Solid State Battery From Toyota - Latest In Battery Technology

We've been covering a lot of engineering news from Japanese engineering companies. The latest one on our radar is Toyota; but not for the automobiles - but for a new type of battery. Toyota's engineers have developed a prototype of a solid-state battery that exhibits output density 5x the earlier prototype they had developed. Quite an achievement, it is. Toyota demonstrated the battery at a conference on September 24, 2012 as a part of its green initiatives. The engineering team succeeded in improving the conductivity of lithium (Li) ions to 1 x 10^-2S/cm and more; and the company calls it equivalent to 'electrolyte'.
 
Toyota used sulphide based Li₁₀GeP₂S₁₂ as a solid electrolyte. The newer prototype differs from the earlier one by employing germanium (Ge). Germanium allows realisation of a structure with crystals that have refined shapes and Li ions linearly arranged. The solid electrolyte was sandwiched between the positive and negative electrolyte in about 7 layers, enclosed in a laminated film. Each layer had a voltage of about 4 volts; totalling the overall voltage of the cell to 28 volts.

The company even demonstrated a small electric scooter powered by the new solid state battery. Expect more innovation from Toyota in near future in the battery technology. It's no wonder that Toyota wants to shift focus from fossil fuel powered cars to automobiles that are powered by greenest energy technologies.

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