Toyota’s 745-mile Solid-state Batteries: Everything Reported So Far

Toyota has announced that it has a solid-state battery in development that will achieve an astonishing 745 miles on a single charge. Furthermore, Toyota seems to imply that one can get 745 miles with normal driving— its announcements do not come with any disclaimers like “If driven very cautiously without using the heater or the radio.” It’s also worth noting that, as of now, Toyota expects its solid-state technology to be ready by 2027 or 2028 at a large scale inside various models. That said, you will see solid-state batteries alongside gas engines in hybrid models to start. EVs come next in the master plan.

Of course, right now, you aren’t seeing many cars use solid-state batteries, and this will likely stay true until the end of this decade. Toyota only recently dove full force into electric manufacturing, playing it safe with hybrids for decades. After all, the brand is responsible for the king of hybrids: Prius. Stick around to see what this new solid-state technology means for Toyota and the auto industry altogether!

Updated on 01/24/2024: Toyota has been teasing its solid-state battery technology for years now, with little to no update on when it can be expected to hit roads. This article has been refreshed with the most up-to-date news regarding Toyota’s solid-state batteries. There have been a few changes, including who Toyota is partnering with to create these batteries.

Information for this article was gathered from Toyota plus other reputable sources like the University of Michigan, the brand’s press room, Hot Cars, and TS2.

The Truth Behind Toyota’s (And The Auto Industries) Push For Solid-State Batteries

• Solid-state batteries provide better range and faster charging for EV owners.
• These batteries are lighter and smaller, allowing for more MPGe per charge.

Solid-state batteries, which store energy in a solid electrolyte rather than a liquid or a paste, are too promising for the auto industry to resist. They have a higher energy density than any other type of battery. In other words (and this may be oversimplifying things a bit), solid-state batteries can store more electricity in less physical space.

This makes them lighter and smaller than any other battery type— and the battery is often the heaviest part of an electric car. Indeed, the batteries in EVs can weigh more than the engines they superseded (that’s the battery alone, without including the weight of the motor). A solid-state car battery, if one ever can be made to work, could halve the size of EV batteries.

Solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte to function. You don’t have the same level of risk as you would with a liquid electrolyte (common for lithium-ion batteries), and you also see improved range and charging. These batteries also tend to weigh less than regular lithium options.

Toyota’s Intrigue In Solid-State Batteries Will Change The Industry

Toyota has ramped up testing and production for a solid-state battery in recent years to expand its hold on the EV and hybrid industry, as well as extend ranges and shorten charge times. Toyota has also been rather aggressive in its battery development, filing literally pages worth of patents in the last few years alone. Honda is its biggest competition *for now,* although once other auto brands see Toyota have a moment in the spotlight, they’ll try their best to steal it.

Welcome to the jungle, folks.

FYI: Solid-state batteries don’t handle temperature changes very well and, therefore, aren’t suited to be left outside for their entire useful life. They degrade very quickly after being repeatedly drained and recharged— which drivers would notice when the solid-state car “doesn’t seem to get as far as it used to.”

Through Strategic Partnerships With Battery Makers, Toyota Is Sinking It Teeth Into The SSB Game

• Toyota is partnering with fellow Japanese company Idemitsu to create its solid-state batteries.
• Most EV makers are partnering with outside companies to manufacture batteries, both lithium and solid-state.

Rather than developing solid-state batteries in isolation, Toyota has announced it will partner with Idemitsu. The two companies have over a thousand battery patents (so far). The petroleum company has been around since 1911 and has emerged as a key player in the EV industry. Toyota hopes to create less dependence on global supply chains by creating its own batteries with Idemitsu, stating:

The two companies will seek to develop mass production technologies for solid electrolytes—the pathway for ions moving between the cathode (+) and anode (-)—to improve productivity and establish a supply chain.

Toyota is far from alone in hiring outside brains for batteries. Nearly every automaker dabbling in solid-state batteries has done so in collaboration with outside companies rather than single-handedly attempting the science.

The most unlikely alliance to emerge has been between Ford and BMW, which have jointly invested in a battery company called Solid Power. Elsewhere in the industry, Volkswagen has purchased a stake in a solid-state battery company called QuantumScape. Hyundai has also bought its way into the solid-state game, purchasing part of a company called Factorial Energy. Everybody wants a piece of the pie.

The First Solid-State Toyotas Will Be Hybrids

• The first Toyota to use solid-state technology will be a hybrid.
• You can expect this model to be released in 2025.

In an interview with Autoline, Toyota announced that its first cars with solid-state batteries will be hybrids rather than purely electric vehicles. Having an internal combustion backup gives Toyota some insurance against battery failure. But perhaps more crucially, hybrids have become a bit of a company signature.

This is the company that introduced the world to hybrid cars. Toyota hit pay dirt with the Prius and, in the ensuing years, has expanded its hybrid options to include SUVs and trucks and is a steady moneymaker for the Corolla and Camry. Toyota didn’t invent the hybrid car, but it was the first company to successfully sell one. But in general, Toyota has seemed more hesitant than other companies to make an EV.

Toyota Loves To Test Its Tech

However, this attitude does not mark Toyota as the stick-in-the-mud opponent of automotive progress. Instead, it shows that Toyota will not put anything onto dealer lots until it is thoroughly tested. As anyone who has ever flipped through Consumer Reports knows, reliability is Toyota’s primary appeal. After many years inside a factory and driving around test loops, Toyota’s solid-state dream WILL become a reality.

Toyota’s Slow Yet Impressive Dive Into Battery-Driven Cars

• Toyota has long teased the introduction of solid-state batteries into its lineup.
• You can expect to have electric and hybrid powertrains absorb Toyota’s gas production by the 2030s.

Some skeptics may point out that Toyota has been teasing a solid-state wonder battery for several years with nothing to show for it. While it’s true that Toyota has been issuing announcements about allegedly forthcoming solid-state batteries for a long time, the company has been fairly (if not completely) consistent about a release date of 2025. Toyota has also been playing loose with its mileage stats, sometimes claiming 745 miles and other times promising 932 miles on a single charge.

Regardless of how many years away Toyota’s solid-state miracle battery lies, observers have noted that Toyota has seemed disinterested in battery-electric vehicles if not outright opposed to them. Until this year, the company’s only EV was a variant of the RAV4, which was discontinued in 2014. In 2023, Toyota finally tiptoed back into the world of electrically powered vehicles with the bZ4X, an SUV that seems to have a barcode instead of a name.

Toyota’s Also Interested In Hydrogen, Folks

However, Toyota’s apparent EV revulsion seemed to come from former CEO Akio Toyoda, who brought his famously strong distaste for EVs to the boardroom. Sometimes it seems like the hydrogen-powered Mirai is more of a presidential passion project than a viable mass-market car. Under Toyoda’s direction, Toyota has practically led the hydrogen crusade. The current CEO, Koji Sato, has allowed BEVs to reenter the company’s future plans.