Toyota, Idemitsu tie up to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries

October 15, 2023

By Chang-Ran Kim

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor and Idemitsu Kosan have formed an alliance to develop and mass-produce all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, the companies said on Thursday.

The partnership follows an announcement in June by Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker by sales, that it would introduce the high-performance batteries to improve the driving range and reduce costs of future EVs in a strategic pivot.

Toyota, which has been slow in adopting pure-battery powered EVs, trumpeted at the time a “technological breakthrough” that addresses durability problems in solid-state batteries and said it is developing means to mass produce those batteries.

Idemitsu and Toyota said in a statement on Thursday they would aim to commercialise the next-generation batteries in 2027-28, followed by full-scale mass production.

Toyota President Koji Sato and Idemitsu President Shunichi Kito will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Thursday.

Solid-state batteries can hold more energy than current liquid electrolyte batteries and automakers and analysts expect them to speed transition to EVs.

Toyota, Idemitsu tie up to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries — FILE PHOTO: A worker cleans Toyota’s Electric Vehicle bZ4X, that is displayed during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia, August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo

An EV powered by a solid-state battery would have a range of 1,200 km and charging time of just 10 minutes, according to Toyota.

Still, such batteries are expensive and likely to remain so for years.

Idemitsu, Japan’s second-biggest oil refiner, has been expanding into EV battery supply chains, increasing its stake in Australian lithium developer Delta Lithium to 15% earlier this year amid a global push by automakers to electrify their fleets.