Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) yesterday unveiled a prototype solid-state swappable battery that it developed with ProLogium Technology Co (輝能科技), saying that it would provide greater range for its electric scooters.
Gogoro said it plans to introduce the higher-density lithium ceramic batteries in the next three to four years.
The development makes Gogoro a global leader in solid-state lithium ceramic batteries, following similar developments by leading automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Co and Mercedes-Benz.
Photo courtesy of Gogoro Inc
Without flammable liquid electrolytes, solid-state lithium ceramic batteries are considered safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
“We partnered with ProLogium Technology, a global leader in solid-state battery innovation, to develop this new battery that delivers higher-energy density for better range, improved stability and safety, and is reverse compatible with all existing Gogoro-powered vehicles,” Gogoro chairman Horace Luke (陸學森) said in a statement.
Gogoro, an electric scooter maker and battery swapping solutions provider, has estimated that its solid-state batteries would increase capacity of its lithium batteries by 47 percent to 2.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) from 1.7kWh.
Gogoro said that it does not plan to make an equity investment in ProLogium.
The company said that it would start introducing the batteries for its various generations of electric scooters when the technology strikes a balance between manufacturing costs, power capacity and safety.
Since 2015, Gogoro has made 1 million lithium-ion battery packs.
Solid-state lithium batteries are mostly the subject of research or are in pilot production and their manufacturing costs are much higher than traditional lithium-ion batteries. No company has successfully commercialized the technology yet.
ProLogium, headquartered in Taoyuan, said that it has made better progress than its global rivals and is building a mass production line in Taoyuan with an annual capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) to 3GW.
The production line is to start operations at the end of this year, Lisa Hsu (許容禎), the company’s deputy director for marketing, said yesterday.
The company believes that it has a good opportunity to reduce the manufacturing costs of solid-state ceramic batteries to a level similar to traditional lithium-ion batteries over the next few years, when its battery manufacturing capacity increases to about 30GW, Hsu said.
ProLogium has provided nearly 8,000 solid-state battery cells to global automakers for testing and module development since its establishment in 2006.
Honda Motor Co absorbing Nissan Motor Co could give the two struggling Japanese brands the scale they need to take on China’s BYD Co (比亞迪), sales figures released yesterday showed. Honda, which earlier this week sketched out plans for a deal that amounts to an acquisition of Nissan, sold 3.43 million cars globally in the first 11 months of this year. Nissan said it sold just over 3 million. China’s biggest automaker BYD sold 3.76 million vehicles over the same period — a clear illustration of how Nissan and Honda are weak alone, but together might have a fighting chance. Honda and Nissan
SEMICONDUCTORS: Samsung and Texas Instruments would receive US$4.75 billion and US$1.6 billion respectively to build one chip factory in Utah and two in Texas Samsung Electronics Co and Texas Instruments Inc completed final agreements to get billions of US dollars of government support for new semiconductor plants in the US, cementing a major piece of US President Joe Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act initiative. Under binding agreements unveiled Friday, Samsung would get as much as US$4.75 billion in funding, while Texas Instruments stands to receive US$1.6 billion — money that would help them build facilities in Texas and Utah. The final deals mean the chipmakers can begin collecting the funding when their projects hit certain benchmarks. Though the terms of Texas Instruments’ final agreement is
Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs. Unlike their mass-produced cousins, the tough garments crafted at the small Momotaro Jeans factory in southwest Japan are designed to be worn for decades, and come with a lifetime repair warranty. On site, Yoshiharu Okamoto gently dips cotton strings into a tub of deep blue liquid, which stains his hands and nails as he repeats the process. The cotton is imported from Zimbabwe, but the natural indigo they use is harvested in Japan —
Japan ramped up its warnings against currency speculation on Friday after the yen slid to a five-month low following a hint from the central bank chief that he might wait longer than expected before raising interest rates. “The government’s deeply concerned about recent currency moves, including those driven by speculators,” Japanese Minister of Finance Katsunobu Kato said. “We will take appropriate action if there are excessive moves in the currency market.” The yen regained some ground against the dollar after Kato’s remarks, strengthening to as much as ￥156.89 after earlier weakening to ￥157.93. The Japanese currency strengthened a little further after currency
RSS