Automotive
Electric vehicles – the what, how and when of solid state batteries
By Denis Pasero, product manager, Ilika Technologies
S
olid state batteries (SSBs) have been hailed as the next generation of rechargeable batteries, expecting to surpass lithium- ion batteries (LIBs) to provide
longer range to electric vehicles (EV), higher power to consumer electronics devices and much better safety. Yet, despite the industrialisation of this novel technology having been around the corner for a few years, full-scale commercialisation has not yet happened. This article explains how solid state batteries will make a difference and when we should expect their roll out.
What are solid state batteries? Simply speaking, SSBs are a variant of LIBs where the liquid electrolyte has been replaced by solid materials. The electrolyte is the medium that transports lithium ions from the cathode to the anode during the charging of the battery, and vice versa during use: these mechanisms are balanced by the creation of an electric current in and out of the battery.
Liquids are a good medium when it comes to providing high power (thanks to low interface resistances) but they have
28 July/August2026
drawbacks: liquid electrolytes are toxic and corrosive, their reactivity limiting how many times the batteries can be charged; the liquid electrolyte is also at the centre of well-publicised fires and explosions of LIB (also called thermal runaway). We live in a world of social media and rapid consumption of news, so LIB fires are very visual but actually, it is a myth that LIB are not safe. They are statistically much safer than current internal combustion engines in petrol and diesel vehicles.
The reason EVs are so safe is that battery pack designers use complex electronics (Battery Management System, BMS), physical structure protection and robust cooling systems. These components in the battery pack add a lot of weight to the vehicle but make it very safe to drive.
How solid are solid state batteries (and does it matter?)
There is a full spectrum of “solidity” between the current LIBs that can be found in EVs and mobile phones, and the so-called ‘all-solid- state-batteries’, which are designed with 100 per cent fully-solid materials. In between are confusing nomenclatures, like semi-solid,
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quasi-solid, solid-liquid hybrid… with various levels of solid content. Unless you are a materials scientist or a battery aficionado, what you call SSBs should not matter: what really matters are the benefits that SSB cells provide to the design of the battery pack and how this impacts the vehicle’s driving experience. But in reality, battery cell
chemistry is closely linked to how EVs perform and higher levels of solidity unlock the most attractive features of SSB.
One such characteristic is the ability to eliminate thermal runaway completely or delay the event sufficiently to allow passengers to escape the vehicle in case of collision or internal fault. As mentioned
Ilika scientist inspecting a Goliath material in an electronic microscope
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