Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast where we
dissect the latest advancement shaping the future of
transportation technology and space exploration.
Today we're diving into recent developments coming out of
Toyota, the Japanese automaker Titan that's been making waves
with its ambitious plans to revolutionize the electric
vehicle landscape. Following a significant
breakthrough in solid-state battery technology, Toyota has
announced plans to have the size.
The weight in the cost of its EV batteries aiming to turn the
tide in the EV race where Tesla has so far been leading the
pack. In our discussion today, we'll
delve into what this development means not just for Toyota or
theory and tire auto industry, and indeed the feature of
sustainable transport as a whole.
We'll explore how Toyota's new strategy to simplify the
production process of battery materials could bring down costs
and reshape the EV landscape, and discuss their surprising
claim of an EV with a. 1200 kilometer range in a rapid 10
minute charge time. This bold move by Toyota has
potential to ignite a global EV revolution.
Now before we get into that, let's take a moment and check
out some of our sponsors. Those are the people that help
us continue doing what we do here for you every single day.
All right? And we're back from Tokyo,
Japan. In a major announcement that
could transform the future of E v's Toyota Motor Corporation,
the Japanese automotive giant recently revealed plans to cut
in half the size, the weight and the cost of its EV batteries.
This ambitious goal follows a significant breakthrough in
Toyota's solid-state battery technology, which could
potentially usher in a new era of electric mobility.
KG Keita, president of Toyota's Research and Development Center
for Carbon Neutrality. Stated on Tuesday that
simplifying the production process for battery materials
when considerably bringing down the cost of the company's long
anticipated next generation technology.
This move is designed to address one of the major challenges
currently facing the automotive industry, making EV's more
affordable and accessible for the average consumer for both
our liquid and solid-state batteries.
We are aiming to drastically change the situation where
current batteries are too big, heavy and expensive, they said.
During the announcement, he further stated that Toyota is
aiming to have all of these factors signaling a significant
commitment to accelerating the global transition to electric
vehicles. This announcement came on the
heels of surprise revelation last month where Toyota SHARE
plans to commercialize its solid-state battery technology
in an electric vehicle by 2027, and the company has been
collaborating with Panasonic, the Japanese electronics giant.
On the technology through a joint battery venture signaling
an increased commitment to achieving carbon neutrality.
solid-state batteries have long been seen by industry experts as
the most promising technology to solve persistent EV battery
problems. These issues include long
charging times, limited battery capabilities, and the risk of
fires, all of which have been significant obstacles to the
wider adoption of E V's. These new generation batteries
replace a liquid electrolyte. With a solid one and use lithium
metal at the anode instead of graphite, which is currently the
standard in lithium ion batteries, and the use of solid
electrolytes can improve energy density, safety and potentially
decrease charging times. And despite their potential,
solid-state batteries have remained a challenge due to high
production costs in manufacturing complexities.
These difficulties have prompted automakers to push back launch
timelines. To concentrate their efforts on
developing and improving liquid based lithium ion batteries
instead. Toyota, however, is poised to
break this trend. Company initially stated it
wanted to start selling hybrid, but not fully electric cars
powered by solid-state batteries before 2025.
In A twist, they announced that the company has discovered ways
to address the durability problems associated with
solid-state batteries and now has the confidence to mass
produce them for use in E v's by 2027.
For 2028 now, these advances could potentially redefine what
customers come to expect from electric vehicles.
Toyota has claimed that has made a technological breakthrough
that has resolved durability issues and a solution for
materials that would enable an EV powered by a solid-state
battery to boast a range of 1200 kilometers.
Furthermore, these EV's would require charging time of 10
minutes or less. Putting them on par with the
refueling times of traditional gasoline powered vehicles now,
simplifying the process and reducing the number of processes
needed to make battery materials could also make solid-state
batteries more costeffective. Kaita added that these
improvements could bring the cost of solid-state batteries
down to similar or even lower levels than those of current
liquid based lithium ion batteries.
Such advancements could offer Toyota a significant advantage.
In the rapidly intensifying global EV race, Toyota has been
slower than some of its competitors, most notably Tesla,
to roll out electric vehicles. As such, the successful
deployment a solid-state batteries could help Toyota
close the gap with its competitors, potentially reshape
the EV landscape. A market reaction to Toyota's
ambitious plans has been largely positive.
Since the company announced its solid-state battery plan last
month, shares in Toyota have risen 13%.
Yet Toyota's top brass are tempering expectations, noting
that the solid-state batteries are not a panacea for all
battery challengers now, Toyota's chief technology
officer expressed caution over the new tech.
They said there is also room for improvement for liquidbased
batteries. The crux of the EV battery
competition will ultimately be value added on the car as a
product and how much we can control the overall volume of
batteries. And how effectively we can use
them. On another note, despite its
latest announcement, Toyota is also committing substantial
resources to hydrogen fuel cell technology company announced
last month that it will establish a hydrogen factory to
further develop fuel cell technology, particularly for
commercial customers. This indicates that Toyota is
keeping its options open as the race for cleaner, more
sustainable automotive technology intensifies our
Toyota's. Hydrogen initiatives will be
focused on markets in Japan, China and Europe.
We will work toward full scale commercialization as we move
forward with these initiatives. The next generation system will
achieve a 37% cost reduction through technological progress,
volume efficiency and localization, the company said.
And this announcement by Toyota is signal a pivotal moment in
the advancement of electric vehicle technology.
Several challenges remain the company's commitment.
The solid-state batteries and its drive to overcome these
obstacles could potentially accelerate the transition to a
more sustainable transportation future.
Whether Toyota will be able to meet these targets remains to be
seen, but we'll be bringing you all the information and all the
news on that as it unfolds. So that's it for today
everybody. Thank you so much for listening
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