VW Group aims for road-ready solid-state battery by 2030

The Volkswagen Group is aiming to have solid-state batteries ready for production by 2030, having started testing the breakthrough technology in a Ducati motorbike.

The first Group prototype to use solid-state cells is based on the Italian bike maker’s V21L MotoE racer – but the cells are designed to transfer into cars with minimal changes once the technology is ready. 

Solid-state batteries promise greater energy density – giving manufacturers greater flexibility to increase an EV's range within the same battery footprint or to reduce its weight with a smaller pack without sacrificing range – as well as faster charging speeds.

Officially, the decision to trial the technology in a bike was taken because of the additional performance it promises, with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali calling it a “perfect fit”. 

Indeed, the significantly greater energy density of a solid-state battery compared with a conventional lithium ion battery could be key to resolving the weight, range and packaging problems faced by electric motorbike manufacturers.

But testing the technology in the V21L – in which the battery pack is a stressed part of the chassis, likely facing much greater forces than in an electric car’s 'skateboard' chassis – could also yield important findings in improving the durability of solid-state cells. 

This has been a significant roadblock in their development thus far: natural chemical processes create cracks inside the ceramic electrolytes of solid-state cells and these can be exacerbated by external forces.

The Volkswagen Group said its battery-making spin-off PowerCo and solid-state battery company QuantumScape are working to develop a commercially viable solution by the end of this decade.

It added that this solution will be based around its Unified Cell, a new prismatic cell design that will first be used by the Electric Urban Car Family – the Cupra Raval, Skoda Epiq, Volkswagen ID Polo and Volkswagen ID Cross.