AUTOMOTIVE
Batteries, Solid-State, and Hydrogen
Panasonic broke ground on a $4B battery factory in Kansas. The plant will produce batteries for Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y EVs while working with the automaker to develop next-gen 4680 power cells sometime in 2024.
Honda, on the other hand, says next-gen isn't next-gen enough. The Japanese automaker has sights on solid-state electrification by the end of the decade. While an early leader in hybrid technology, the company has shown comparatively little drive toward electrification.
Honda CEO and President says the company will begin small-scale production of solid-state batteries for cars and motorcycles in 2024. If all goes according to plan, vehicles using the tech will launch to the public before 2030.
What the heck is a solid-state battery? Glad you asked! We have all heard a lot of talk (and then some more talk) about how solid-state batteries will change the whole EV game. Let's summarize the claims and challenges!
✅Lighter weight, greater efficiency, quicker charging, and cheaper/cleaner production make solid-state batteries seem too good to be true.
🚫40 years of companies like Exxon, Duracell, Toshiba, and Sony not figuring it out also make the tech seem too good to be true (but in a bad way).
Ok, so Honda is lying? Nah. Honda's 2024 - 2029 timeline and its history of not wearing flaming pants indicate it may be time for solid-state to join the world of carbon-neutral aspirations.
Of course, these two Lithium-based options are not the only game in town. Nikola is quietly making hydrogen-based vehicles a real contender for public adoption. Currently only producing semi trucks, the company grabbed higher revenue ($24.2M vs. $22.1M) and lower losses than expected for Q3.
The company's stock took a hit due to reduced production expectations for 2022, but it has made impressive work on its hydrogen refueling network.
Crystal Ball - This isn’t a reference to looking into the future, it is our guess about which unsuspected new power source will be all the rage by 2040.
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