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Tue 25 Feb 2025
Mercedes’ EQS prototype electric vehicle (EV), equipped with a lithium-metal solid-state battery, has begun real-world testing.
While car makers including Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan have all announced plans to produce solid-state EVs, Mercedes-Benz claims it has launched the “world’s first solid-state battery vehicle from a global OEM”.
To develop the solid-state battery, engineers came together from both the company’s passenger car and Formula 1 teams.
These engineers also collaborated with Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), a UK-based subsidiary specialising in F1 technologies, as well as the Mercedes-Benz Centre of Competence for Battery Systems in Stuttgart.
A key partnership in the battery’s development was with US-based Factorial Energy, which provided the cells for the battery.
Following laboratory vehicle tests conducted in Stuttgart at the end of 2024, the EQS prototype will now continue its testing on the roads.
“We will gain crucial insights into possible series integration of this cutting-edge battery technology,” said Markus Schäfer, chief technology officer, development and procurement at Mercedes-Benz.
While lithium-ion batteries power much of our technology, solid-state batteries have emerged as a more powerful, compact, safe and sustainable alternative for EVs.
Solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid one, which enhances cell safety and allows for the use of higher-capacity anodes made from lithium metal. This enables them to outperform lithium-ion counterparts.
Solid-state batteries are also favoured for their increased energy density. According to Mercedes, the solid-state tech has the potential to increase the gravimetric energy density, the amount of energy stored in a battery cell per unit mass, for vehicle batteries up to 450Wh/kg at the cell level.
This increases the range EVs can travel with a single charge. Mercedes claims that the EQS prototype is expected to have a range of over 1,000 km (620 miles).
This is a 25% increase in driving range compared to the same battery weight and size of a corresponding standard EQS battery.
Siyu Huang, CEO and co-founder of Factorial Energy, said: “Being the first to successfully integrate lithium metal solid-state batteries into a production vehicle platform marks a historic achievement in electric mobility.
“This breakthrough demonstrates that solid-state battery technology has moved beyond the laboratory and into real-world application, setting a new benchmark for the entire automotive industry.
“Our collaboration with Mercedes-Benz proves that the future of electric vehicles is not just a vision, but a reality we’re delivering today.”
A 2024 report warned that the UK needed to rapidly increase investment in domestic battery production to keep up with the predicted increase in demand for EVs.
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