A Chinese Startup May Have Cracked Solid-State Batteries (engadget.com)

hackingbear writes: According to Chinese media, Qing Tao Energy Development Co, a startup out of the technical Tsinghua University, has deployed a solid-state battery production line in Kunshan, East China. Reports claim the line has a capacity of 100MWh per year -- which is planned to increase to 700MWh by 2020 -- and that the company has achieved an energy density of more than 400Wh/kg, compared to new generation lithium-ion batteries that boast a capacity of around 250-300Wh/kg. Details beyond this are sparse. The headline news here, if accurate, would be that the company has managed to put solid-state batteries into high volume production, but it's not clear how Qing Tao Energy Development has achieved this, nor what price points are involved. Furthermore, while a capacity of 100MWh is not to be sneezed at, it still only equates to fewer than 2,000 long-range EVs per year. Nonetheless, the news demonstrates that progress is happening in the solid-state battery arena. We might not feasibly yet be at high volume production, but we're on our way.

Comments

Call me when I can test it myself.

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen enough regular batteries from China, that claimed way higher energy densities than they really had. Let alone after a few usages. (Usually, batteries are supposed get better after being broken in, before getting worse.)

I also want to make sure they don't start to bulge and catch fire or something after a few months.

Then we can talk.

Chinese

[GrBear]

I wonder what company they stole their technology from.