Is Elevated Operational Temperature a Barrier to Solid-State Battery Adoption?

Numerous challenges stand in the way of transitioning the automotive sector to electrified propulsion. One of the key challenges is the vehicle range, which is inherently related to the energy density of the batteries used. All-solid-state-batteries provide a promising solution, as they enable the use of lithium metal anodes which provide higher gravimetric and volumetric energy densities. Currently, only solid-polymer electrolyte (SPE) batteries have been made commercially viable. The main drawback for these is that they must be heated to 60-80°C due to their low ionic conductivity below these temperatures. Through the use of a vehicle simulation this work demonstrates, by segmenting and thermally isolating a SPE battery, it is possible to heat each module quickly enough to ensure there is always sufficient energy available once a small initial liquid electrolyte module is drained. This heat is primarily drawn from thermal energy generated by the motor and operating battery modules, supplemented by additional resistive heating. Additionally, the viability of such a system would be greatly increased if current cathode issues are resolved that limit the densities to 125% that of liquid electrolyte batteries, as less energy would be required to heat the same storage capacity.