Chinese carmaker Chery Auto plans to start trial testing of its solid-state batteries (batteries with solid electrolyte) in 2026 and mass-produce them in 2027. The idea is to increase the range of electric vehicles to 1,500 kilometers on a single charge .
China’s biggest car exporter expects batteries to reach an energy density of 400 Wh/kg this year and reach 600 Wh/kg in 2025, Gao Xinhua, the company’s executive vice president, said at a global innovation conference. But Cherry is not the only Chinese manufacturer working on such batteries, and they are far from trying to develop only there.
Partner group GAC has come up with a similar target for 2026, while Changan, another Chinese state-owned carmaker, and CATL, China’s biggest battery supplier, have put the initial commercialization of solid-state batteries on their calendars for 2027. Japanese manufacturers also are targeting this technology as an important strategic tool in the electric car market. Toyota and Nissan plan mass production by 2028
These batteries use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid one to have higher thermal stability and energy density than existing ones. All this should also lead to a reduction in the risk of fire in electric cars.