Solid-state batteries promise to shake up the electric car world by reducing prices and improving performance, and Nissan wants to be one of the earliest adopters. The automaker now plans to release its first EV with completely solid-state batteries by the company's fiscal 2028. To that end, it just unveiled a prototype production facility for these batteries at a Japanese research center and will open a pilot manufacturing line in Yokohama in fiscal 2024.
The shift away from conventional batteries is already expected to make EVs considerably more affordable thanks to the use of less expensive materials. Nissan aims to reduce the cost of solid-state batteries to $75 per kilowatt-hour in 2028, and $65 afterward. EVs would cost roughly as much as gas-based cars at those prices, Nissan said.
The technology has other benefits. Solid-state batteries charge faster and offer roughly twice the energy density of existing lithium-ion batteries, potentially delivering greater range, reduced weight and shorter recharging times. Those, in turn, could make EVs practical for would-be owners
Nissan isn't the only brand racing to introduce solid-state batteries. Toyota, for instance, expects to use the technology in hybrid vehicles by 2025. However, this is one of the clearest and more ambitious strategies for the tech. It also suggests that Nissan's still-small EV range will expand significantly in the next few years as electrification becomes practical for more of its lineup.