This Breakthrough Tech Could Solve EV Range Anxiety Without Bigger Batteries

Electric vehicles are the fastest-growing sector of the automotive market, with more and more customers making the switch each year. But there is still a high portion of the potential customer market that is holding out and sticking with combustion engine vehicles due to EV range anxiety.

The Real Reason Drivers Aren’t Going Electric Yet

When queried as to why this is, one of the top reasons that they would not make the switch to EVs is due to the driving distance or the lack thereof. In drivers, range anxiety is a true problem that automotive companies must contend with.

Range Anxiety: It’s Not Just in Your Head

As the electric vehicle charging infrastructure is still not as comprehensive as fueling stations are throughout America and the rest of the world, drivers experience anxiety about finding a charging station before their battery runs out. This is leading to some customers refusing to go electric as they cannot handle the worry. 

A New Breakthrough That Could Change the Game

But there might be a resolution to this problem. Scientists working on upgrading EV batteries have discovered a new process that could elevate their work by producing a better, more reliable rechargeable battery that could double the current driving range available in EVs. This work could help in converting from conventional lithium-ion batteries, which are readily available in numerous household items, to solid-state batteries, which are less expensive and safer. 

Solid-State Batteries: The Future, Finally Within Reach?

Solid-state batteries are made from materials that are found more abundantly than lithium-ion batteries, but producing these batteries on a large, global scale has proven extremely difficult. These researchers, who are based at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, have developed a process that could eliminate this issue by completing a mass synthesis of a highly conductive electrolyte.

The Japanese Innovation That Might Solve the EV Puzzle

A quote from Professor Atusushi Sakuda details that:

this process can be used in the production of nearly all sodium-containing sulfide materials, including solid electrolytes and electrode active materials. It makes it easier to obtain materials that display higher performance, so they believe that in the future, it will become a global component in the production of solid-state batteries.” 

The solid sulfide electrolyte found in solid-state batteries contains the highest sodium ion conductivity in the world, nearly 10 times the amount required for commercial use, such as electric vehicles. It is not as fragile as the liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries that may combust if they are dropped or charged incorrectly. 

The automotive company, Toyota, claims that solid-state batteries could offer a driving range of up to 1,200 km, which is more than double the range of the luxury EVs on the market right now. Even better news is that they also claim the charging time of these batteries could be as little as 10 minutes. 

Could This Be the End of EV Range Anxiety?

So, what does this mean for the electric vehicle sector?

Well, in the future it could mean considerably better performance, better safety and sustainability, and of course, lower overheads for companies and in turn lower prices for customers. Solid-state batteries could significantly reduce the range anxiety many customers feel about EVs by improving charging capacity and extending driving range. This might improve electric vehicles sales even further over the next few years. Overall, it looks like promising news for both the automotive companies and their customers. 

Interested in diving deeper? Check out the full study, “Utilising reactive polysulfides flux Na₂Sₓ for the synthesis of sulfide solid electrolytes for all-solid-state sodium batteries,” published in Energy Storage Materials [(link)].