ProLogium Introduces 2nd-Gen Solid-State Battery, Porsche Consolidates Battery Production
ees Europe is an annual event that brings together battery and energy storage specialists from all around the world. Last week at ees 2023 in Munich, ProLogium introduced its second-generation solid-state battery, which is claims can create packs that have double the energy density of traditional packs that use conventional lithium-ion cylindrical cells. Increasing the size of the battery to reduce the number of cells in a pack is an effective way to optimize the configuration of battery pack, the company says.
ProLogium calls its next-generation solid-state product a “large footprint lithium ceramic battery,” or LLCB for short. The concept is similar to the thinking behind the Tesla 4680 cylindrical cells — more energy storage medium + less packaging = higher energy density. Unlike the 4680 cells, however, the ProLogium solution is a large rectangular cell that dwarfs conventional cylindrical cells. See the graphic above for a visual comparison.
In May, the Taiwanese company announced it will build its first overseas solid-state battery factory in Dunkirk, France, this year. That factory will require an investment of €5.2 billion and have a total planned capacity of 48 GWh a year once all phases of the project are completed. The Dunkirk factory will serve as a manufacturing base to supply the European EV market, enabling ProLogium to mass produce its next-generation solid-state batteries and localize its R&D and supply chain ahead of its competitors.
“With a clear roadmap for capacity ramp-up and technology development, we are making an all-out effort to accelerate the electrification revolution by providing improved energy solutions to our partners,” said Vincent Yang, CEO and founder of ProLogium Technology. “Last year, we announced the first solid state battery with 100% silicon oxide anode designed to enable higher energy density at the cell level. Now, we are pleased to present the LLCB, another pioneering battery concept that will take EV battery design to the next level in terms of long range, light weight and design flexibility. ”
Thanks to the unique structure of its large-format solid-state battery, ProLogium says it has surpassed the limits of liquid type batteries in terms of surface area and capacity. Its LLCB allows for a reduced number of cells and the omission of parallel connections inside the battery pack. The simplified pack structure can in turn facilitate ease of maintenance and reduction of ownership cost. In addition, its flat shape and the excellent thermal conductivity of the solid-state ceramic electrolyte make the cooling system for an LLCB battery pack much less complex, which makes it possible to have more energy storage capacity within a given space.
“In other words, the LLCB will enable greater design flexibility for EVs,” said Simon Wu, assistant vice president of ProLogium Technology. “For the same space as the mainstream 2170 EV battery pack, the LLCB pack’s volumetric energy density can be nearly doubled, and for the same total energy, the LLCB pack’s weight can be cut by up to 115 kg. More importantly, the LLCB production processes will produce less waste in terms of substrate materials, and the reduced number of cells will require less raw materials, which means increased sustainability and affordability.”
Polun Cheng, the head of project management for the company, said, “ProLogium is currently cooperating with FEV, a globally leading engineering provider in the automotive industry and internationally recognized leader of innovation across different sectors and industries, to carry out verification tests of the LLCB and design applicable solutions. Samples are targeted to be delivered to European car OEMs for testing as early as the end of 2023.”
According to ArenaEV, ProLogium’s claim that its LLCB battery pack doubles the energy density of battery packs that use current battery technology means that a Mercedes EQE 350+ could double its capacity from about 90 kWh to nearly 180 kWh, which would increase its driving range by 79% to 447 miles. Sharp-eyed readers will note right away that a 180 kWh battery would probably cost about double what a 90 kWh pack does, but if you are a Mercedes customer, that may not be a problem. Here’s a helpful video that explains more about the ProLogium LLCB:
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Porsche Charts Its Own Battery Strategy
Porsche entered into a partnership in 2021 with Customcells to manufacture high-performance battery cells for its electric cars. The partnership was called Cellforce Group, and it planned to manufacture about 100 MWh of batteries a year. Now, Germany’s Manager Magazin reports Porsche has bought out Cellforce and has upped its goal for the new battery factory to 20 GWh a year — enough to power 180,000 to 200,000 electric vehicles a year. The new factory will reportedly require an investment of around €1 billion. Production is expected to begin early next year and increase over the next few years until full capacity is reached.
It has been widely reported that Porsche is intent on bringing battery manufacturing in-house, and building a battery supply chain that is largely based in Europe. At the present time, its primary battery supplier is LG Energy Solution. There are a lot of moving pieces in its battery strategy, however.
Cellforce entered into a partnership with Siemens in May that would focus on the entire battery development and manufacturing process. It also entered into several other partnerships, including a system for coating electrodes for high-performance battery cells from Dürr.
We do not know at this point if that news is related to the recent announcement by Volkswagen Group that it has perfected a new process for dry coating battery components. According to Der Spiegel (paywall), the dry coating process reduces energy consumption in the production of battery cells by 30%, which could lower the cost of electric cars by several hundred euros per vehicle. In addition to the coating technology provided by Dürr, Trumpf, a mechanical engineering company, is contributing its high-precision laser technology as part of a strategic cooperation.
Customcells apparently is doing just fine, though, after being pushed out of the Cellforce joint venture by Porsche. Electrive reports that it has agreed on a “project-based partnership” with the Californian battery developer OneD Battery Sciences located in Palo Alto, California. Together they will pursue the development and commercialization of battery cells for an unnamed automotive OEM. That OEM is General Motors (GM), according to Electrive.
The Takeaway
In 2022, Porsche manufactured 309,884 cars. If it has plans to sell 200,000 electric cars within the next few years, it seems safe to say the EV revolution is well underway. As for ProLogium, more energy density could mean longer-range vehicles, but it could also mean smaller, lighter battery packs with the same performance as today’s larger, heavier packs. There is no word on the cost of its LLCBs, however. To this point, solid-state batteries have promised many advantages, but low cost is not one of them. Exciting times ahead.
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