Nio president previously mentioned that its 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery pack costs about the same as an ET5, which starts at RMB 298,000.

Advances in technology are expected to bring down the cost of solid-state batteries, and the latest comments from Chinese battery maker Sunwoda reveal the extent of the likely decline.

Through technological innovation, Sunwoda expects to be able to reduce the cost of polymer-based all-solid-state batteries to RMB 2 ($0.275) per Wh by 2026, close to the cost of semi-solid-state batteries, according to a report in China Daily today.

This is the first time Sunwoda has publicly disclosed its progress on all-solid-state batteries in detail, the story noted.

Solid-state batteries started gaining traction in China after Nio (NYSE: NIO) announced a 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery when it unveiled its ET7 sedan at the January 9, 2021 Nio Day 2020 event.

Nio's semi-solid-state battery pack began trial operations in May of this year after several delays, and became officially operational on a daily rental basis in June.

The semi-solid battery's cells come from local startup Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology and have an energy density of 360 Wh/kg.

Due to the new technology, the 150-kWh battery pack is currently costly, with Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong mentioning in February 2023 that the pack costs about the same as an ET5.

The ET5 sedan is Nio's least expensive model at the moment, with a starting price of RMB 298,000 including the battery.

If Sunwoda's prediction comes true, it would mean that by 2026, the cost of an all-solid-state battery with a capacity of 150 kWh is expected to be reduced to around RMB 300,000 yuan.

Sunwoda has already developed all-solid-state batteries with capacities up to 20 Ah and energy densities of more than 400 Wh/kg, China Daily quoted Xu Zhongling, vice-president of research and development at Sunwoda, as saying.

The company is building an all-solid-state battery production line and expects to realize mass production in 2026, with a capacity of up to 1 GWh, Sunwoda said.

Sunwoda is also further increasing the energy density of solid-state batteries to 500 Wh/kg by using lithium metal in the negative electrode, and has lab prototype samples available, Xu said.

Sunwoda expects to complete lab samples of all-solid-state batteries with energy densities exceeding 700 Wh/kg by 2027, according to the report.

($1 = RMB 7.2734)

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