- Nissan partners with LiCAP Technologies to accelerate mass production
- The company has already opened pilot lines at its factories
- Rollout of the technology could happen within the next few years
Nissan has joined the growing list of automakers and battery manufacturers that have reported recent advances in all-solid-state battery technology.
Fierce rivals Toyota, for example, announced only last week that it is already looking to mass-produce the game-changing EV battery breakthrough, which it claims will offer fast charging speeds, improved electric range and better battery pack life.
Although all-solid-state batteries (let’s call them ASSBs for brevity) have proven their capabilities in prototype and test environments, they have so far not made it into a widely available commercial application due to the complex and expensive manufacturing process.
According to Nikkei, Nissan secured a partnership with US-based LiCAP Technologies last month – a company that uses a new “Activated Dry Electrode” technology said to reduce the expensive and toxic traditional “wet electrode” process.
In addition to this, the Japanese manufacturer is well on its way to having fully functioning solid-state battery assembly lines running at its Yokohama factory, having opened pilot lines at the beginning of the year.
Recently, the prototype cells produced on these pilot lines reached a significant milestone in reaching the performance targets required for mass production, so it’s only a matter of time before Nissan can start looking at implementing them into a commercially available EV product.
Analysis: Chasing solid state could put the brakes on new electric cars
The all-solid-state battery race heats up every month as more automakers and battery makers go public with claims of epic real-world mileage (check out Mercedes-Benz’s work) or breakthroughs in mass production processes that could help bring the technology to market.
Earlier this month, Toyota said it would be the first to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” with a proposed date of 2027, although this has also been claimed by Chinese battery giants CATL and BYD.
In reality, China’s SAIC Motor, which owns the MG brand, has come the closest so far by offering the new MG4 with a semi-solid-state battery, but its stats are still a long way from the promises made by ASSB.
Alas, the biggest concern for consumers right now is that automakers will stop developing current EV battery chemistries while they await the arrival of the rangier mass-produced solid-state technology, which in turn could see buyers stuck as well.
Nissan, as an example, recently stopped selling its Ariya EV in North America due to slow uptake and the impact of several tariffs, leaving only the all-new Leaf as the company’s only EV offering in the US.
Elsewhere, Nissan will offer both the Micra (based heavily on the Renault 5 EV) and the updated Leaf, but it’s not exactly the all-electric line-up to help customers transition to electrification.
It’s a similar story with Honda, which appears to be waiting for its new 0 Series and the introduction of solid-state batteries to make its big EV splash, meaning the next few years could be quite slow for new EV models from established automakers.
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