Volvo's Parent Company Will Start Making Solid-State Batteries This Year

After assembling the first complete solid-state packs, they’ll start going into development vehicles.

Solid-state batteries

Photo by: Ralph Hermens

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Jan 23, at 3:44am ET

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Geely is kicking its solid-state battery development into high gear.
The Chinese auto giant said it would complete its first solid-state battery pack this year.
Completed packs will then go into test vehicles.

Solid-state batteries, which are widely considered to be the “holy grail” in the energy storage game, are nearing reality with every passing day. Now, Geely, Volvo’s parent company, is accelerating the development of its solid-state cells, with the first completed packs expected to be fitted into working vehicles this year, as reported by China’s 21 Finance.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to go into a showroom and order a solid-state-powered EV this year. That’s because the first cars to be fitted with the technology will be test mules, and there’s also the fact that Geely doesn’t sell cars in the United States, though European and Australian car buyers can buy the company’s vehicles.

Geely Solid-State Battery

Photo by: Geely

But Geely is a big company. It owns Lotus, Zeekr and Lynk & Co, in addition to Volvo, so it’s not far-fetched to think that any of these brands could one day offer solid-state batteries for their EVs. The Chinese auto giant has been developing battery technology in-house since the 2010s, investing in several projects that focus on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and solid-state cells.

The company’s experimental liquid-less cells have reportedly reached energy densities of around 400 watt-hours/kilogram, which is significantly more than the 200-300 Wh/kg that typical lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes currently offer.

Besides offering more energy, solid-state batteries also promise to charge faster and be much safer, with a lower thermal runaway risk than conventional batteries with liquid electrolytes.

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Geely is far from the only company investing in this type of technology. Dozens of names, including Dongfeng, SAIC, Chery, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and BMW, are working with battery developers to crack the code and bring the game-changing technology to the mass market. Finland’s Donut Labs claims to have developed the world’s first production-ready solid-state battery, which will power Verge’s updated electric motorcycles.

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However, a lot of unanswered questions hover around Donut Labs’ claims, and the fact that the company has refused to answer them doesn’t bode well for the startup’s reputation.

Most companies working on the technology say that the first production units will reach the market in 2027, mostly because of the intricacies related to the solid electrolyte’s manufacturing process. The finished product is usually extremely brittle, so extreme care must be taken when the anode, cathode and electrolyte are sandwiched together.