicles, particularly Lexus models. While cost, production processes, and raw material availability remain challenges, the development of solid-state batteries is a significant advancement towards a greener future.
Toyota has unveiled a revolutionary electric car battery, able to travel 1,200 kilometres in one go and can be charged in just ten minutes.
Toyota’s CEO Koji Sato said that “commercialisation of solid state batteries is a thing of the future... now within reach, changing the future of cars". The company also claims to be on the brink of being able to manufacture them.
So is this, as some are claiming, a ‘watershed moment’ in car making? Can these new batteries now be produced at scale? What impact will this have on the popularity of electric cars and their uptake?
Has Toyota solved the electric car battery problem?
Contributors:
Paul Shearing, chair in sustainable energy engineering and director of the Zero Institute at the University of Oxford.
Shirley Meng, Professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.
Jeff Liker, Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Michigan for 35 years.
Dr Evi Petavratzi, a mineral commodity specialist from the British Geological Survey.
Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Bob Howard
Editor: Tara McDermott
Sound Designer: Gareth Jones
Production Coordinator: Jordan King
Image: Olga Rolenko via Getty Images - 1403000871
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode