Global companies are pouring money into developing the next generation of CR1620 battery

　　"Lithium battery technology has almost reached its ceiling now. If you really want to increase energy density, you have to use a completely different technology." Yifei Mo, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Maryland, said. "Higher energy density means cheaper, lighter CR1620 battery that can be used longer on a single charge."

　　Fortunately, some battery startups are working hard to develop better battery technology. Their ideal new battery is lower cost, higher energy density, and better performance, suitable for industrial and consumer technology products, as well as electric vehicles with faster charging and longer driving distance.

　　Starting this year, several battery technology startups believe that they have mastered better battery technology than lithium CR1620 battery and plan to introduce them to the commercial market.

　　"It took us eight years and about 35,000 material attempts to make something commercially viable," said Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of Sila Nanotechnology.

　　In fact, Sila Nanotechnology is just one of several battery startups that have recently received a lot of funding to continue to optimize their battery technology. Last year, the Alameda, California-based company received $70 million in Series D funding from multiple investors, including Siemens Global Ventures, to build its first commercial production line for silicon anode CR1620 battery.

　　It should be noted that Berdichevsky, a mechanical and energy engineer, was Tesla's seventh employee a decade ago and led the design of the battery system for the Tesla Roadster.

　　Analysts believe that the lithium battery revolution that is gradually emerging has been brewing for about 10 years of research. Only now are startups ready for the commercialization of these new technologies.

　　"The materials required for a car are equivalent to 10,000 smartphones or 1,000 smart watches," Berdichevsky said. "We will start with consumer devices and gradually expand our cooperation with automotive partners over the next five years."

　　BMW has now become one of Sila's automotive partners.

　　At present, lithium CR1620 battery are subject to various limitations in terms of material composition and physical energy density. New battery technology attempts to improve the safety and energy efficiency of lithium CR1620 battery, that is, if the battery overheats or is damaged, there is no risk of fire.

　　A new battery technology is the solid-state battery, which not only replaces the graphite anode with lithium metal, but also replaces the liquid electrolyte and separator with a solid piece (usually ceramic, glass or flame-retardant polymer). The first to adopt this approach in the industry is Solid Power, a solid-state battery manufacturer based in Colorado, which received $20 million in Series A financing in 2018.

　　According to Solid Power executives, the battery they are developing will increase energy density by at least 50%.

　　Quantumscape, a rather mysterious Stanford University spin-off company, is also working with Volkswagen to develop a solid-state battery. Last year, Volkswagen increased its stake in the former by $100 million. PitchBook data shows that the San Jose-based startup is now valued at $1.75 billion. .

　　Media reports say that Quantumscape's battery will enable Volkswagen's E-Golf model to travel 466 miles (about 750 kilometers) on a single charge, making it comparable to the range of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. According to Volkswagen, Quantumscape's battery will also be lighter and have a faster charging speed than existing lithium CR1620 battery.

　　However, as a Nissan vice president said last year, a new generation of solid-state CR1620 battery may not be widely used until the next decade. Even in Quantumscape’s press release, we see that it has set a goal of “commercial production in 2025”.

Read recommendations:

LR20

Some performance requirements of high magnification batteries.902030 polymer battery

How safe are lithium-ion batteries?

AA Ni-MH battery maker

401030 lipo battery