San Jose's QuantumScape is developing a battery that can build itself, at least as far as the anode is concerned.
The solid-state, lithium-metal design combines a couple of promising concepts that are emerging in the electric vehicle sector, providing better range and safety, and faster charge speeds. InsideEVs reported the company claimed its pack can power an up-to-500-mile range, or a trip from New York City to Greenville, North Carolina, for reference. That's in addition to a less-than-15-minute fast charge promised on the QuantumScape website.
"If you want to make a big step change in cost, energy per mass and energy per volume, the biggest change you could make is to eliminate the anode," QuantumScape co-founder Tim Holme said, according to InsideEVs.
Solid-state batteries are being developed by numerous companies, including Porsche. The luxury brand plans to unlock an 800-mile range with its version. The packs use a solid electrolyte, or middle layer, where ions travel between the electrodes during operation. In addition to performance benefits, they don't have a flammable liquid separator like common cells.
But affordably scaling manufacturing has been a challenge, according to Top Speed.
QuantumScape's design uses a ceramic separator combined with an organic liquid. The makeup prevents troublesome dendrite growth. Those are metal-branched structures that plague lithium-metal packs. The cathode is made from either iron or nickel; the former is cheaper, and the latter material performs better. QuantumScape intends to offer customers a choice, according to InsideEVs.
The anode is where the innovation's self-built part comes into play. Anodes are typically made of graphite or silicon, which can be expensive and subject to disrupted foreign supply chains. There's no anode put in Quantum's battery during manufacturing. It's formed during the first charge cycle as lithium ions gather in the current collector to form the crucial electrode, as InsideEVs described it.
"Lithium metal is the best anode. It's better than graphite and better than silicon. Solid-state plus lithium metal makes for the best battery," Holme said in the story.
QuantumScape made headlines last year when a partnership with Volkswagen was announced to use solid-state batteries.
It's part of an exciting time in the sector as EV innovations are unlocking astounding capability with state-of-the-art power packs. The improvements are helping to expedite the shift to cleaner rides, preventing thousands of pounds of heat-trapping air pollution with each gas burner that's parked. The tailpipe exhaust is linked to lung and heart issues, cancer, and other health risks, according to government reports. Cox Automotive noted that more than 300,000 EVs were sold during the first quarter, an 11.4% year-over-year jump.
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For now, QuantumScape is testing prototypes of its latest innovation. InsideEVs reported that the packs will be more expensive than common ones at first. Though the company website touted cost savings thanks to the self-building anode.
"If we also get on the learning curve, ramp up our volumes, come down in costs, we can be competitive and even beat lithium-ion in time," Holme said in the report.
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