Battery Technology

China's CATL – the world's largest EV battery producer – has launched TENER, which is described as the "world's first mass-producible energy storage system with zero degradation in the first five years of use."

IM motors has decided that semi solid-state batteries are ready for prime time. In an omen of what Western automakers will need to contend with, it's now launched a futuristic luxury coupe with a next-gen battery pack and crab-walking capability.

High-density lithium batteries hold vast amounts of energy – and when they drop their guts, they can do so in absolutely spectacular destructive fashion. So researchers have built fire extinguishing capabilities right into the cells themselves.

Taiwan's battery-swap and e-scoot company Gogoro is about to land on South American soil, thanks to a partnership with energy company Copec. The move will see GoStations and electric Smartscooters roll out in Chile and Colombia.

Researchers developed a battery-less sensor that reacts to particular sounds, like spoken words, producing vibrational energy to power an electronic device. It could power medical devices like cochlear implants or monitor buildings for faults.

Causality is key to our experience of reality: dropping a glass, for example, causes it to smash, so it can’t smash before it’s dropped. But scientists have now demonstrated how that understanding of time can be violated to charge a quantum battery.

Fourth Power says its ultra-high temperature "sun in a box" energy storage tech is more than 10X cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, and vastly more powerful and efficient than any other thermal battery. It's hoping to prove it with a 1-MWh prototype.

Multi-brand automaker Stellantis has partnered with San Francisco's Ample to bring battery-swapping to its electric vehicles, starting with a fleet of ride-sharing Fiat 500e cars in Spain.

Last year, BMW and Michigan startup Our Next Energy (ONE) announced a partnership to test the latter's Gemini battery system. The initial results are in, and the project proved quite successful, pushing the BMW iX to just over 600 miles a charge.

Israeli battery startup StoreDot says its "100-in-5" batteries are on track for mass production readiness by 2025. It is now teaming with Polestar to present the first full-scale prototype using the extreme fast charging (XFC) battery tech.

Bill Gates-backed startup Antora Energy is preparing to roll out a containerized, modular heat battery, designed to store renewable energy at the lowest possible cost – then release it efficiently as electricity or industrial process heat.

The Chinese company launched what it calls the "world's first 4C superfast charging LFP battery," the Shenxing, at its 2023 product launch event. With a total range over 700 km, it's also designed for exceptional performance in freezing conditions.