Mercedes-Benz teams up with EV solid-state battery startup Factorial Energy

Mercedes-Benz is currently collaborating with EV solid-state battery startup Factorial Energy for the development of electric car batteries. It is reported that Mercedes-Benz will use solid-state battery types in its electric vehicles in the future because it is considered more efficient and powerful.

Quoted from Autocar, Mercedes-Benz and Factorial Energy will start testing battery cells in prototype form next year in the US. To facilitate its development, Mercedes plans to also build a “mini” vehicle that will be used as a running laboratory for the next few years. However, there are no details about what kind of vehicles will be used by the two giant companies.

Solid state batteries are one of the most promising battery technologies for use in electric vehicles today. It features an electrolyte made of solid material which has much more energy and provides longer durability and shorter charging times. When compared to lithium batteries currently used by most electric cars, batteries with solid state technology are claimed to have up to 50% more range per charge and of course cost less.

The idea of ​​developing a solid state battery with Factorial Energy was brought up by the boss of Mercedes-Benz, Markus Schafer, who stated that he had invested millions of dollars. Although not mentioned in detail, several sources state that the investment value required for this development is in the tens to tens of millions of dollars.

In addition to Mercedes-Benz, previously Factorial Energy was also reported to be developing solid state batteries with Stellantis. The automotive company group that covers many popular brands such as, Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot, Maserati, Chrysler and many more.

Recently, Mercedes-Benz is known to be working on a series of battery technologies that could be introduced in the future which in the long term could potentially include organic batteries, one of which is solid state.

Some current Mercedes-Benz electric models still use lithium ion batteries as their power source, which has maximum performance and efficiency. Meanwhile, the fully electric models currently owned by Mercedes Benz are the EQS which fills the S-Class segment, the EQB which is a fully electric SUV and the EQE which will be introduced in the near future to all consumers. In addition, all Mercedes-Benz EV models also offer various safety and comfort features, one of which is the MBUX Hyperscreen which runs along the front dashboard and functions as an entertainment and vehicle information service.