Strong-state EV batteries are making the transition from the laboratory to real-world testing—this week we’ve seen bulletins from QuantumScape, Rimacand now Mercedes-Benz, which demonstrated its solid-state know-how on a check drive from Stuttgart, Germany to Malmö, Sweden.
A “evenly modified” Mercedes EQS check car outfitted with a lithium-metal solid-state battery accomplished the 1,205-kilometer (749-mile) journey with out a single charging cease, arriving in Malmö with 137 km remaining within the tank. This set a brand new report for the automaker, edging out its earlier achievement of 747 miles set on a 2022 Stuttgart-to-England run.
The Stuttgart-Malmö drive was a part of a complete validation program for solid-state battery tech at Mercedes-Benz, which additionally contains digital simulations and testing at services in Stuttgart and Sindelfingen. The aim is to evaluate total car efficiency throughout totally different local weather zones and route profiles and speed up the trail to collection manufacturing.
The solid-state battery system was developed in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG Excessive Efficiency Powertrains (HPP), the Components 1 know-how heart of the Mercedes-Benz Group in Brixworth, UK. The lithium-metal cells got here from US-based producer Factorial Vitality.
To assist the cells throughout the quantity adjustments typical of this know-how and to make sure the mandatory contact strain on the cells, the solid-state battery is provided with pneumatic actuators, which reply to the adjustments in cell quantity throughout charging and discharging, thereby guaranteeing the flawless operation of the battery over time. The usable power capability of the battery was elevated by 25%, whereas the burden and measurement of the battery stay corresponding to the usual EQS battery. Extra weight and power effectivity is achieved by way of passive airflow cooling.
“With the profitable long-distance drive of the EQS, we present that (solid-state battery) know-how delivers not solely within the lab but in addition on the street,” stated Mercedes?Benz Board Member Markus Schäfer. “Our aim is to convey improvements like this into collection manufacturing by the top of the last decade.”
Supply: Mercedes
