© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Employees walk at the Toyota Motor Corp new plant in Apaseo El Grande in Mexico’s central state of Guanajuato, Mexico February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Sergio Maldonado
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (NYSE:) Corp said on Tuesday it expects to spend more than $13.5 billion by 2030 to develop batteries and its battery supply system.
The world’s largest automaker by volume uses a range of battery types in its vehicles and is also considered the front runner to mass produce solid-state batteries – a potential game changer for automakers because they are more energy dense, charge faster and are less prone to catching fire. If developed successfully, they could replace liquid lithium-ion batteries.
It said, however, it was still struggling with the short service life of these cells.
“We are still searching for the best materials to use,” Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda told a media briefing on Tuesday.
Efforts to mass produce solid-state batteries have stumbled as they are expensive to fabricate and are prone to crack when they expand and contract during use.
Toyota also plans to use solid-state batteries in hybrid electric vehicles such as the Prius, it said.
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