Is this the electric car grail? The very first solid-state battery electric vehicle is about to go on sale in Europe, and it really is a brand we would never have expected. MG, the Chinese-owned brand with British heritage, has done it with its new SolidCore battery. It will be in the MG4, and it will be on sale before the end of this year.
Solid State Promises Better Everything
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For a vehicle that’s months away from hitting dealer lots, SAIC MG isn’t saying much about it or the new SolidCore battery. If you want to know the range, then that’s too bad for now. The same goes for charging speeds, though the company did say that buyers can expect faster charging than before, as well as longer electric range and, crucially, better performance in hot and cold weather. Think 15% faster charging in the cold, and 20% more instant power output for quicker acceleration.
The new MG4 EV Urban gets 258 miles of range on the WLTP cycle from a 53.9 kWh battery. It can charge from 10% to 80% in just 28 minutes. Those figures should be your baseline for what the new SolidCore battery should be able to achieve.
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If we’re splitting hairs, this is a semi-solid-state battery, not fully solid state. That refers to the battery’s electrolyte, which is traditionally a liquid layer. It’s the layer that lets electrically charged particles flow through the battery to give you power.
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Semi-solid replaces almost all the liquid with a solid electrolyte. 95% of the electrolyte is solid, which protects the battery from damage. It can be pierced or crushed, and MG showed both happening in its tests. But unlike conventional cells, there was no thermal runaway. That’s the electric vehicle fire that has first responders and anti-EV advocates nervous about approaching EVs in flames.
MG Is Already Prepping For 600-Mile Range Figures
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Because the electrolyte can’t freeze or boil, it’s less affected by temperature swings. You can get more power out of it and put more power into it, with ideal performance from temperatures as low as -22°F. Ions can move in three dimensions instead of one in LFP, which allows for quicker flow and better performance.
MG is already looking at its next-generation batteries. It says it will soon be able to exceed 400Wh/kg, an energy density already more than double that of the Tesla Model 3. MG said that it could deliver more than 600 miles of range on a single charge. It showed that figure in front of an MGS6, an electric crossover that currently delivers 329 miles from a 77 kWh conventional pack.
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The new battery is already in mass production. While the MG4 will be the first to get it, MG said it will soon be available across the company’s wider lineup and around the world. Most of the world, at least. The US is still hostile to EVs from China, including this battery tech.
However, it could still come to the US in other models if a few automakers are willing to share. SAIC, which owns MG Motor, has joint venture partnerships in China with Volkswagen and General Motors.
