Nissan revealed a prototype production facility in Yokohama, Japan, on Friday, where the company says it plans to manufacture solid-state batteries for use in electric vehicles. The company said in a statement that it plans “to establish a pilot production line at its Yokohama Plant in fiscal 2024, with materials, design and manufacturing processes for prototype production on the line to be studied at the prototype production facility.” Nissan aims to bring its first EV with all-solid-state batteries to market in 2028.
All-solid-state batteries could, in theory, charge more quickly, hold more power, and last longer than lithium-ion batteries that most EVs use now. Nissan said it expects to eventually use the batteries across its vehicle lineup, including its pickup trucks. It said its all-solid-state batteries could reduce the price of battery packs to $75 per kWh by 2028 and eventually to $65 per kWh. The batteries should help make EVs much more affordable and eventually put them at the same price point as gasoline-powered vehicles.
Other carmakers are also working to develop solid-state batteries as well. Volkswagen-backed QuantumScape plans to start selling them in 2024, and Ford says it will have the all-solid-state batteries it’s developing ready by the end of the decade. Toyota said last year that it wants to start manufacturing the batteries by the mid-2020s but said it has to continue research into the technology; at present, all-solid-state batteries are costly to make.