Toyota announces that it is set to spend $13.5 billion by 2030 on developing batteries and battery supply chains. Being popular with its hybrid model, Pirus the company is set towards working on shifting towards a fully electric lineup next year. By considering itself as a leader in developing batteries, Toyota says it can reduce the battery costs by 30%.
They are working on the battery cells structure and the materials used for making it. Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda told a briefing, “Then, for the vehicle, we aim to improve power consumption, which is an indicator of the amount of electricity used per kilometer, by 30%, starting with the Toyota bZ4X.” It was in reference to the compact SUV Model which Toyota is yet to launch.
Additionally, Toyota is ahead with the solid-state batteries. Though there is no breakthrough yet, it is considered a potential game-changer in the industry. Solid-state batteries can have more energy density, are less prone to catching fire, and also charge faster. Currently, they are attempting to solve the issue of its short service life.
Maeda said, “We are still searching for the best materials to use.” So far many of its competitive companies have failed to make solid-state batteries a possibility. However, Toyota announces that they are going to use solid-state batteries for its hybrid vehicle, Pirus.
Toyota’s work on solid-state batteries
In December 2020, Toyota announced that they hope to be the first company to launch electric vehicles with solid-state batteries. It was planned to be launched this year, however as the batteries are not ready yet, there has been no launch yet.
It is predicted that solid-state battery cars can have more than double the range of vehicles equipped with lithium-ion batteries. Further has the ability to charge fully within 10 minutes. Toyota already has hands-on around1,000 patents related to game-changing batteries.
Mitsui Mining and Smelting were set to build a pilot factory, located in Japan. It was being built to build electrolytes for the solid-state batteries. It will fulfill Toyota’s demand for a prototype, which is to be initially used on Pirus.
It seems like Toyota did progress meanwhile as they reached the required energy density. As the batteries get longevity, it could potentially be leading the electric vehicle shift. Meanwhile the top EV player, Tesla is also working on battery developments, to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The competition is getting closer as automakers are getting close to making it to the top.
