The Taiwanese solid-state battery cell manufacturer ProLogium recently revealed its next-generation solid-state battery and manufacturing technologies at EES Expo, Europe’s largest battery and energy storage technology.
Mercedes-Benz partner announced its plan to set up its first overseas solid-state battery gigafactory in Dunkirk, France in mid-May. With a total €5.2 billion in investment and a total planned capacity of 48 GWh to be deployed in phases, the Dunkirk gigafactory 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. ”
Brand New Cell Design for Optimized Range, Performance, and Sustainability
Increasing the battery size to reduce the number of cells in a pack is an effective way to optimize the configuration of battery pack. A case in point is the current trend of cylindrical battery dimension transitioning from 21 x 70 mm to 46 x 80 mm.
The same concept can be applied to solid-state battery. Taking advantage of the solid-state battery’s unique structure and manufacturing process, ProLogium has surpassed the limits of liquid type batteries in terms of surface area and capacity, and has succeeded in developing a large-footprint, high-capacity battery product — LLCB, which 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.
Moreover, the LLCB’s flat shape and the excellent thermal conductivity of the solid-state ceramic electrolyte combined can make the design of pack cooling system much less complex, thereby optimizing space utilization.
“In other words, the LLCB will enable greater design flexibility for EVs,” remarked Simon Wu, Assistant Vice President of ProLogium Technology Product Center. “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, Global Project Management AVP of ProLogium Technology, 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.”
