Solid-state battery developer Factorial Energy has announced a major milestone in bringing its energy-dense cells to EVs one day. A-Samples of its 100+ Ah Factorial Electrolyte System Technology (FEST) solid-state battery cells are making their way to the company’s automotive partners around the globe – who those specific OEMs are though is up for dispute.
Factorial Energy is a Massachusetts-based solid-state battery developer that has been working for an entire decade to develop and eventually manufacture energy storage technology to support zero-emission propulsion applications.
The company hit a major milestone this past January at CES, when it debuted a 100 Amp-hour (Ah) prototype of flagship product – the Factorial Electrolyte System Technology (FEST) solid-state cell. This proprietary battery technology offers compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing equipment that can enable automakers to transition to the advanced cells more seamlessly.
By May, Factorial shared that those solid-state cells had been UN certified to begin shipping to automakers to test for themselves before being integrated into new EV models. The battery developer currently participates in multiple joint ventures with some noteworthy names in automotive, including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai Motor Group, and Stellantis.
Today, Factorial announced it has officially begun delivering to OEMs alongside news of a new R&D facility near Boston. Here’s the latest.
The 100 Ah Factorial Electrolyte System Technology (FEST) solid-state battery cell / Credit: Factorial Energy
Automakers begin testing Factorial’s solid-state cells
According to Factorial Energy, its commencement of deliveries to OEMs marks the first-ever global shipment of 100+ Ah lithium-metal cells to pass UN 38.3 safety tests.
The battery developer is remaining mum on which global OEMs have received the A-sample cells, but a glance back to the paragraph above should give a hint. That said, nothing has been confirmed by Factorial. Company CEO Siyu Huang spoke to today’s latest news as another key milestone achieved this year alone:
After our CES announcement of the 100+ Ah cell, and the UN 38.3 test success, this marks another major milestone and demonstrates our progress towards commercialization. Factorial is committed to meeting automotive timelines and producing solid-state batteries that meet the industry’s highest standards. We continue to be at the forefront of building a disruptive product and are excited for our solid-state battery technology to enable automakers to offer higher-performing and safer electric vehicles to customers.
In addition to the news of A-sample solid-state cells shipping out to OEMs, Factorial announced the opening of a new 50,000-plus-square-foot facility in the Greater Boston area dedicated to the production of said cells for its automotive partners.
Complete with a dry room and wet lab, the company says its new state-of-the-art facility will “expand the development with Factorial’s automotive partners across next-generation battery technology platforms and manufacturing engineering competency.”
As we reported back in June, Factorial already has South Korean metal refining company Young Poong lined up to research and implement lithium-metal recycling into its production practices as it tries to scale its FEST cells into full commercialization and, hopefully, future EVs.
Keyword: Factorial Energy ships A-samples of 100+ Ah solid-state batteries to its automotive partners