Toyota Wanted Hybrids — Now They Want Solid State Batteries

Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota’s research division, stated in February 2023 that due to limited lithium supply, it made far more sense for the company to focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius. Their reasoning was that the same amount of lithium could make a larger positive environmental impact by being spread across 90 hybrids (like the aforementioned Prius) instead of just one fully electric EV. 

Plenty of journalists and EV enthusiasts were quick to jump down Toyota’s throat as a result, saying that lithium really isn’t that rare, and there is plenty of it available to service a fleet of fully electric vehicles. 

Five months later, the world’s largest automotive manufacturer changed their tune. Now they’re backing the technology behind solid state batteries. They expect to be able to produce batteries that will be: 

• More powerful
• Smaller
• Charge faster
• Safer
• Last longer

However, current solid state batteries have never made it to mass production and have proven to be far more expensive than traditional lithium ion batteries. 

This change in focus comes after Toyota gave up trying to transition their hybrid vehicles to solid state batteries, originally planned for 2025. The new target is to get these batteries into full electric vehicles by 2027, two years later. They are aiming for a range of 745 miles, which is significantly more than lithium powered EVs which often top out at 400 miles at best, and pushing up to 900 mile range for later versions of the batteries.

Solid state batteries have been “just around the corner” for the electric car industry since 2017, so the world will have to wait and see if having the largest vehicle manufacturer pursuing the technology will finally make it consumer viable outside of smaller releases.

Toyota still intends to continue making lithium ion batteries for their vehicles. Their Chief Technical Officer, Hiroki Nakajima, stated “We will need various options for batteries, just like we have different variations of engines.”

In addition to the two solid state batteries, Toyota announced their plans for three new types of lithium ion batteries that they will be using over the next several years. This will be particularly relevant for more affordable cars as the company looks towards solid state batteries, which will likely continue to be a more expensive option. These new lithium batteries are expected to cut costs by as much as 40%.