Good news!

Good news! By 2028, Toyota expects to make electric cars with a 1000 kilometer (600 mile) range with batteries that can be charged in just 10 minutes!

They're using 'solid-state batteries'. Currently a lot of car batteries use an organic solvent with a dissolved lithium salt. The new solid-state batteries replace that flammable liquid with a glassy material containing compounds of lithium, sulfur and phosphorus. They charge faster, they have 10 times the energy density, and don't easily catch on fire. But they are tricky in various ways.

Toyota wants to win the race, and they've teamed up with a Japanese oil company that will manufacture the battery material. But Mercedes-Benz and other companies are also in the race. The activity in China is particularly intense, as you'd expect.

https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/big-oil-is-betting-big-on-toyota-to-win-the-solid-state-battery-race/

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Good news! By 2028, Toyota expects to make electric cars with a 1000 kilometer (600 mile) range with batteries that can be charged in just 10 minutes!

They're using 'solid-state batteries'. Currently a lot of car batteries use an organic solvent with a dissolved lithium salt. The new solid-state batteries replace that flammable liquid with a glassy material containing compounds of lithium, sulfur and phosphorus. They charge faster, they have 10 times the energy density, and don't easily catch on fire. But they are tricky in various ways.

Toyota wants to win the race, and they've teamed up with a Japanese oil company that will manufacture the battery material. But Mercedes-Benz and other companies are also in the race. The activity in China is particularly intense, as you'd expect.

https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/big-oil-is-betting-big-on-toyota-to-win-the-solid-state-battery-race/

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@johncarlosbaez mayyyybe. Toyota does have a long history of promising solid-state batteries “in a few” years for a long time now. See for example this from 2017: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1111715_toyota-accelerates-target-for-ev-with-solid-state-battery-to-2020

In short, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

@arsatiki - I may be overoptimistic, but things are looking better now in various ways:

"EVs with semi-solid-state batteries are already rolling out in China, albeit in small numbers. Customers can buy and drive them today, thanks to early adopters such as Nio and the state-backed SAIC Motors that invested in the tech early. In the West, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are testing solid-state batteries, and Stellantis is planning to begin trials next year.

Japanese and Korean automakers are also working on this tech, but they’ve been tight-lipped about their plans. In 2022, Nikkei reported that Toyota held the highest number of solid-state battery patents, followed by Panasonic and Idemitsu."

https://insideevs.com/news/771402/every-solid-state-battery-ev/

@johncarlosbaez Presumably ‘cos Americans would be confused by 1000km.

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

@johncarlosbaez Because it's the (rounded) conversion of 1,000 kilometres, mayhap?

@johncarlosbaez I sure hope I’m wrong! I know they’re getting closer and closer but I’m guess the mass availability is around 2030

@johncarlosbaez Presumably ‘cos Americans would be confused by 1000km.

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)

@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz This all sounds to good to be true!

@ChrSt - I know what you mean. It may not come as quick as 2028, but the technology seems real. Companies have been working on it for decades:

"Still, like any advance at the cutting-edge of electrical or electronic technology, solid-state cells are really, really hard to take from the lab to production EVs. For every 100 promising lab tests of batteries in general, perhaps one will advance to a prototype line—and fewer yet into high-volume production. Toyota learned that lesson 15 years ago, when it couldn’t produce the lithium-ion cell it chose for the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius—and had to revert to its tried-and-true, 15-year-old nickel-metal hydride cells.

Toyota has long been a proponent of solid-state cells. It has said it believes EVs will not be suitable for mass adoption until solid-state batteries arrive. But even mighty Toyota has struggled to get solid-state cells into production. It first showed a prototype solid-state cell 15 years ago, in December 2010. Through most of the 2010s, it said it would put solid-state cells into production by 2020. In late 2023, the company announced that date had slipped to 2027. "

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a63306863/solid-state-batteries-evs-explained/

@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz I knew of SSBs, but this Toyota's approach is new to me.
I am so on board for this being awesome – can't wait!

Good news! By 2028, Toyota expects to make electric cars with a 1000 kilometer (600 mile) range with batteries that can be charged in just 10 minutes!

They're using 'solid-state batteries'. Currently a lot of car batteries use an organic solvent with a dissolved lithium salt. The new solid-state batteries replace that flammable liquid with a glassy material containing compounds of lithium, sulfur and phosphorus. They charge faster, they have 10 times the energy density, and don't easily catch on fire. But they are tricky in various ways.

Toyota wants to win the race, and they've teamed up with a Japanese oil company that will manufacture the battery material. But Mercedes-Benz and other companies are also in the race. The activity in China is particularly intense, as you'd expect.

https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/big-oil-is-betting-big-on-toyota-to-win-the-solid-state-battery-race/

(1/2)

I'm trying to figure out how the new solid-state batteries work. So far I'm getting this:

They use a solid lithium sulfide-based electrolyte - a glassy ceramic material made using Li₂S and P₂S₅, which combine to form various lithium thiophosphates like Li₃PS₄, Li₇P₃S₁₁ and Li₄P₂S₆. The resulting sulfide glass has a high conductivity for Li⁺ ions, comparable to liquid electrolytes. The Li⁺ ions hop through the disordered sulfide lattice via vacancies and interstitial sites.

The hard part: the glassy material should be soft enough to keep contact with the electrodes as it expands and contracts during charge-discharge cycles, and not crack. Toyota claims to have solved this problem.

https://oilandenergyonline.com/articles/all/toyotas-breakthrough-solid-state-batteries/

(Nerdy nitpick: this article says the new car's range is 621 miles. Can you guess why they give such a precise figure?)

(2/2)