Two solid-state EV battery leaders are joining forces to scale the ‘breakthrough’ tech

Two battery makers working on next-generation electric vehicle batteries have agreed to team up. Factorial Energy, a US company, and SK On, a South Korean battery maker, will combine their work to try to manufacture solid-state batteries on a large scale. These batteries use a solid material instead of the liquid electrolyte in today's lithium-ion batteries, and they promise longer driving range, faster charging, and better performance in extreme heat and cold. The challenge has always been building them cheaply and in large volumes, which is what this partnership aims to solve.

This is early-stage industry news rather than something that changes any home right now. Factorial's battery technology has already been tested in a Dodge Charger prototype and a modified Mercedes-Benz EQS that drove more than 745 miles on one charge, and the company is working with automakers including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, and Stellantis. SK On already supplies batteries to Hyundai, Ford, and Volkswagen and has significant manufacturing capacity in the US.

For homeowners, the relevance is mostly indirect: solid-state batteries could eventually mean electric vehicles with longer range and faster charging, and the same technology has potential uses in home energy storage down the road. But there's no timeline here for when these batteries might show up in vehicles you can buy or in home battery products, so this is worth watching rather than acting on.