The solid-state battery seems to be the holy grail for EVs. They promise so many improvements over today’s batteries, which use liquid electrolytes. They can last longer, charge faster, store more electricity, and could even be better for the environment to produce than current EV batteries. While they’re still just over the horizon for actual cars, they’re showing up in other places. For instance, Subaru is now using them, but not in their cars, but for their assembly robots.
They’re Used On Engine Robots
In a delicious bit of irony, Subaru is using these high-tech batteries on robots that are making internal-combustion engines and transmissions. They’re fitted to bots at a powertrain factory in Gunma, Japan. As Subaru explains, its assembly robots have been using batteries as power backups in the event of a power outage, even before they got solid-state examples. It said that these batteries “protect memory” on the robots, probably to avoid a loss of data or maybe position information, and avoid having to go through a long reset period after power loss.
Apparently, the batteries are non-rechargeable and only used once, so have to be replaced and disposed of periodically. Previously, this would happen every couple of years, but the new solid-state batteries can last at least 10 years. This obviously reduces the amount of battery waste, but it also saves time whenever the batteries have to be swapped out.
Subaru Doesn’t Make The Batteries
Just as Subaru doesn’t make the robotic arms that they use to produce their vehicles, Subaru didn’t make the batteries for these robots. Instead, they come from a company called Maxell. If you’re of a certain age, that may ring a bell. Maxell, another Japanese company, has been producing batteries and magnetic tape since the mid-20th century. So it’s entirely possible that you may have had some Maxell VHS tapes or AA batteries around the house a few decades ago. The company still makes all kinds of battery products, from simple coin-cell ones to medical and industrial ones. It also produces other tapes, foams, optical lenses, and small handheld tools and devices.
Cars With Solid-State Batteries Seem To Be Closer Than Ever
We’ve been hearing about solid-state batteries for cars for years now, and it’s often felt like they’ll never arrive. There are signs that the wait may be over sooner than we thought. Nissan claims it will have them in production vehicles starting in 2028. Toyota has previously said it will start producing solid-state batteries in 2027. BMW is testing solid-state batteries in BMW i7s with a company called Solid power. Even Stellantis, with its partner Factorial, is looking at these batteries, potentially for the Charger Daytona. Automakers are very serious about this technology, and it seems as though real-world applications are only a couple of years away, instead of the five to ten years that they’ve felt like for the last decade. If the technology can live up to the potential, this could be as big a battery revolution for cars, if not bigger, than the initial liquid lithium-ion battery era.