Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Toyota Claims Battery Tech Better than Tesla
Transcript
- 0:00Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast where we
- 0:03dissect the latest advancement shaping the future of
- 0:06transportation technology and space exploration.
- 0:09Today we're diving into recent developments coming out of
- 0:12Toyota, the Japanese automaker Titan that's been making waves
- 0:17with its ambitious plans to revolutionize the electric
- 0:20vehicle landscape. Following a significant
- 0:23breakthrough in solid-state battery technology, Toyota has
- 0:26announced plans to have the size.
- 0:28The weight in the cost of its EV batteries aiming to turn the
- 0:32tide in the EV race where Tesla has so far been leading the
- 0:35pack. In our discussion today, we'll
- 0:37delve into what this development means not just for Toyota or
- 0:40theory and tire auto industry, and indeed the feature of
- 0:43sustainable transport as a whole.
- 0:46We'll explore how Toyota's new strategy to simplify the
- 0:48production process of battery materials could bring down costs
- 0:51and reshape the EV landscape, and discuss their surprising
- 0:55claim of an EV with a. 1200 kilometer range in a rapid 10
- 0:59minute charge time. This bold move by Toyota has
- 1:02potential to ignite a global EV revolution.
- 1:05Now before we get into that, let's take a moment and check
- 1:09out some of our sponsors. Those are the people that help
- 1:11us continue doing what we do here for you every single day.
- 1:18All right? And we're back from Tokyo,
- 1:19Japan. In a major announcement that
- 1:22could transform the future of E v's Toyota Motor Corporation,
- 1:26the Japanese automotive giant recently revealed plans to cut
- 1:30in half the size, the weight and the cost of its EV batteries.
- 1:34This ambitious goal follows a significant breakthrough in
- 1:37Toyota's solid-state battery technology, which could
- 1:39potentially usher in a new era of electric mobility.
- 1:44KG Keita, president of Toyota's Research and Development Center
- 1:47for Carbon Neutrality. Stated on Tuesday that
- 1:50simplifying the production process for battery materials
- 1:53when considerably bringing down the cost of the company's long
- 1:56anticipated next generation technology.
- 1:59This move is designed to address one of the major challenges
- 2:02currently facing the automotive industry, making EV's more
- 2:05affordable and accessible for the average consumer for both
- 2:09our liquid and solid-state batteries.
- 2:11We are aiming to drastically change the situation where
- 2:14current batteries are too big, heavy and expensive, they said.
- 2:18During the announcement, he further stated that Toyota is
- 2:21aiming to have all of these factors signaling a significant
- 2:25commitment to accelerating the global transition to electric
- 2:29vehicles. This announcement came on the
- 2:31heels of surprise revelation last month where Toyota SHARE
- 2:34plans to commercialize its solid-state battery technology
- 2:37in an electric vehicle by 2027, and the company has been
- 2:41collaborating with Panasonic, the Japanese electronics giant.
- 2:44On the technology through a joint battery venture signaling
- 2:47an increased commitment to achieving carbon neutrality.
- 2:51solid-state batteries have long been seen by industry experts as
- 2:55the most promising technology to solve persistent EV battery
- 2:58problems. These issues include long
- 3:01charging times, limited battery capabilities, and the risk of
- 3:04fires, all of which have been significant obstacles to the
- 3:07wider adoption of E V's. These new generation batteries
- 3:11replace a liquid electrolyte. With a solid one and use lithium
- 3:15metal at the anode instead of graphite, which is currently the
- 3:18standard in lithium ion batteries, and the use of solid
- 3:21electrolytes can improve energy density, safety and potentially
- 3:25decrease charging times. And despite their potential,
- 3:28solid-state batteries have remained a challenge due to high
- 3:32production costs in manufacturing complexities.
- 3:35These difficulties have prompted automakers to push back launch
- 3:38timelines. To concentrate their efforts on
- 3:40developing and improving liquid based lithium ion batteries
- 3:43instead. Toyota, however, is poised to
- 3:47break this trend. Company initially stated it
- 3:49wanted to start selling hybrid, but not fully electric cars
- 3:53powered by solid-state batteries before 2025.
- 3:56In A twist, they announced that the company has discovered ways
- 3:59to address the durability problems associated with
- 4:02solid-state batteries and now has the confidence to mass
- 4:05produce them for use in E v's by 2027.
- 4:08For 2028 now, these advances could potentially redefine what
- 4:12customers come to expect from electric vehicles.
- 4:15Toyota has claimed that has made a technological breakthrough
- 4:19that has resolved durability issues and a solution for
- 4:22materials that would enable an EV powered by a solid-state
- 4:25battery to boast a range of 1200 kilometers.
- 4:29Furthermore, these EV's would require charging time of 10
- 4:33minutes or less. Putting them on par with the
- 4:36refueling times of traditional gasoline powered vehicles now,
- 4:40simplifying the process and reducing the number of processes
- 4:43needed to make battery materials could also make solid-state
- 4:46batteries more costeffective. Kaita added that these
- 4:49improvements could bring the cost of solid-state batteries
- 4:52down to similar or even lower levels than those of current
- 4:55liquid based lithium ion batteries.
- 4:58Such advancements could offer Toyota a significant advantage.
- 5:01In the rapidly intensifying global EV race, Toyota has been
- 5:05slower than some of its competitors, most notably Tesla,
- 5:09to roll out electric vehicles. As such, the successful
- 5:12deployment a solid-state batteries could help Toyota
- 5:15close the gap with its competitors, potentially reshape
- 5:18the EV landscape. A market reaction to Toyota's
- 5:21ambitious plans has been largely positive.
- 5:24Since the company announced its solid-state battery plan last
- 5:26month, shares in Toyota have risen 13%.
- 5:31Yet Toyota's top brass are tempering expectations, noting
- 5:34that the solid-state batteries are not a panacea for all
- 5:38battery challengers now, Toyota's chief technology
- 5:41officer expressed caution over the new tech.
- 5:44They said there is also room for improvement for liquidbased
- 5:47batteries. The crux of the EV battery
- 5:49competition will ultimately be value added on the car as a
- 5:53product and how much we can control the overall volume of
- 5:56batteries. And how effectively we can use
- 5:59them. On another note, despite its
- 6:00latest announcement, Toyota is also committing substantial
- 6:04resources to hydrogen fuel cell technology company announced
- 6:08last month that it will establish a hydrogen factory to
- 6:11further develop fuel cell technology, particularly for
- 6:15commercial customers. This indicates that Toyota is
- 6:17keeping its options open as the race for cleaner, more
- 6:20sustainable automotive technology intensifies our
- 6:23Toyota's. Hydrogen initiatives will be
- 6:26focused on markets in Japan, China and Europe.
- 6:29We will work toward full scale commercialization as we move
- 6:32forward with these initiatives. The next generation system will
- 6:35achieve a 37% cost reduction through technological progress,
- 6:40volume efficiency and localization, the company said.
- 6:42And this announcement by Toyota is signal a pivotal moment in
- 6:46the advancement of electric vehicle technology.
- 6:49Several challenges remain the company's commitment.
- 6:52The solid-state batteries and its drive to overcome these
- 6:54obstacles could potentially accelerate the transition to a
- 6:57more sustainable transportation future.
- 7:00Whether Toyota will be able to meet these targets remains to be
- 7:03seen, but we'll be bringing you all the information and all the
- 7:06news on that as it unfolds. So that's it for today
- 7:09everybody. Thank you so much for listening
- 7:12to the show. I appreciate you.
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- 7:22Take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you in the
- 7:25next one.