Adapted by:
Alejandro Alcolea
WriterWriter at Xataka. I studied education and music, but since 2014 I've been writing about my passion: video games and technology. I specialize in product analysis, photography, and video. My body is 70% coffee.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
One of the auto industry’s goals is to develop an electric car with the range of a conventional diesel vehicle. Current battery technology doesn’t allow this without using massive modules and compromising charging times. However, something on the horizon promises to fulfill this dream: solid-state batteries, which could be a game changer.
The goal is 620 miles of range, and companies such as SAIC—the owner of MG—already claim to have them ready. Mercedes says it has one with that range, BYD plans to implement solid-state batteries in the short term, and Honda has just opened a $280 million mega factory to manufacture them.
Other major automakers, including Ford and BMW, showed interest in the technology years ago. However, BMW has stated that while solid-state batteries are the future, lithium-ion batteries still have a long way to go.
Lithium Still Has a Lot of Potential
Interest in solid-state batteries is based on several advantages. They’re smaller and lighter than lithium-ion batteries but also denser, allowing them to store more energy. They charge much faster and have an estimated lifespan of 8,000 to 10,000 cycles before degrading. They’re also safer, as the flammable liquid electrolyte is replaced with a solid one.
Toyota has called them “what can change the future of electric cars.” Most major automakers are pursuing this technology. However, in a recent interview with Autocar, Martin Schuster, BMW’s vice president of next-generation battery technology, put things in perspective.
Like so many things, cost is king in the shift to solid-state batteries. Schuster said BMW is eight years away from offering an option with this technology. “The most important thing is the lithium-ion battery: It’s not finished. You [still] see improvements. There is no one and only battery. It will not come. But the lithium-ion battery at the moment [can] improve in a steady way, to reduce the cost, because that will be the main, most important goal.”
The real challenge is reducing costs more than improving performance. For Schuster, the “main and most important” goal is cost reduction. He said BMW can produce solid-state batteries now, “but the cost in the packaging makes no sense to do. There is still a long way to go with lithium-ion.”
BMW recognizes that lithium-ion batteries are both the present and the future. The priority is to enhance existing technology while cutting development and packaging costs.
BMW’s stance seems at odds with companies like BYD, which plans to begin assembly in 2027. Early adopters will pay the price. “Would a customer be willing to pay a much higher price for solid-state for maybe a little bit faster charging?” Schuster asked. “Cost is one of the most important points [for EV buyers],” he added.
Schuster confirmed that BMW’s Gen6 battery will power the company’s vehicles for the foreseeable future because it hasn’t found a way to manufacture millions of solid-state battery cells at a low price with high efficiency, improved quality, and easy integration into existing cars.
However, Mercedes has already announced a 620-mile-range battery. When Autocar asked Schuster about it, he replied, “They are in a price range which is not competitive. That’s a fact today. When we will see it in a competition against lithium-ion, then [we will take note].”
According to Schuster, BMW won’t consider introducing solid-state batteries for at least another decade. The Neue Klasse with the Gen6 battery is BMW’s bet, and the company will integrate these batteries into other models, such as SUVs. The 2026 X5 will be the first to receive them.
Time will tell whether BMW sticks to this strategy as other brands push forward with solid-state batteries. It’s not just traditional automakers in the race—Chinese manufacturers are heavily invested, and giants like Huawei and Samsung are developing their own.
Image | Artiom Vallat (Unsplash) | BMW
Log in to leave a comment