Yu Jingmin, executive deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle, revealed in a media interview that SAICs self-developed all-solid state battery will be first installed on an MG car. It’s believed the vehicle will be launched in the second quarter of 2025. He also mentioned that the forthcoming electric MG S5 model will launch in November of this year.
Over the last year, several Chinese companies have made statements regarding solid-state batteries. As yet, none have managed to produce a commercially available all-solid state unit. They join international players, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Hyundai-Kia, Nissan, and Toyota, who claim to be working on such technology and claim that vehicles will have ranges in excess of 1000 km.
The crucial difference between a solid-state battery and the existing types of batteries used is that the electrolyte in a solid-state battery, as its name suggests, is solid whereas in current batteries it is liquid. This allows the battery, partly by not having a separator, to reduce the volume by 40% and the mass by 25% thereby increasing energy density. Such batteries claim to have a longer useful life with up to 45,000 cycles together with being able to be used in a wide range of temperatures, -25°C-60°C. Solid electrolytes are not flammable, corrosive, or volatile, making them far safer and preventing any leakage risk.
The main problem with making solid-state batteries commercially viable is being able to produce them cheaply enough through mass production. Presumably, the batteries will debut in 2025 on a high-end MG model, possibly the Cyber GTS which was unveiled at Goodwood earlier this year.
In the same speech Yu Jingmin mentioned about the S5 model launching in November. This car is a relatively small electric SUV that uses lithium iron phosphate batteries. It will not be possible to fit a solid-state battery in such a model for a long time until 2030 at the earliest. Initially, such batteries will be exclusive to more high-end models and competing against NCM chemistry batteries. Xu Yanhua, Secretary-General of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, has stated that before 2030 the battery market in China will still be dominated by liquid batteries.
Likely riding on the same platform as the MG 4, the MG S5 has dimensions of 4476, 1849, and 1621 mm (l/w/h) and a wheelbase of 2730 mm. It uses a 125 kW electric motor mounted on the rear axle. The car’s weight ranges between 1615 and 1740 kg.
Source: Autohome
