Some time ago, NIO Li Bin successfully challenged 1,000 kilometers of battery life, bringing semi-solid-state batteries with high safety, long life and economy back into everyone's field of vision, and the discussion around semi-solid-state batteries and solid-state batteries was also very hot. In addition to Weilan New Energy, which is a 150-degree semi-solid-state battery for NIO, a number of projects will also emerge in the field of solid-state batteries in 2023, including solid-state battery projects signed or launched by Guangdong Hengyu, Qingtao Energy, Guangzhou Haowei, Ruixiao Technology and other companies with an investment of more than 100 million yuan. In foreign countries, in recent years, many leading battery and automobile companies in the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries have also increased production capacity construction, increased R&D investment, invested in start-ups, and "bet" on solid-state batteries. What is the progress of these overseas companies so far?Let's take a look: the United StatesquantumscapeQuantumsacpe, a solid-state battery company founded in 2010 led by Microsoft and Volkswagen, has raised a total of $1.1 billion and has gone public, with a current stock price of $708 USD. In December, QuantumSacpe delivered the first batch of the latest A0 samples for testing to an unnamed car manufacturer, with Volkswagen speculated among them. 
The A0 sample is a 24-layer lithium-metal battery cell released by QuantumSacpe in the second quarter of last year. Flexfarme, a hybrid prismatic and traditional soft-pack structure, is designed to pack the same number of layers (each layer with more energy) into a thinner package to take up less EV space. It is reported that the Flexframe combines a rigid frame that provides structural stability with a flexible polymer outer layer that allows the cell surface to expand and contract within the fixed external dimensions of the frame. In addition, the battery has a positive electrode and a lithium metal anode formed in situ per layer, with capacities in the multi-ampere-hour range. Quantumsacpe believes that the cells are suitable for a variety of applications, including electric vehicles and 3C digital products. By the first quarter of 2023, at least one automaker has completed testing. Meanwhile, Quantumscape said its first commercial solid-state battery product, the QSE-5, based on the A0 prototype battery, will begin deliveries to partners in the second quarter of 2023. Compared to the A0 prototype battery, the QSE-5 battery has a higher capacity loaded cathode and can maintain a higher energy density. 
In this year's latest third-quarter earnings report, Quantumscape also disclosed that the business goal of QSE-5 batteries is to retain 80% of energy after 800 cycles, but a potential automaker previously tested A0 batteries and found that this number of cycles can reach 1,000 times. 
It is reported that the experimental environment of 1000 cycles is under the conditions of standard temperature and pressure, using 03c charge and 0The test conditions of 2C discharge, as well as the depth of 100% discharge, the capacity retention rate is more than 95% after 1000+ cycles. Quantumscape said that future work will continue to focus on the development of the QSE-5, which is expected to be well received in the passenger car, truck, two-wheeler and other markets in the future. The report also states that the market opportunity for Quantumscape's technology platform is huge, with hundreds of billions of dollars likely to be available annually in the coming decades. solid powerAccording to Solid Power's Q3 2023 financial report, Solid Power has delivered the first batch of A-1 EV batteries to BMW AG to officially enter automotive validation testing, and BMW hopes to launch the first prototype based on Solid Power battery technology by 2025. In addition, the company is increasing production of SP2 sulfide solid-state electrolytes and phasing out SP1 electrolytes, which it expects to produce annually for solid-state batteries for 800,000 electric vehicles, according to Solid Power's official website. According to Solid Power's official website, its silicon power batteries use a high-content silicon anode (anode), sulfide solid electrolyte, and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) cathode, with an energy density of 390Wh per kilogram. According to the official website, its solid-state battery design is safer, higher energy, and lower cost than lithium-ion batteries. 
On this basis, if the anode is made of lithium metal, the energy density will reach 440 Wh per kilogram, while if the cathode is replaced with a "conversion cathode material", the energy density will be 560 Wh per kilogram and the cost will be lower, but the energy-to-volume ratio will be reduced from 930 Wh per liter to 785 Wh. 
The company aims to achieve a pilot line with an annual production capacity of 100MWh from 2023 to 2025 and complete the CD sample stage testFrom 2025 to 2027, the company will rapidly build an annual production capacity of 10GWh and start production of automotive-grade batteries. In addition to BMW, Solid Power has also received investment from Ford Motor Company of the United States, and is expected to deliver sample batteries to Ford as well. factorial energyOn January 21 this year, Factorial Energy announced that it had received $200 million in Series D financing, led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis Group. After completing this round of financing, the company will accelerate the commercial production and deployment of its solid-state batteries. Prior to Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, Factorial had announced separate investment and partnership agreements with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors to jointly develop and test Factorial's solid-state battery technology and integrate it into Hyundai's electric vehicles. According to Factorial Energy's official social media account, on October 30, FactorialEnergy shipped 100 Ah of "quasi-solid-state battery" to its automaker partners. It is understood that the battery uses "Factorial Electrolyte System Technoloy", which utilizes a proprietary solid electrolyte material to achieve safe and reliable battery performance through high-voltage and high-energy-density electrodes, and is scaled in a battery that operates at room temperature. According to reports, the technology is safer than traditional lithium-ion technology, can increase range by 20% to 50%, and has embedded compatibility features for easy integration into existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure. In addition, the battery of this model has also passed UN 38 this year3 standard certifications. 
On October 24, Factorial Energy invested $50 million to build a solid-state battery assembly line with an annual capacity of 200MWh in Methhuen, Massachusetts, which is also the largest solid-state battery production line in the United States. 
24m technologies24M Technologies introduced the 24m Electrode-to-Pack System (24M Etop) at the Japan Mobility Show from October 26 to November 5 this year, which is a simplified battery pack system in which the electrodes are integrated directly into the battery pack without the need for separate cells and modules. By removing unnecessary cell materials from the battery pack, manufacturers can reduce costs while maximizing the energy density of the battery pack. 
According to Japanese media news in early December, 24M Technologies said that it will start mass production of semi-solid-state batteries in 2025 in conjunction with Japanese electric vehicle (EV) company Azeba (Azapa) and China's Anhui Anwa New Energy Technology. In addition to Azeba and Anwa, Japan's Fujifilm, Germany's Volkswagen, India's auto parts manufacturer Lucas TVS, and Norway's battery factory Freyr Battery have all been authorized for 24M and are planning a mass production schedule. 
Founded in 2010 by Yet-Ming Chiang, a Chinese-American professor at MIT, 24M Technologies focuses on low-cost semi-solid-state batteries. Its semi-solid-state battery uses clay-like materials containing liquid materials as electrolytes, which is much safer than liquid electrolyte lithium-ion batteries, and through improved materials and processes, it reduces 80% of the inactive materials without energy storage in the battery, and eliminates the energy-consuming liquid treatment process in the production of electrodes and electrolytes, so that the cost can be reduced by about 40%. South KoreaLG Energy SolutionsIn September 2023, LG Energy Solutions announced that it would build a semi-solid-state battery production line at the Cheongju Ochang Energy Park in Chungcheongbuk-do, with the goal of commercializing it in 2026. It is reported that the semi-solid-state batteries produced by this production line will use "jelly-like substances" instead of traditional electrolytes, and the volume energy density of the battery is about 650Wh L. In terms of R&D, in June, Sun Quannan, Vice President of LG Energy Solutions and President of the Next Generation Battery Research Institute, revealed at the 2023 World Power Battery Conference that LG Energy Solutions will commercialize "safety-improved" polymer-based semi-solid-state batteries by 2026, launch a 750Wh polymer solid-state battery and complete the development of sulfide all-solid-state batteries in 2028, and launch a sulfide all-solid-state battery of more than 900Wh L in 2030. Sun Quannan said that LG Energy Solutions' all-solid-state battery is based on a sulfide system, which can achieve absolute safety at the battery level without fire and ** in the future. Samsung SDIFollowing the completion of the all-solid-state pilot production line in March 2023, Samsung SDI produced sulfide-based all-solid-state battery samples in June, and the pilot production line for all-solid-state batteries (ASB) at the Suwon R&D center in southern Seoul has been completed, and the all-solid-state battery materials are being validated, led by Gojoo-Young, vice president of Samsung SDI's large battery business unit. In terms of mass production progress, the company is expected to develop large-scale battery production technology in 2025 for mass production of all-solid-state batteries in Ulsan in 2027. Previously, in August 2023, Samsung SDI announced that it would expand its Ulsan plant and build production lines for LFP batteries and all-solid-state batteries, doubling the area of the factory. 
In terms of material system, it is expected that the cathode material will transition from high-nickel ternary to lithium-rich manganese-based, and the anode will transition from silicon-carbon anode to lithium metal. sk onIn September, according to foreign media reports, SK On, a battery manufacturer under South Korea's SK Group, successfully developed an oxide-based solid-state electrolyte, which has the world's highest lithium-ion conductivity. The oxide solid electrolyte was jointly developed by SK ON and a team led by Professor Park Hee-Jung from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Dankook University. SK ON and its R&D team have adjusted the additives of the oxide solid-state electrolyte material LLLZO, which is composed of lithium, lanthanum, zirconium, and oxygen. Compared with the existing lithium-ion conductivity, the lithium-ion conductivity of the new material has been increased by 70%, achieving the world's highest conductivity. Lithium-ion conductivity refers to the rate at which lithium ions move through the electrolyte. Higher travel speeds will enhance battery output and speed up charging. In addition, the technology enables uniform control of the LLLZO microstructure, thus ensuring atmospheric stability. According to SK On, the oxide solid electrolyte exhibits high stability in this regard, as a solid electrolyte is normally susceptible to humidity and carbon dioxide, so long-term exposure will reduce performance. The oxide solid-state electrolyte material can be used not only in all-solid-state batteries based on NCM (nickel, cobalt, and manganese) cathode materials, but also in next-generation batteries such as lithium-sulfur batteries and lithium-air batteries that can be cured, as well as polymer-oxide composite all-solid-state batteries that SK ON is developing. SK ON is currently developing two all-solid-state batteries, a polymer-oxide composite solid-state battery and a sulfide solid-state battery, and plans to complete early prototypes of these two batteries in 2026 and commercialize them in 2028. In June this year, at the celebration of Samsung's 53rd anniversary, Samsung SDI President Choi Yoon-Ho revealed that it had completed the construction of an all-solid-state battery pilot plant, and plans to start producing all-solid-state battery samples in the second half of this year. JapanToyota
Following an announcement in October that it would collaborate with Japanese petrochemical giant Idemitsu Kosan to develop all-solid-state batteries, Toyota released a solid-state battery roadmap in mid-November, revealing that it had previously announced that the solid-state batteries produced in 2027 would only power 10,000 electric vehicles a year (Toyota's annual sales of electric vehicles are expected to be 3.5 million units in 2030). Mass production will not be possible until 2030 or later.
It is understood that this is because Idemitsu Kosan is expected to produce only a few thousand tons of sulfide solid electrolyte by the beginning of 2027. In addition, according to Toyota's roadmap, it plans to provide more than 800 kilometers of driving range for its electric vehicles from 2026. In 2027-2028, the driving range will be increased to more than 1,000 kilometers through the introduction of high-performance batteries. In addition, Toyota has also said that in 2026-27 it will add cheap lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which can ensure a driving range of 600 kilometers on a single charge. HondaAt Monterey Car Week in California in August, Jay Joseph, vice president of sustainability and business development at Honda America, said that Honda plans to start trial production of solid-state batteries next year. At the same time, Shinji Aoyama, Honda's executive vice president and CEO of global electrification, said that Honda's solid-state batteries can reduce weight by 50% (or double the volumetric energy density) to increase the range of cars.
Shinji Aoyama also said that solid-state batteries will first be used in SUVs such as the PILOT, which can double the range. According to U.S. media reports, Honda will also set up a new battery research center with Schaeffler (USA) and the Institute of Materials and Manufacturing at Ohio State University in 2025, and the new research center is expected to help Honda achieve its goal of pushing solid-state electric vehicle batteries from the laboratory to the assembly line. NissanIn February this year, Nissan senior vice president of European R&D D**id Moss said that Nissan has successfully developed an all-solid-state battery, with the goal of starting trial production in 2025, achieving large-scale mass production of solid-state batteries in 2028, and producing a new electric vehicle powered by solid-state batteries in the same year. At the same time, D**ID Moss revealed that solid-state batteries will greatly improve the efficiency of storage and electric transmission, doubling the energy density and charging speed compared to liquid lithium batteries. According to Nissan's plan, by 2028, all-solid-state batteries will be able to reduce the cost of batteries to US$75 per kilowatt-hour (about 477 yuan), and further reduce it to US$65 per kilowatt-hour (about 414 yuan) in the future to achieve cost parity between electric models and fuel models. In terms of R&D, Nissan R&D personnel have discovered a material that can inhibit the formation of dendrites, which can avoid short circuits in batteries caused by dendrites. They also invented a design that allows the electrolyte and electrodes to expand and contract repeatedly without separation, further improving safety. In addition, Nissan has also overcome the problem of fast charging at low temperatures. On April 11, Nissan announced that it will further promote the development and application of all-solid-state batteries at the Nissan Automotive Research Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, a pilot production facility for tandem pouch all-solid-state battery cells. At the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at the end of October, Nissan unveiled the Nissan Hyper Tourer, an all-solid-state battery. It is understood that the car is equipped with an all-solid-state battery to control the height of the body, reduce the center of gravity, and achieve smooth acceleration and deceleration and good ride comfort.