Car companies are investing billions of dollars in research and development in the race to make an affordable electric car that can compete with any other car on the market. Tesla was one of the first to attempt to introduce an affordable electric car to the masses. Unfortunately, the prices are much too high for the average consumer.
The major issue is that current battery technology is not practical for main-stream car manufacturing. “Most current electric cars are powered by “wet” lithium-ion batteries — essentially bigger version of the ones that power your phone, or your laptop” (O’Kane). These batteries are expensive and drive up the cost of electric cars. Lithium-ion batteries are also known to catch fire if the liquid electrolytes inside do not run properly.
The solution within the automotive industry is to shift towards solid-state batteries. While still in production, these batteries will allow electric cars to charge faster and more safely. The charge will also last longer and batteries will last much longer as well, saving consumers on maintenance and battery costs over the life of the car. Another advantage of solid-state batteries is that less room in the battery has to be devoted to temperature control, allowing more battery cells to fit into a pack.
Volkswagen pledged $48 billion to battery manufacturers in Asia. Obviously, car manufacturers understand the value in battery research. It is unknown if solid-state batteries will ever work its way into main-stream electric car manufacturing, but the automotive industry believes this could be a revolutionary change in the near future.
Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/16/17695866/henrik-fisker-solid-state-batteries-electric-cars
https://www.caranddriver.com/tesla
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