On August 11, Beijing time, the 6th Global Annual Summit on Solid-State Batteries opened in Chicago, USA. Overseas automobile manufacturers, material and equipment enterprises held discussions on core issues such as solid-state electrolytes, negative electrode materials, and mass production processes.

The global solid-state battery track currently features a pattern where multiple technical routes are being explored in parallel. Relying on its complete industrial chain, China is taking a semi-solid-state approach as the first step and steadily advancing the industrialization of solid-state batteries. Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are striving to tackle cutting-edge all-solid-state technology to overtake others by taking a different route. Industry insiders believe that despite the continuous acceleration of industrial layout, the large-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries still faces numerous challenges due to bottlenecks in materials, manufacturing costs, and shortcomings in the supply chain.

Exploring cutting-edge technologies for solid-state batteries

This summit brings together core technical personnel in battery research and development from many automobile manufacturers including Toyota, Nissan and Ford. The focus of the participating guests from automakers is generally on the cutting-edge research and development trends and technological breakthroughs in the field of battery materials.

To break through the various challenges faced by existing solid electrolyte materials, we still need to continuously advance the R&D of solid-state battery technology at the material design level," said Rana Mohtadi, Senior Principal Scientist of Materials Research at Toyota Research Institute North America, in a straightforward manner.

Data shows that currently, the inorganic solid-state electrolytes for solid-state batteries are mainly divided into three technical routes: sulfides, oxides, and halides. Sulfides exhibit excellent electrical conductivity but poor thermal stability, and their safety remains to be verified; oxides have good stability but suffer from prominent interface issues; halides are compatible with high-voltage cathodes and show considerable potential for energy density, yet their anode interface and mass production processes still need breakthroughs. The overall industry presents a pattern where multiple routes are being explored in parallel.

Manas Likhit Holekevi Chandrappa, a Senior Researcher at Nissan Motor's Silicon Valley Advanced Technology Center, is optimistic about the development of halide solid-state electrolytes. He stated that halide solid-state electrolytes have attracted widespread attention due to their high ionic conductivity, excellent voltage stability and good mechanical properties. Recent studies have shown that amorphous halide (oxyhalide) solid-state electrolytes can achieve ultra-high ionic conductivity exceeding 10 mS/cm (millisiemens per centimeter).

In terms of commercialization, Nissan Motor has bet on the sulfide route. In April 2026, Nissan completed prototype testing of all-solid-state batteries for vehicles on the pilot production line at its Yokohama plant. The company aims to launch electric vehicles equipped with self-developed all-solid-state batteries in the 2028 fiscal year.

Ford Motor Company's R&D engineer Owen Lu focuses on the technological progress in the field of solid-state battery silicon-based anodes, and he shared the design concept of high-stability and high-performance silicon-based anodes for solid-state batteries on site.

Data shows that silicon-based anodes are regarded as the core technical direction for the next-generation high-energy-density batteries. The theoretical specific capacity of silicon-based materials is as high as 4200 mAh/g, which is more than 10 times that of traditional graphite anodes. However, their volume expansion rate can reach 300% to 400% during charging and discharging, and their cycle life is lower than that of graphite anodes. At present, many material enterprises at home and abroad are continuously promoting the R&D and industrialization tackling of silicon-based anode-related technologies.

Equipment and technology are also the focus of this summit. Pontus Nilsson, Director of Battery Process Systems at the Advanced Manufacturing Division of Quintus Technologies AB (hereinafter referred to as "Quintus"), a Swedish enterprise deeply engaged in the high-pressure technology field, systematically shared the important role of warm isostatic pressing technology in the industrialization of solid-state batteries.

Cold isostatic pressing technology is crucial to the battery industry. This process enables uniform densification of structurally complex, multi-layer stacked battery components, directly improving battery performance and reliability," he said. He added that as battery companies continue to pursue higher energy density and longer cycle life, cold isostatic pressing is becoming a core process that drives the commercialization of advanced battery designs from the laboratory to real-world application, supporting the demand for large-scale mass production.

Liyuanheng has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Quintus. The two parties will focus on the joint development and in-depth innovation of isostatic pressing equipment for solid-state batteries, work together to overcome technical barriers in the industry, and jointly promote the global industrialization process of solid-state batteries to enter a new stage.

Accelerating the Race for the Solid-State Battery Track

With the implementation of the world's first national standard for vehicle solid-state batteries in July 2026, battery and vehicle manufacturers including CATL, BYD, and Gotion High-Tech have all laid out pilot lines for solid-state batteries, and solid-state batteries have once again become the focus of the industry. Different from the past, the focus of the industry's discussion now is no longer whether the technical route can be realized, but the feasibility of the industrialization implementation such as mass production lines, vehicle specification verification, and real vehicle installation.

The boom in the layout of solid-state batteries is unfolding simultaneously in multiple countries. In addition to Chinese enterprises actively advancing pilot-scale production and vehicle-mounted verification, automakers and material companies in Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe are also continuously increasing investment in the R&D of next-generation battery technologies. Public data shows that Samsung SDI plans to start mass production of all-solid-state batteries in 2027; Toyota plans to conduct small-batch vehicle-mounted verification on Lexus flagship models in 2027.

Industry insiders said that the global solid-state battery industry has formed a competitive pattern of a tripartite standoff among China, Japan and South Korea. Relying on the advantages of a complete lithium-ion battery industry chain, Chinese enterprises have taken the lead in the commercialization of semi-solid-state batteries, adopting a pragmatic industrialization path of taking semi-solid-state batteries as the first priority and achieving rapid iteration. Enterprises in Japan and South Korea focus on tackling the core technologies of all-solid-state batteries, trying to overtake on corners through technical gaps. Represented by startup companies such as QuantumScape, the United States explores an innovation-driven development model relying on the Silicon Valley ecosystem.

China is undoubtedly a leader in the mass production of solid-state batteries and has adopted semi-solid-state batteries as a gradual transition path towards all-solid-state battery technology," said Shi Jiayan, a researcher in battery technology and supply chain at BloombergNEF, in an interview with reporters.

What cannot be ignored is that solid-state batteries are still far from large-scale mass production. "Looking globally, the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries still faces numerous challenges due to technical difficulties, high manufacturing costs, and an immature supply chain," said Shi Jiayan.

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