Toyota Confirms Prototype Solid-State Battery

Toyota Motor Corp. is moving ahead with plans to showcase a prototype electric vehicle powered by a solid-state battery at next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Solid-state systems, which don’t use a liquid electrolye, promise faster charging and increased driving range. But Chief Technology Officer Shigeki Terashi tells Autocar such systems aren’t likely to appear in mass-production vehicles until about 2025.

California-based Fisker Inc. is targeting a 2023 introduction for the solid-state battery it is developing. Most other carmakers don’t envision the technology being ready until the end of next decade.

Last year Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched a consortium to accelerate the development and commercialization of solid-state batteries. The initiative includes Honda, GS Yuasa, Nissan, Panasonic and Toyota, which aims to sell 5.5 million electrified vehicles per year by 2025.

Toyota’s Olympic show car likely will be based on the autonomous e-Palette concept EV (pictured) that was unveiled in early 2018. An updated version of the of the shuttle is expected to bow at this month’s Tokyo auto show.