Svolt unveils true solid-state EV battery with energy density that allows over 620 miles on a charge

[Redaktion]

The new solid-state battery contestant has been created with the challenging sulfide technology that has allowed Svolt to create both a solid electrolyte and separator. This resulted in an all-solid-state battery pack with up to 400 Wh/kg energy density, unlike the solid-liquid hybrids that NIO and Dongfeng chose to put in their electric cars.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Svolt-unveils-true-solid-state-EV-battery-with-energy-density-that-allows-over-620-miles-on-a-charge.635867.0.html

[The Werewolf]

The missing info is: "How fast can it recharge?" which is far more important than range.

Range anxiety is a bit of a red herring - ICE cars have ranges and people rarely worry about it for several reasons: there are lots of places to get gas, they're 100% identical so there's not searching for a compatible gas station and it takes about 5 minutes to go from empty to full.

People who live in private houses can get power to the car overnight, but a LOT of people don't live in houses, but live in apartments and condos where charge to stall doesn't exist (yet).

The holy grail for EVs is the ability to fully charge the car to at least 80% within 31 minutes (based on multiple surveys of car owners and new car purchasers) and to be able to charge at ANY chargepoint available. Right now, we're not even close, but solid batteries are supposed to help make this possible.

[David GGGGG]

If you get 620 miles of range, it does not matter how long before you recharge. How many people drive 9 hours (at 70mph) without stopping to eat a meal or stay at a hotel?

[_MT_]

The holy grail for EVs is the ability to fully charge the car to at least 80% within 31 minutes (based on multiple surveys of car owners and new car purchasers) and to be able to charge at ANY chargepoint available. Right now, we're not even close, but solid batteries are supposed to help make this possible.

80 % is meaningless. How far will 80 % get you? In the EU, public chargers use single standard. It's the law (it was not retroactive AFAIK so there are some legacy chargers, mainly Tesla I imagine, but it was enacted fairly early). Exactly so all cars can use all chargers. And it is possible to travel with 15-20 minute charging stops every two hours or so, depending on highway speeds (higher speeds, lower efficiency, more frequent charging). Today. So, how come "we're not even close"? What is desirable is fast charging (in terms of distance) even with a small battery. And we have the technology to facilitate even 6 minute stops. We have had it for about a decade.

In practice, what can limit you is how well the preconditioning system works and under what conditions can the car maintain high charging rates. While some cars were really good on paper, they sucked in practice. Preconditioning didn't work properly, the battery was either too cold or too hot to charge at peak rates, cooling didn't work properly during charging necessitating reduction in rates or the high rates were only available in a narrow band of state of charge. Specification sheet will not tell you these things, but they definitely matter.

[GDu]

With NIO battery swap, it takes under 5 min...

[Curious]

I'm curious, how do they calculate a 620 mile range based simply on the type of battery?

Don't you need to know: 1) how big the battery is, 2) how heavy the car is, 3) how aerodynamic it is, 4) how efficient the motors are, 5) and how fast the car is being driven?

[Celilo]

If you get 620 miles of range, it does not matter how long before you recharge. How many people drive 9 hours (at 70mph) without stopping to eat a meal or stay at a hotel?

I do, with the exception of a drive through meal, on cross country trips. I'm certainly in the minority. That said, if I could truly get 500 miles in a full sized EV van, that would be reasonable. The Ford Transit EV gets 120 under ideal conditions, so I think that it's going to be a while.

[_MT_]

That said, if I could truly get 500 miles in a full sized EV van, that would be reasonable. The Ford Transit EV gets 120 under ideal conditions, so I think that it's going to be a while.

The problem is how often you do that. If you do a trip like that every day, fine. But if it's just an occasional trip and you normally drive less than 100 per day, it's a huge waste of resources. The sad truth is that convenience is a poor excuse. If you are buying an electric car to help the environment, then you have to accept some inconvenience on atypically long journeys. It's silly to demand preservation of habits as change of habits is a very powerful tool in our toolbox. If you are not inclined that way, nobody forces you to buy an EV. Yet. And then you might have to change your habits, whether you like it or not.

For me, personally, the big challenge is towing. Again, the question is, do I really need to tow, or is it something I should just give up. And I can tell you that utilization would be low. It actually is relevant today as the primary destination is the Alps and villages there are very likely to be early adopters of zero-emissions zones (some already exist). Life could become very difficult with a diesel very soon which makes it poor choice if I were to buy new now (low utilization means I would have to keep it for a long time).

E.g. EQV is rated at over 220 miles (over 360 km) in the EU (WLTP, not EPA). Unless you want a cargo version, I don't think it has the largest pack available.