It is pretty clear to everyone and the car dealerships serving Garden Grove CA specifically Toyota of Orange that Toyota has the hybrid game down to a ‘T’! The Japanese car company is essentially the pioneer of hybrid technology, but to compete even further in the market, they have to build a fleet of electric vehicles.
The EV market is still in its infant stage of development and it is also an epicenter for technological evolution. In fact, it’s evolving faster than fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, which have stayed the same for over 100 years.
Be that as it may, sales representatives that are serving Garden Grove car dealers encounter customers who are still concerned about energy storage and have range anxiety when it comes to an electric vehicle. This is the reason behind Toyota’s alternative technologies that use hydrogen fuel-cell tech such as the Mirai.
The car dealerships serving Garden Grove CA inform us that Toyota has just announced that it will have a working prototype containing a solid-state battery debut by 2021. The car company, which at the moment holds the highest number of patents (about 1000) for solid-state batteries has immensely accelerated the developmental process for a technology that was up until now, in its embryonic stages of development and real-world functioning.
What Is A Solid-State Battery?
Toyota of Orange, the leading among car dealerships serving Garden Grove CA believe you are probably wondering what the heck is a solid-state battery and how is it different from the lithium-ion units that are currently used today?
Based on the information Toyota has released so far, their upcoming solid-state battery can be completely charged in 10 minutes, and can provide double the range of a lithium-ion battery. Also, it can do this without sacrificing the space or the overall structure of an electric vehicle.
So, compared to conventional lithium-ion, solid-state lithium-metal batteries are much lighter, more powerful, take up less space, charge faster, last longer and present much lower risks for flammability.
While Toyota, the parent company of truck manufacturer Hino, won’t talk much on the subject, they did give the following statement:
Next-generation batteries, such as solid-state and metal-air batteries, are safer and demonstrate higher performance than lithium-ion batteries. We are currently working on the research and development, including the production technology of solid-state batteries, and we have achieved ultra-small BEV driving. We are accelerating development aiming for commercialization by the first half of the 2020s.
Toyota has not spoken yet on its commercial vehicle affiliate Hino will be using the company’s solid-state batteries. However, Hino has used conventional lithium-ion batteries in its hybrid trucks.
The Nikkei, which advertises itself as the world’s largest financial newspaper, called Toyota’s solid-state battery ‘game-changing’ and also said that the automaker is planning to become the first OEM to market an EV powered by the technology. Furthermore, the paper remarked that the first prototype will come out this year and arrive at dealers sometime in the early 2020s.
Why Is A Solid-State Battery Better?
Fundamentally, lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolyte solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte solution that allows them to store twice the amount of energy. This makes them far less likely to freeze in low temperatures or become a potential fire hazard like lithium-ion batteries. At the moment, low temperatures can radically lower an EV’s range, while the flammable material inside the batteries has been responsible for many fire-related accidents
Toyota says it will start testing its solid-state battery-powered vehicle this year. This will probably elevate them to the first car manufacturer to produce such technology.
Nevertheless, Toyota is not the only one working on this type of technology. After the car company made its announcement, competitors were quick to jump on the bandwagon and declare that they too are in a production-ready process for solid-state batteries. Some claim to have them ready by 2025, while others are forecasting the later year of 2028.
However, Toyota seems to be closer to the testing stage, and have beaten the others to the punch. As mentioned before, Toyota is the pioneer of the hybrid car market and hasn’t developed a full-fledged electric vehicle yet, but this technology marks a massive technological leap.
How Does This Affect The EV Market?
Over time, there are going to be a lot of changes in the way we drive. At the moment, EVs get a bad rap for having poor range and mediocre to no charging infrastructure depending on where you live. California is one of those states that is making changes to allow more EVs to drive on the roads. As many countries are planning to ban fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030, or even earlier, there has to be an extensive adoption of the technology.
Although solid-state batteries do not fix the existing infrastructure problems, they do double the distance an EV can travel on a single charge. Also, considering that when recharging anywhere outside of your own home can be at times challenging when it comes to finding a charging station, the faster charging times will greater clear up the traffic that will most likely accumulate at these possible charging stations.
Undoubtedly, solid-state batteries are a temporary measure. However, if they are as effective as Toyota says they will be, the world can ultimately put fossil-fuel-powered vehicles into retirement. Currently, many automotive brands want to stop producing fossil-fuel-powered vehicles within the next five to six years, which means they will be more electric vehicles on sale, in the near future.
Will EVs Cost And Perform Like Fossil-Fueled Vehicles?
Obviously, the biggest obstacle for a car company is to get these EVs on the road at scale and at a cost that is equal to traditionally powered vehicles, as well as EVs with lithium-ion batteries. Possibly, solid-state batteries could also significantly improve the performance of plug-in hybrids such as the RAV4 Prime, a vehicle that uses a lithium-ion battery.
Toyota’s commitment to EV technology is marked by the company’s more than 1,000 patents related to solid-state batteries. With the Japanese government’s plan to create a $19.2 billion fund for the backing of decarbonization tech and many manufacturers can produce the solid electrolytes needed, Toyota is on the right path to be the first car company to reveal how a solid-state battery could revolutionize the EV market!