Yahoo Autos Experimental Dodge Charger Daytona EVs Will Test Solid-State Battery Cells
Stellantis has announced it's planning to do real-world testing of solid-state batteries, using the Dodge Charger Daytona EV as the test fleet.
Solid-state batteries are desirable because they promise higher power delivery, greater energy density for longer driving range, and the ability to recharge far faster than today's cells with liquid electrolytes.
The testing won't happen before 2026, and there's no announced release date yet for the use of the batteries in future Stellantis EVs.
A demonstration fleet of Dodge Charger Daytona electric sedans will be fitted with solid-state battery cells by 2026 to test the new technology, Stellantis said Wednesday. The cells will be provided by Factorial, a battery startup into which the carmaker invested $75 million in 2021.
The fleet of solid-state Chargers will offer an early public test of the new cell technology in passenger cars—though Factorial's cells aren't likely to go into volume production for road vehicles until they're proven to be at least as durable as today's cell technologies.
All versions of the new 2025 Dodge Charger, including the electric version known as the Daytona, are built on Stellantis's STLA Large multi-energy platform. In Stellantis terms, "multi-energy" means it can come with an internal-combustion engine or battery-electric power. It will ultimately underpin new models from not only Dodge, but also Jeep and Chrysler, along with Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
"Quasi-Solid Electrolytes"
The innovation in Factorial's cells is dubbed FEST (for Factorial Electrolyte System Technology), and its claimed energy density is stated as 391 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). That's at the cell level; the added weight of the battery system into which they're built to power an EV will reduce that number.
Technically, Factorial's cells fall into a category known as "semi-solid" technology, with a "quasi-solid electrolyte" that lets it use a lithium anode (rather than today's graphite) for higher energy density with advanced versions of today's cobalt- and nickel-based cathodes.
Crucially, its cells can be produced on current cell-fabrication hardware, meaning existing battery plants and production processes can be repurposed for the new cells. Factorial has development agreements with not only Stellantis but Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz as well. Last year, it opened a small battery plant in Methuen, Massachusetts, and a development office in Munich.
Holy Grail
Solid-state battery technology has been a Holy Grail for EV makers for many years. Most improvements in cell tech stem from the combination of tweaks to the chemistry, greater yields at the manufacturing stage, and economies of scale—multiple gigafactories, each producing cells for hundreds of thousands of EVs a year.
But solid-state cells are that rare beast: a true step change in battery tech. Ideally, solid-state cells promise higher power delivery, greater energy density for longer driving ranges, and the ability to recharge far faster than today's cells with liquid electrolytes.
The challenges are the same as those for any new cells: Are they durable enough to last a decade and cover 100,000-plus miles without significant degradation? Can they be practically mass-produced in the same ways lithium-ion cells are for vehicles today? And, most crucially, can all that happen at low enough prices to cut the cost of EVs to consumers?
Toyota, the company that pioneered mass production of parallel hybrid systems 25 years ago, has been a main proponent of solid-state cells. Its executives have stated electric vehicles will not be suitable for mass production until solid-state batteries arrive. (Tesla may differ.)
Toyota is widely acknowledged as the master of high-quality vehicles in high volumes, through continuous refinement and improvements to both individual components and production processes. But even that company has struggled to get solid-state cells into production.
Toyota first showed a prototype solid-state cell 15 years ago, in December 2010. In 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2017, it said it would put solid-state cells into production by 2020. In 2017, it said it was in production engineering for that cell. In 2019, it said it would unveil a solid-state powered vehicle the following year, though production was still "far off." By 2023, the vehicle production date had slipped to 2027.
Promising, but Not (Yet) Ready to Deliver
It's important to understand the bulk of EVs sold between 2025 and 2030 will still be powered by variants of two chemistries in mass production today. First are lithium cells with nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum (NMCA) cathodes, with greater energy density but higher costs. The second variant, more commonly used in China than North America, is lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells, which don't carry as much energy for their weight but use cheaper and more common metals.
That said, the EV industry collectively now seems to feel solid-state cells are indeed getting closer—though actual timelines remain in debate. A fleet of electric Dodge Chargers tested in public, using that novel cell technology, may offer a look at the pros and cons of early solid-state batteries and how they perform in real-world use.
Still, caution is warranted around all such novel advances in energy storage for electric vehicles. Watch to see if those solid-charge Charger Daytonas hit the road within the next two years—and how much Stellantis reveals about how they're doing.
You Might Also Like
