Data mining the Solid-State industry: These are the 5 most important takeaways

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Solid-state companies have been in the public eye for years and report in detail on their current state of development. However, it is difficult to evaluate new concepts without an overview of the overall market. In a data analysis, all publicly available information on the solid-state industry was compiled and the data analyzed in detail. The 5 most important take-aways are presented here.

If you want to find out about the latest battery technology from a solid-state manufacturer, you will usually find what you are looking for on the website of the company in question. However, you should not expect to find all the information you are looking for there. As a rule, each manufacturer only presents the data that sets it apart from the competition. Important data is often missing. If you want to get a better overview, you have to do more research. Publications, registered patents, interviews or conferences usually provide a deeper insight.

All this public data was compiled in a market survey for this portal. The result is an in-depth analysis of the state of the solid-state industry in 2024. An initial overview of the companies and the technology combinations they rely on has already been published (the article can be found here). The data set has now been expanded and analyzed even more comprehensively. The results of the study have been condensed into 5 core statements, which are presented below:  

Takeaway 1: Polymers, oxides, sulphides - the competition for the best electrolyte is far from over!

Figure 1: Market shares of the various solid electrolytes. The SMD/special category includes small-format cells (e.g. in SMD format) that are not suitable for larger energy storage applications, own illustration.

There are essentially three different electrolyte materials to choose from for solid-state batteries:

  • Polymers
  • Oxides
  • and sulfides

In solid-state batteries, the electrolyte not only acts as a conductive material to ensure the movement of the ions. It also takes on the role of a separator at the same time.

There is currently no clear trend as to which material will dominate the market. Instead, the manufacturers’ announcements indicate that all three technologies will be present on the market.

Looking at the market in 2024, however, a different picture emerges: large-format solid-state cells generally use polymers today. Sulphides and oxides are still a few years away from market maturity, so they do not yet play a role.

Takeaway 2: Other countries - other electrolytes

Figure 2: Breakdown of preferred solid electrolytes by world region, own illustration

The preferred electrolyte differs significantly depending on the region of the world. Polymer electrolytes dominate in America. Many start-ups are headquartered there and a potentially faster market launch is a major advantage for many of the companies.

In Asia, on the other hand, sulphides dominate. These are being pursued in particular by large companies such as CATL, LG and Panasonic. The market launch is generally still some way off here, but the companies are generally well-funded so that higher investments in the technology are possible. 

In Europe, oxides dominate and are being further developed by Ilika and LionVolt. However, the European market is very small, meaning that statistical statements are not significant.

Takeaway 3: Solid-state cells will be far superior to lithium-ion cells - if manufacturers keep their promises

Figure 3: Announced energy densities of different cell chemistries. The data for solid-state cells are based on announcements only and are therefore only shown as dashed lines, own illustration

The data that solid-state manufacturers have published on their cells so far clearly shows that solid-state batteries will achieve significantly higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries. This applies to both the volumetric and gravimetric (mass-related) energy density. This means that the cells will become lighter and smaller.

However, the data also shows that this is more of an evolution than a revolution in energy density. The energy density is 20-30% higher than today’s cells, but a doubling of the energy density is not to be expected. Furthermore, it is not yet clear how the cells can later be installed in a module or system. Many solid-state battery variants have to be pressed, which may require additional parts that increase the weight and volume, meaning that the actual energy density benefits could be even smaller.

Takeaway 4: Those with a lot of experience (tend to) rely on semi-solid-state

Figure 4: Comparison of which companies rely exclusively on solid electrolytes (all-solid-state) and which add small amounts of liquid electrolyte (semi-solid-state), own illustration.

There are repeated discussions as to whether semi-solid-state batteries are solid-state batteries at all, or whether suddenly switching to semi-solid-state batteries is not rather an admission of failure of one’s own development. So what is this conflict about?

Generally speaking, a solid-state battery is a cell whose electrolyte is completely solid. Ultimately, the key feature of a solid-state battery is that the flammable liquid electrolyte is replaced by a solid (non-flammable) electrolyte. At least that’s the theory. In practice, it has turned out that a 100 % solid electrolyte is sometimes not so easy. Particularly with oxide electrolyte on the cathode side, there are difficulties with contacting, which means that the internal resistance in the cell is very high.

The solution is simple: add a small amount of liquid electrolyte to the cathode side. Even large companies such as QuantumScape have now admitted to implementing this for their cells. Very high energy densities can still be achieved and it is at least assumed that small amounts of liquid do not significantly affect the safety of the cell.  Solid-state cells with a proportion of liquid electrolyte are called semi-solid-state cells. Cells that contain only solid components are called all-solid-state cells.

Many companies that have been researching the technology for a long time are now known to have cells that fall into the semi-solid-state category. Although there are also larger companies such as SolidPower and BlueSolutions that continue to focus on all-solid-state, they are now in the minority.

Takeaway 5: The solid-state industry is a billion-dollar business and is also being driven by large OEMs

Figure 5: Valuation of the solid-state companies. The valuation is based either on the share price in March 2024 or on the capital raised to date (logarithmic scaling), own illustration.

The solid-state industry is a billion-dollar business. QuantumScape is the first solid-state-only company to reach a billion-dollar valuation. Companies such as Prologium, BlueSolutions and SolidPower are not far away from a billion-dollar valuation.  Even smaller companies have reached a valuation of over 10 million dollars, illustrating the size that the overall market has now reached. The automotive industry in particular is making great efforts to drive forward the development of solid-state batteries and there is hardly a solid-state company that does without partnerships with the major automotive OEMs.