New Solid State Battery Technology Promises Significant Environmental Benefits for Electric Vehicles

New Battery Technology Could Help Achieve Environmental Targets
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Posted on: 25th June 2025 in Blog

### Introduction

To this day, Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB) have been the preferred technology for electric-powered transportation. A primary driver behind the development of Electric Vehicles (EV) has been, and continues to be, the desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the environmental benefits achieved so far have been limited. Solid State Batteries (SSB), a next-generation technology post-LIB, offers enhanced safety and performance, and has the potential to further reduce global emissions through several key factors:

– Simpler battery packs with fewer components
– Lighter vehicles that enhance driving efficiency
– Lower cooling requirements during charging

### Working Towards Net Zero

Transportation is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, posing a significant challenge in meeting the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, including the target to limit the global average temperature rise to below 1.5°C. Despite commitments made during COP summits, progress remains slow, and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 appears increasingly challenging. Although the rise of electric vehicles (EV) has been a clear solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recent adoption rates have slowed. Factors contributing to this include policy changes, high costs, inadequate infrastructure, and ongoing concerns regarding battery longevity, charging speed, and safety. In essence, both drivers and EV manufacturers are in pursuit of better battery technology, but does an improved battery equate to a more environmentally friendly one?

### Better Batteries

SSB technology replaces the liquid electrolyte found in LIBs with non-liquid components. These batteries can match or even surpass the performance of the best LIB cells while providing enhanced safety. This combination of performance and safety could lead to a simplified cooling system within the battery pack and the elimination of several protection-related components, resulting in lighter, more efficient vehicles with extended range and lower costs. When SSBs finally reach the market, will they indeed reduce the global warming impact associated with LIBs?

### Battery Pack Modelling

To investigate this, SSB developers Ilika Technologies and battery experts Balance Batteries Ltd collaborated to model a hypothetical battery pack utilizing SSB technology instead of the current LIB. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, an electric SUV, served as the baseline for this modeling. The analysis included the pack’s weight, safety features, and design simplifications, assuming SSB cells would replace the existing LIB cells. The findings revealed several advantages for SSBs, including faster charging times (12 minutes compared to 18 minutes for LIB) and a weight reduction of 100 kg, which could either enhance the range or allow for the inclusion of more cells. The model also predicts notable cost reductions once SSBs enter production, estimating a decrease of £2,500 in materials and a 3% improvement in energy consumption.

### Life Cycle Analysis

A Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the hypothetical SSB pack was conducted. An LCA assesses the environmental impact of a product or process from its creation to disposal, evaluating factors like resource extraction, production, usage, and end-of-life. This method helps identify areas for sustainability improvements and ways to diminish overall environmental impact. Publicly available data and open-source software were employed for the LCA, which calculates CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), a standardized unit for measuring the climate impact of various greenhouse gases. Given that greenhouse gas emissions depend on the electricity source (whether from fossil fuels, renewable energy, or a combination of both), the production and use of the SSB vehicle were localized in Europe, where the energy mix comprises 60% fossil fuels and 40% renewable sources.

The analysis considered three critical questions:

1. **Fewer Battery Parts:** Does the reduced number of components in the SSB pack lead to lower emissions associated with their manufacture? Balance Batteries found that by comparing the weight of the current battery pack for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to one incorporating SSB, the SSB pack would weigh 46.8 kg less due to increased cell-level energy density, 26 kg less from replacing intra-cell foam with a thinner solid cell carrier, 6.6 kg less by eliminating thermal barrier materials, and potentially up to 15.8 kg less by thinning anti-intrusion beams. This reduction in non-essential components could lead to a total decrease of 750 kg CO2e per pack.

2. **Higher Driving Efficiency:** How does the lighter, more energy-efficient SSB vehicle translate into global warming impact? The weight reduction and less complex packs enhance driving experience, allowing for quicker acceleration and reduced tire wear over the vehicle’s lifespan. Using the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), Balance Batteries modeled that the LIB vehicle consumed 185.8 Wh/km while the SSB vehicle consumed 180.1 Wh/km. While EVs produce no tailpipe emissions, the energy savings equate to a reduction of 1.4 g CO2e per kilometer driven. Given that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a range of up to 354 miles and assuming weekly charging for 10 years, this results in a total of 420 kg fewer CO2e emitted over the vehicle’s lifetime.

3. **Reduced Cooling During Fast Charges:** SSBs charge more rapidly and are more resilient to heat, thus requiring less cooling compared to LIBs. The analysis assumed that up to 10% of the energy used to recharge the battery pack is “wasted” on cooling during charging, equating to a loss of 2.1 kg CO2e per fast charge. If fast charging occurs once a month, this would mean the SSB vehicle would emit 252 kg fewer greenhouse gases over a 10-year period.

### Conclusions

Although Ilika’s SSB cells are not yet commercially available and their specifications may evolve with further development, the modeling of a hypothetical SSB pack highlights clear potential benefits in reducing the global warming impact of such vehicles. A medium-sized EV sold in 2025 is projected to emit a total of 10.7 tons of CO2e, with approximately 40% of emissions arising from usage and charging, followed by vehicle production (32%), battery manufacturing (25%), and recycling (3%). Replacing LIB cells with SSB cells could save 1.4 tons of CO2e per vehicle, representing a 13% reduction over the vehicle’s lifecycle. This offers hope that advancements in battery technology can indeed assist in achieving global environmental targets.

### Related Blogs

– A Truly Collaborative Solid State Battery Scale-up Program
– Model of Solid State Battery Pack Shows Weight and Cost Benefits Compared to Lithium-Ion
– Safer Cells Yield Lighter Packs

For more information, please contact Ilika Technologies at their headquarters in the UK.