Nissan on Friday unveiled a pilot production facility for solid-state battery cells, which the automaker hopes to bring to market in 2028.
Located within the Nissan Research Center in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, the facility will allow engineers to study materials, design, and manufacturing processes that can be used in future full-scale production, Nissan said in a press release. The automaker also plans to open a pilot solid-state battery production line at its Yokohama Plant in fiscal year 2024.
Nissan believes solid-state batteries will dramatically lower costs through the use of less-expensive materials. The technology will reduce cell costs to $75 per kwh in fiscal year 2028 and $65 per kwh after that, allowing EVs to achieve price parity with internal-combustion vehicles, the automaker said.
Nissan solid-state battery prototype production
Solid-state batteries will also have twice the energy density of conventional lithium-ion battery cells, allowing more energy to be stored in a given volume, and will be able to charge more quickly, according to Nissan.
These potential benefits have attracted several other automakers to solid-state batteries. Like Nissan, Toyota is taking an in-house approach, aiming to have workable solid-state batteries later this decade. Other automakers have invested in startups. Volkswagen is backing QuantumScape; BMW and Ford have invested in Solid Power; and Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis have funded Factorial Energy.
This new battery tech is one aspect of an electrification push announced in November 2021. Dubbed Nissan Ambition 2030, the plan calls for 15 new battery-electric models across the Nissan and Infiniti brands by 2030. That includes a Nissan and Infiniti model to be built at the automaker's Canton, Mississippi, factory beginning in 2025. Nissan wants EVs to make up 40% of its U.S. sales by 2030.