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Honda hopes to double the range of electric vehicles with solid-state batteries

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Honda hopes to double the range of electric vehicles with solid-state batteries

TO: Reuters
| Updated: 21 Nov 2024, 10:01

By the end of the 2020s, Honda plans to equip its electric vehicles with all-solid-state batteries, doubling their driving range. The company invests

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Honda Solid State Batteries
Honda is currently developing all-solid-state batteries that they hope will double the range by the end of this decade. The automaker wants to introduce the new power source by the end of the 2020s. (REUTERS)

Honda Motor plans to double the range of its electric vehicles by the late 2020s when they start using all-solid-state batteries, a new type of power source under development, the head of the company’s research division said Wednesday.

All-solid-state batteries, replacing lithium-ion liquid batteries, will produce twice the range by the end of this decade and more than 2.5 times more by the 2040s, according to Keiji Otsu, president of Honda R&D.

Automakers and battery suppliers around the world have unveiled plans to develop solid-state batteries, touted as a key technology for making longer-lasting, safer and cheaper electric vehicles amid slowing growth in electric vehicle production.

Read also: Hyundai Ioniq 9 electric SUV overcomes obstacles with a range of more than 600 km

“This is a game changer in the electric vehicle era,” Otsu told reporters at Honda’s solid-state battery pilot line in Tochigi, north of Tokyo. Honda is investing 43 billion yen ($277 million) in the pilot line, nearly half of which is financed by Japanese government subsidies.

Honda will begin operating the pilot line in January, aiming to also reduce battery size by 50 percent, weight by 35 percent and cost by 25 percent from current levels over the next five years, Otsu said.

Honda plans to increase annual production of electric vehicles to more than 2 million units by 2030. The company also aims for a global sales ratio of electric and fuel cell vehicles of 40 percent in 2030 and 100 percent in 2040.

Read also: As Tesla plans to launch robotaxi, electric car maker seeks relaxation of US rules for self-driving cars

Nissan Motor, a strategic partner of Honda, is also developing all-solid-state batteries, aiming to launch its pilot line in March.

“There may be areas where we can work together,” Otsu said, suggesting the possibility of joint procurement of materials.

Honda has “no reason not to” sell externally its solid-state batteries if it is mutually beneficial for it and partners, Otsu added.

Toyota Motor, the world’s largest automaker by sales, plans to begin commercializing solid-state batteries in 2027-2028 in partnership with Idemitsu Kosan refinery. ($1 = 155.2800 yen)

Check out upcoming electric cars in India and upcoming electric bikes in India.

Date of first publication: November 21, 2024 10:01 AM EST