Batteries
Chemistry, thermal design, degradation, and the next cell.
Stories
KBA's three VW battery campaigns sit behind the 80% cap
German regulator records put about 72,700 Volkswagen Group electric cars into three battery campaigns, covering ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID. Buzz and Cupra Born. The UK instruction is to stay at 80 percent. The US ID.4 filing is a separate notice.
BMW opens Shenyang Gen6 line as the 1,213 km test stays uncertified
Series production of BMW sixth-generation packs is underway in Shenyang for China-built Neue Klasse models. The 1,213 km i3 run was the company's own road test.
VW and Gotion Split Three Plants to Fill Europe's LFP Gap
Volkswagen is selling 49% of PowerCo's Valencia cell plant to Gotion and buying into Slovak and Moroccan factories, because Europe still has no meaningful LFP production of its own.
China's 2% lithium-ion battery tax is back. Sodium-ion is not on the bill.
China restored a 2% consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries on 1 September 2026, rising to 4% a year later. Sodium-ion and solid-state can stay exempt through 2028.
GM shifts Spring Hill to prismatic LMR, with the proof still ahead
Ultium Cells will retool its Tennessee plant for prismatic LMR cells by 2028. The 33 percent density claim is GM's own, and the durability questions are still open.
Sodium-ion batteries are closing in on LFP cost parity, and the last excuse is energy density
CATL expects sodium-ion to match LFP on cost by the end of 2026. The chemistry's remaining problem is density — and two 2025 research papers just attacked it from different angles.
ProLogium's solid-state cell passed the tests. Its factory makes 0.5 GWh a year
A 381 Wh/kg all-solid-state cell is now in commercial production in Taiwan, validated by TUV and UL Solutions. The output is roughly 6,000 car packs a year.
Donut Lab's 409 Wh/kg result is real. It still does not prove the chemistry
VTT measured exceptional energy density from one Donut Battery cell. The report validates the number, but not solid-state chemistry or production readiness.
500,000 battery tests say the pack is fine. The car next to it may not be
Aviloo's used-EV report puts the Ioniq 5 near 94% at 150,000 km and Teslas lower. The 12-point spread inside one model is the number a buyer actually needs.
Binder placement can make or break a fast-charging anode
A KAIST digital twin shows how binder distribution can hide local lithium-plating risk even when a graphite anode delivers similar headline capacity.
CATL's first sodium-ion sedan was held up by the factory, not the chemistry
CATL's Naxtra sodium-ion cell is going into the Changan Nevo A06 this year. The 45 kWh pack is a winter specialist, not a lithium killer, and CATL itself only plans 10,000 to 20,000 cars.
Why 2027 does not mean solid-state EVs are ready
Geely, CATL, BYD and several Chinese battery makers are aiming for solid-state trials around 2027. Their plans describe pilot lines and validation fleets, not mass-market cars.
EV battery packs are getting denser, but the repair bill is hiding in the glue
Structural battery integration can cut parts and add stiffness, yet fresh research and three very different teardowns show why pack density and repairability are pulling apart.
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