VW solid-state battery prototype shows real promise

Volkswagen said its battery startup has seen promising results with solid-state cells for electric vehicles, a win for the German carmaker as it pushes to make EVs more efficient and less expensive.

A solid-state prototype from VW’s US partner QuantumScape “significantly exceeded” industry targets in recent tests, the carmaker said Wednesday in a statement. During tests by VW’s battery unit PowerCo over several months, the cell saw only 5% storage capacity loss after more than 1,000 charging cycles, the equivalent of 500,000 kilometers on the road. VW said industry targets for this development phase are 700 charging cycles and a maximum loss of 20% capacity.

“These are very encouraging results,” PowerCo head Frank Blome was quoted as saying. “The final result of this development could be a battery cell that enables long ranges, can be charged super-quickly and practically does not age.”