Honda says it is accelerating research at its new 27,000 square-meter demo facility set up in Sakura City, Japan, and is shortening the time required to make a single unit. The site has full-scale equipment that is split between three buildings: the first for cathode formation and cell assembly; the second for anode formation; and the third for electrolyte activation and module assembly.
The plan includes using a continuous inline mixer that Honda says is “three times faster” than typical cell batch processing. Honda plans to make batteries on this line in January.
Honda is readying its solid-state tech for mass production in the second half of the 2020s. The company’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe has eluded that solid-state batteries will also be the key to unlocking cheaper EVs.
I assume the author meant “alluded” here, but solid state batteries certainly have been elusive.
We’re starting to see proof of concepts in the solid state battery race, but they fall way short of projections. Let’s see what happens when the tech proliferates.