Honda Has A New Partner For Solid-State EV Batteries

• Honda is teaming up with QuantumScape, a solid-state battery startup. 
• The two companies will work together to develop solid-state cells and manufacturing processes. 
• Honda sees “a range of applications, including automotive” for QuantumScape cells. 

The race to put next-generation batteries in electric cars is heating up. Honda is teaming up with QuantumScape, a battery startup, to develop solid-state batteries for EVs and other applications, the companies announced on Thursday. 

Honda has quietly been evaluating QuantumScape’s technology, and now the companies are moving to the next stage and making their partnership public. The “joint research agreement,” QuantumScape says, “includes a multi-year plan focused on solid-state battery development and associated manufacturing processes.” Honda recently scrapped plans for a series of next-generation EVs that were supposed to start hitting the U.S. this year. Evidently, the company still sees EVs as an opportunity over the longer term. 

Honda recently canceled plans for a slew of next-generation EVs to follow up the GM-based Honda Prologue (pictured here) and Acura ZDX.

Photo by: Honda

Solid-state batteries, which trade the conventional liquid electrolyte for a solid one, are often referred to as the “holy grail” of battery technology. These cells can, in theory, be safer, faster-charging, and more energy-dense than the lithium-ion batteries that EVs use today. But it’s been a long road getting them to market.

Tiny solid-state cells have been present in medical devices for decades. Scaling up the batteries to sizes and capacities that work in cars, then mass-producing them, has been the latest challenge. Gel-based semi-solid batteries are in production cars in China, and they’re being tested in the U.S. too. But true solid-state batteries have not made it into EVs you can buy. (Donut Lab, a startup, says it developed a solid-state pack that’s shipping in a motorcycle, but those claims are still unverified and have recently been called into doubt.)

Earlier this year, QuantumScape hit a milestone when it kicked off pilot production of its lithium-metal cells on a fully automated manufacturing line in San Jose. The company doesn’t want to be a supplier in the traditional sense; instead it’s aiming for automakers to license its IP and manufacturing process and make cells themselves. QuantumScape is also working with the Volkswagen Group, which it counts as an investor. 

Automakers have been eyeing solid-state tech for years. Toyota touted investments in the technology as far back as 2010. General Motors is testing solid-state cells in its battery lab. Honda has been working on solid-state too, and making some pretty big claims about what it could do for EVs of the future. 

In 2024, it said its solid-state batteries would be 50% smaller, 35% lighter, and 25% cheaper to manufacture than current cells, while offering a range of 620 miles on a full charge. Of course, that was before the automaker canceled its upcoming 0 Series platform and went back to the drawing board. By 2040, Honda said, solid-state EVs could travel 776 miles between pit stops. 

Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com