Chery's 600 Wh/kg solid-state battery marks technical milestone as IEA reports EV battery deployment hits 1.2 TWh in 2025
Chery unveils 600 Wh/kg solid-state module at global innovation conference
At the 2025 Chery Global Innovation Conference held on October 18 in Wuhu, the automaker unveiled its first self-developed all-solid-state battery module, a prototype achieving a cell energy density of 600 Wh/kg, among the highest announced by any Chinese automaker so far, according to CarNewsChina. The Chery Solid-State Battery Research Institute developed the module and adopted an in-situ polymerized solid electrolyte system paired with a lithium-rich manganese cathode material. Chery said the cell maintained power delivery even after extreme abuse tests such as nail penetration and power-drill damage, without catching fire or producing smoke. Vehicles equipped with this technology could theoretically exceed 1,500 km on a single charge, with real-world driving ranges expected to reach 1,300 km. The company reaffirmed its plan for a pilot operation in 2026 and a broader rollout in 2027, which, if realized, would position Chery ahead of rivals BYD and CATL, both targeting small-scale solid-state production in the same year.
EV battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh in 2025, up almost 30 percent from 2024
The International Energy Agency\'s Global EV Outlook 2026 reports that electric vehicle battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh in 2025, an increase of almost 30 percent compared to 2024, and more than seven times greater than in 2020. Light-duty vehicles remained the dominant segment, representing more than 85 percent of the 2025 EV battery deployment. However, the fastest growth came from electric trucks, for which battery demand more than doubled — largely thanks to a sharp acceleration in sales in China, where one in four trucks sold in 2025 was electric. As a result, electric trucks accounted for about 8 percent of global EV battery deployment in 2025, up from less than 5 percent in 2024.
Regionally, EV battery deployment expanded in China, which accounted for 60 percent of the global total, and the European Union (almost 15 percent), while it stagnated in the United States (10 percent). Growth in emerging markets and developing economies other than China also continued — they represented 6 percent of global EV battery deployment in 2025, highlighting the increasingly global nature of road transport electrification.
The average battery size of battery electric cars remained broadly stable in the European Union at close to 70 kWh and below 60 kWh in China. By contrast, average plug-in hybrid electric car battery sizes increased by almost 10 percent in China, to reach more than 25 kWh, and by almost 15 percent in the European Union, reaching just over 20 kWh. In the United States, average battery sizes for both battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars grew at a similar pace of around 5 percent, reaching 90 kWh for battery electric cars and less than 20 kWh for plug-in hybrid electric cars.
Battery prices continued to decrease, albeit unevenly
Average battery prices declined by 8 percent in 2025, supported by continued improvements in manufacturing efficiency, advances and shifts in battery chemistries and technology, and intensifying global market competition. Relatively low critical mineral prices also contributed to downward cost pressure, although lithium and cobalt experienced notable price increases over the year. The recent increase in lithium and cobalt prices — if sustained — could put upward pressure on battery costs as stockpiles of minerals purchased at lower prices are being drained.
LFP batteries, which contain no cobalt, accounted for over 55 percent of EV batteries deployed globally in 2025, up from nearly 50 percent in 2024. Deployment remains heavily concentrated in China, but uptake is also expanding rapidly in other emerging markets and developing economies. LFP batteries now power two-thirds of all electric car sales in these economies — double the share in 2023 — driven by imports of Chinese-manufactured vehicles and batteries. In the European Union, LFP batteries accounted for more than 10 percent of EV battery demand in 2025, a similar level to 2024. Nearly all of these batteries were imported from China, either directly or embedded in LFP-equipped EVs. In the United States, the share of LFP in EV batteries almost halved in 2025 from an already low base in 2024, reflecting higher tariffs on Chinese imports and more stringent sourcing requirements linked to the EV tax credit.
Solid-state batteries progress but still need demonstration at scale
Solid-state batteries have attracted attention and investment thanks to their promise of longer driving ranges and enhanced safety. However, these advantages have not yet been demonstrated in real-world applications. The term \"solid-state batteries\" covers a wide range of technologies, all of which use a solid electrolyte, whereas lithium-ion batteries use a liquid solution of (flammable) organic solvents and a lithium salt as electrolyte.
Among the most advanced are Japanese manufacturer Toyota, which tested a first prototype in 2021 and has announced plans to launch its first all-solid-state battery-powered vehicle by 2028 — and the Chinese firm BYD, which plans to sell its first EV using all-solid-state batteries from 2027 and to begin mass production from 2030. Korea\'s Samsung has set similar timelines for all-solid-state production. Chery\'s public debut of a 600 Wh/kg solid-state module, therefore, marks a significant technical milestone for the company and for China\'s EV industry. If successfully industrialized, it could redefine expectations for long-range electric mobility by doubling today\'s typical driving range and advancing China\'s position in next-generation battery technology.
The early costs of solid-state batteries are likely to be high, reflecting immature manufacturing processes and supply chains. Premium markets — where customers value additional range and performance — could support early adoption, providing margins for manufacturers to navigate scale-up challenges and work towards lower production costs. Emerging markets, like robotic devices including humanoid robots, could prove an important early source of demand and revenue for solid-state battery producers. Nevertheless, this implies that it will take time for solid-state batteries to make a dent in the EV mass market, and they are expected to remain limited to premium segments until the first half of the 2030s.
Cathode material concentration poses supply chain risk
The most exposed elements of today\'s battery supply chains are LFP batteries, materials and precursors, NMC precursors, and graphite anodes, which are largely reliant on Chinese manufacturing capacity and expertise. When considering only the EV battery chemistries deployed outside China in 2025, almost 80 percent of batteries used nickel-containing chemistries, such as NMC, and the remainder used LFP, which almost exclusively relies on Chinese supplies. Cathode precursors — which serve as an intermediate step between refined critical minerals and the final cathode active materials — are particularly exposed to supply disruptions. They enable tighter control over cathode chemistry, particle size and morphology and impurity levels, all of which are critical factors determining overall battery performance. Processes that produce cathode active materials without using precursors are being developed and could reduce exposure to highly geographically concentrated supply chains, but they pose greater challenges in ensuring the required consistency in material characteristics and performance.
Global nameplate manufacturing capacity for lithium-ion batteries reached more than 4 TWh by the end of 2025, up roughly 30 percent compared to 2024. Year-on-year capacity growth was even faster in the European Union and the United States (at about 50 percent) than in China (at just over 25 percent). Capacity outside the largest production regions grew faster still, almost doubling between 2024 and 2025, driven largely by the opening of Envision AESC\'s plant in Sunderland, United Kingdom, and investments in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, global battery manufacturing capacity remains geographically concentrated. China accounts for over 80 percent of the global total, while the European Union and the United States account for 6-7 percent each.
Building production capacity is only the first step in developing a competitive industrial base. For most facilities, it can take more than five years from the start of operations to reach levels close to nominal output. If excluding joint ventures with Asian producers, companies headquartered in North America owned over 35 percent of nameplate capacity in the United States, largely driven by Tesla. Yet these firms produced only about 3 percent of the batteries installed in EVs sold in 2025.
Sodium-ion batteries entering the scale-up phase
The first sodium-ion battery-powered electric car was introduced in China only in late 2023, but the technology is now being scaled up by leading battery producers such as CATL and BYD. Sodium-ion batteries perform significantly better at low temperatures than lithium-ion batteries, particularly LFP chemistries. The latest generation of sodium-ion batteries can retain around 90 percent of nominal capacity at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, and can operate at temperatures as high as 70 degrees Celsius. For the largest battery manufacturers, who can maintain multiple supply chains in parallel, expertise and production capacity for sodium-ion batteries can also help to reduce exposure to lithium price spikes.
Despite recent progress, sodium-ion batteries remain constrained by lower energy density than lithium-ion technologies, limiting their competitiveness with LFP batteries at current lithium prices. The latest sodium-ion cells can reach up to 175 Wh/kg, compared with up to 205 Wh/kg for the latest generation of LFP batteries and 265 Wh/kg for lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC) batteries. Their disadvantage is even greater in terms of volumetric energy density (Wh/l), which translates into a driving range of up to 350 km for an average SUV equipped with a sodium-ion battery, compared with a range of 400-600 km for lithium-ion batteries under average weather conditions.
Sodium-ion batteries are therefore expected to be better suited for small-range electric cars, light commercial vehicles operating in urban areas, two- and three-wheelers, industrial equipment such as forklifts, and battery stationary storage. They can also help reduce range losses in cold weather when used in hybrid EV battery packs combining lithium-ion and sodium-ion chemistries.
Global supply chains for sodium-ion batteries are also far less developed than for lithium-ion batteries, limiting the near-term prospect of large-scale deployment. For example, the supply chain of hard carbon — the anode active material used in sodium-ion batteries as a substitute for graphite — is still poorly developed today and largely concentrated in China. Battery manufacturing capacity is also significantly smaller. Current sodium-ion battery cell manufacturing capacity is equal to just over 1 percent of that of lithium-ion cells, and announced projects for 2030 amount to only about 7 percent of the committed lithium-ion manufacturing capacity for the same year.
What this means for the EV market in 2026
The convergence of two trends — solid-state battery breakthroughs from domestic Chinese automakers and the continuing LFP-driven expansion of EV deployment globally — sets up a significant shift in the automotive sector\'s technology mix. Chery\'s 600 Wh/kg prototype, if it reaches pilot production in 2026 as planned, would represent the first homegrown solid-state module from a major Chinese automaker, potentially forcing faster follow-up from BYD and CATL, which have likewise targeted 2027 for small-scale solid-state production. Meanwhile, LFP\'s ascent continues unabated: the chemistry now accounts for more than half of all EV batteries deployed worldwide, and its dominance in emerging markets means that Chinese battery exports will shape the composition of electric vehicle fleets beyond China\'s borders for years to come. The question is not whether solid-state batteries will enter the market — BYD, CATL, Samsung and Toyota all have timelines — but whether any can scale production cost-effectively before the end of the decade.
The IEA\'s data makes clear that the EV battery market in 2025 already passed the 1.2 TWh mark, with LFP dominating new deployments and electric trucks emerging as the fastest-growing segment. Chery\'s solid-state announcement adds a new variable to an already fast-moving equation. If the pilot operation materializes next year as scheduled, the industry will have its first real test of whether solid-state chemistry can move from lab prototype to showroom floor at volume. Until then, the LFP story — cheaper, safer, already at scale — remains the dominant force reshaping what millions of drivers will experience at the pump.
Image: A conceptual solid-state battery illustration showing the layered structure of cathode, solid electrolyte and anode. Wikimedia Commons.
Reuters -- The automotive and energy sectors will be watching closely as Chery moves from prototype to pilot production, and as the IEA\'s next release adds another data point to what has already been a breakout year for electric transport.
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