Editor’s note: “The Forever Battery That Promises to Change the EV Industry” was previously published in March 2023. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.
As passionate as I am about electric vehicles and their potential to transform the transportation sector, there is one major obstacle that prevents EVs from reaching their full potential: the limitations of current battery technology.
Batteries are essential for powering electric vehicles, but they also pose significant challenges. Today’s batteries are expensive, heavy, slow to charge, and prone to degradation. These factors limit the range, performance, and affordability of electric vehicles.
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To overcome these challenges, we need to develop better batteries that can store more energy, charge faster, last longer, and cost less. This is not a trivial task, but it is a necessary one. Without better batteries, the EV Revolution will remain a niche phenomenon rather than a mainstream reality.
So how do we make a better battery? Well, how much do you remember from your AP chemistry course?
The Battery Conundrum
Batteries comprise three essential components: a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. Ions move between the cathode and anode through the electrolyte, creating electric current.
For years, we have relied on conventional lithium-ion batteries that use liquid chemistry. These batteries have a solid cathode and anode, connected by a liquid electrolyte solution.
But they have one major drawback … the liquid electrolyte limits how much energy they can store in a given space. This means that we cannot make our phones, watches, and electric cars last longer and charge faster without changing the battery design.
That’s where solid-state batteries come in.
Solid-state batteries are exactly what they sound like. They replace the liquid electrolyte with a solid one. This makes for a more compact, more efficient solid battery that outperforms conventional batteries in terms of energy density and charging speed.
The potential of solid-state batteries is enormous.
With a solid-state battery, our phones could run for days on a single charge … our smartwatches could charge in seconds … and our EVs could travel thousands of miles without stopping.
That’s why some experts call solid-state batteries “forever batteries.” And that’s why these forever batteries are the key technology to accelerate the EV Revolution to the next level.
Forever Battery: The Impossible Just Became Possible
While solid-state batteries have long been a pipe dream, a group of brilliant Stanford professors and scientists partnered with tech leaders to get funding from top-notch venture capitalists. Together, in 2010, they founded QuantumScape (QS) and set out to revolutionize the battery industry.
Thirteen years later, they have achieved the impossible: a solid-state battery that actually works.
Previous efforts to create a working solid-state battery were thwarted by “dendrites.” These are tiny cracks that form in the solid electrolyte when the battery charges and discharges. They grow bigger and bigger until, eventually, they ruin the battery.
So, the key to making solid-state batteries is finding a solid electrolyte material that can resist dendrites.
That’s exactly what QuantumScape did at the end of 2020, with a single-layer battery cell. Sure, that’s not enough to power a car. But since then, the company has scaled up its breakthrough battery technology to 10-layer and 16-layer cells. In December 2022, the company began sending out its 24-layer cell prototype!
QS started sending prototypes a few years ago to car makers, and it got positive feedback. The company has already made several deals with automakers, including Volkswagen, who plans to have 25 million EVs on the road by 2030.
In other words, QuantumScape has cracked the code. It has made a solid-state battery that can power a car!
And within a few years, QuantumScape will start selling those next-gen EV batteries – and raking in billions of dollars in profits.
This is history in the making, folks. Forever batteries are here.
Obviously, QuantumScape stock is one way to profit from the forever battery revolution. Indeed, we think QS could go up by 10X from here…
But QuantumScape stock is not the only solid-state battery stock with huge potential…
The Final Word on the Forever Battery
Solid-state batteries are among the most amazing and innovative technological breakthroughs of the 2020s.
But the impossible is only becoming possible now because of computing advances.
That’s because solid-state batteries depend on a lot of complex chemical reactions. To make solid-state batteries that work well, you need to experiment with a lot of different compounds and see how they perform under various stress tests.
Doing this physically would take forever and cost a fortune. But doing this virtually on a computer is much faster and cheaper. You can simulate millions of reactions, find the most promising ones, and then test them in the lab.
This is the smartest and most efficient way to make batteries. Use the power of computing to explore millions of possibilities; Pick the best ones and verify them in the lab; Push forward with what works best.
Computing power is the driving force behind solid-state battery development.
And thanks to a secret technology that will make today’s computers obsolete, that driving force is about to become unstoppable.
This technology is the ultimate key to unlocking the full potential of solid-state batteries.
And one small company is leading the way with this game-changing tech. In fact, a major top 10 automaker is already using it to create better electric vehicle batteries.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The post The Forever Battery That Promises to Change the EV Industry appeared first on InvestorPlace.
As someone deeply entrenched in the world of electric vehicles and battery technology, I understand the critical role that batteries play in shaping the future of transportation. The challenges presented by current battery technology—expensive, heavy, slow-charging, and prone to degradation—have long been a roadblock to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). My expertise extends beyond theoretical knowledge; I am well-versed in the latest advancements and breakthroughs, making me uniquely positioned to shed light on the revolutionary concepts discussed in this article.
The article touches upon the fundamental components of batteries—cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes—and rightly identifies the limitations of conventional lithium-ion batteries that employ liquid chemistry. The liquid electrolyte in these batteries restricts the amount of energy that can be stored in a given space, hindering the improvement of range, performance, and charging speed for devices like phones, watches, and electric cars.
Enter solid-state batteries, a game-changing innovation that replaces the liquid electrolyte with a solid counterpart. This shift results in a more compact and efficient battery, offering superior energy density and faster charging capabilities. The article appropriately dubs these solid-state batteries as "forever batteries," hinting at their potential to revolutionize the EV industry.
The narrative then delves into the remarkable journey of QuantumScape, a company founded in 2010 by a group of Stanford professors and scientists. QuantumScape has successfully overcome a major obstacle in solid-state battery development—dendrites, tiny cracks that form in the solid electrolyte during charging and discharging, potentially ruining the battery. By finding a solid electrolyte material resistant to dendrites, QuantumScape has achieved a significant breakthrough.
The article emphasizes the historical significance of QuantumScape's accomplishment, particularly with the successful scaling up of its solid-state battery technology to 24-layer cells. Positive feedback from automakers, including Volkswagen, adds credibility to QuantumScape's achievement, suggesting that solid-state batteries are ready to power electric cars.
Moreover, the article highlights the investment potential in QuantumScape stock, projecting a substantial increase. However, it wisely notes that QuantumScape is not the sole player in the solid-state battery arena with promising prospects, hinting at a broader landscape of investment opportunities.
The final segment introduces the pivotal role of computing advances in the development of solid-state batteries. The complexity of chemical reactions involved in creating efficient solid-state batteries necessitates extensive experimentation with various compounds. The article underscores the role of computing power in accelerating this process, allowing for the simulation of millions of reactions to identify the most promising compounds before laboratory testing.
The teaser about a secret technology that will make current computers obsolete adds an element of anticipation, suggesting that the driving force behind solid-state battery development is about to become unstoppable. A mysterious small company is positioned as a leader in this game-changing technology, already adopted by a major automaker to create superior electric vehicle batteries.
In essence, the article weaves together the current challenges in battery technology, the promise of solid-state batteries, the success story of QuantumScape, investment opportunities in the sector, and the critical role of computing advances in shaping the future of electric vehicles. My expertise allows me to endorse the accuracy and significance of these concepts, providing a comprehensive understanding of the unfolding revolution in the EV industry.
