MERCEDES MAKES AN EQS GO FARTHER THAN EVER BEFORE
The Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan can go an impressive distance on a single charge. Its longest-range variant in the US has a range of 390 miles. But future Mercedes models will likely go even farther, or could at least be massively lighter, thanks to the implementation of solid-state batteries. While they've long been talked about, the technology is actually approaching reality. Mercedes is proving that by testing a fully road-worthy EQS with a prototype solid-state battery in the real world, and it has impressive specifications.
Mercedes-Benz
While its roots trace back to the Benz Patent Motorwagen in 1895, Mercedes-Benz was officially founded in June 1926 when Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. (the world's oldest car company) merged to create Daimler-Benz. This German manufacturer of premium cars is historically known for its motorsport pedigree in early Grand Prix racing, its off-road prowess in the creation of military vehicles like the Genadewagen (now G-Class), and its focus on utmost luxury and technological innovation in models like the S-Class and SL. Today, it is one of the world's largest automakers.
The Test Car
The test car features a battery designed and built by the Mercedes battery division, AMG High Performance Propulsion Division, and a partner company called Factorial. We'll talk about Factorial more in a bit. The battery is based on a Factorial solid-state design, which features a solid or mostly solid electrolyte, rather than a liquid solution like current production batteries. It also uses a lithium-metal anode, which is lighter and packs more lithium than existing anodes in current lithium-ion batteries. This allows for up to 450 watt-hours of electricity per kilogram of weight. More practically, Mercedes says that a solid-state battery of the same weight and size of its current batteries with liquid electrolyte can provide 25% more range. That also means that a solid-state battery of equal range to a battery with liquid electrolyte, could be significantly lighter.
Next-Generation Mercedes EVs Will Have Battery Tech To Make Tesla Tremble
Factorial claims that the new solid-state batteries can boost EV range by as much as 80%.
In the case of the Mercedes EQS test vehicle, Mercedes aimed for improved range, and it claims the test car can go 620 miles on a charge. Keep in mind, that range is based on WLTP numbers, which are always significantly higher than EPA numbers. So going off of the US estimate of 390 miles for an EQS, that same vehicle would have a still-impressive range of 488 miles using the new solid-state battery.
Mercedes notes it's using a complete and fully-functional EQS, just adapted to use the new battery. Those adaptations are themselves interesting. For one thing, Mercedes switched from active cooling to passive. This saves additional weight by not having coolant, pumps, and coolers to get heat out of the battery.
Another change is the way the battery is mounted. It sits on pneumatic supports. Apparently the battery becomes larger and smaller in volume, depending on its state of charge. So the pneumatic supports adjust to accommodate the changing size and keep it safely mounted without damaging it.
Pros And Cons Of Solid-State Batteries: Are Solid-State Batteries The Savior of The EV?
A lot has been said about solid-state batteries. Here are the facts about the pros and cons associated with this next-gen technology.
Other Automakers May Benefit From This
We mentioned that a company called Factorial was involved in creating of this solid-state battery pack. It's based in Massachusetts, and its business is solid-state battery research and development. Obviously, Mercedes-Benz is partnering with the company, but it's a closer partnership than you might realize. The Head of Battery Development at Mercedes is a board director, and former head of Mercedes, Dieter Zetsche, is an investor and advisor.
Dodge's Electric Muscle Car Could Get Solid State Batteries Before Anyone Else
Stellantis and Factorial have just announced plans to test a fleet of Dodge Charger Daytona EVs with solid-state batteries starting next year.
It's not just Mercedes partnering with Factorial, though. Both Hyundai and Stellantis have partnered with the company, and the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Propulsion Systems at Stellantis is a board director, too. Stellantis will actually have a fleet of Dodge Chargers testing the same sort of batteries as Mercedes is, though likely not until next year. All of this, plus continuing advancements from other automakers such as Honda and Toyota, point to solid-state batteries being the future of EVs, and one that's not too far away.
2025-03-02T01:05:07Z
