Partnership to develop solid-state battery cells for EVs

Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium and Mercedez-Benz have signed an agreement that will see the pair develop next-generation solid-state batteries.

The new solid-state batteries developed by the partnership will be incorporated into Mercedes-Benz test vehicles in the coming years. As part of the agreement, the two companies have set a series of milestones that would see the batteries incorporated into a range of vehicles in the second half of this decade.

Mercedes-Benz has announced its intention to go all electric by 2030 wherever market conditions allow. ProLogium’s solid-state battery R&D and manufacturing know-how makes the company a strong partner to allow Mercedes-Benz to reach that goal. The terms of the agreement will provide Mercedes-Benz with a seat on the ProLogium board of directors in return for an investment of a high double-digit million EUR investment in ProLogium. The investment will be used to support the development of the technology and ProLogium's plan of establishing production capacity in Europe.

ProLogium is a developer of next-generation batteries, including solid-state battery with silicon anode, lithium metal anode and bipolar technology. The company claims to be the world’s first developer of mass produced and commercialized solid-state lithium ceramic batteries. The development of those lithium ceramic batteries is due to a series of technology breakthroughs and innovations from ProLogium. These include the development of the solid-state ceramic oxide electrolyte itself, overcoming the traditional drawbacks of the material, which include low ion conductivity, brittleness, and poor interface contact.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, Chief Technology Officer responsible for Development and Procurement, said, "We believe that range and efficiency are the new industry benchmarks for electric cars. Solid-state technology helps to cut down battery size and weight. This is why we are partnering with companies like ProLogium to ensure that Mercedes-Benz continues to break new ground in the automotive sector – for the benefit of our customers."

"We have been working with Mercedes-Benz on the testing of our EV battery cells since 2016 and are excited to strengthen and expand our partnership," said Vincent Yang, CEO and Founder of ProLogium. "We expect to work with Mercedes-Benz to demonstrate the effective application of our safe, high-performance solid-state battery cells to meet the Mercedes-Benz top quality standards. Innovative technology must be backed by scalability of production. We look forward to ramping up our new plant by the end of 2022 and working toward successful mass production."

At the end of October last year, ProLogium also completed a US$326 million financing round to accelerate its focus on supplying high-performing, safe and affordable EV batteries. dGav Capital managed fund New Epoch Capital LP, Primavera managed fund Carna Investments Holding Limited, and SBCVC managed fund SBCVC Navitas Limited all participated in the round. The funding raised will be invested in the development of mass production facilities for ProLogium SSBs and to implement the company’s global plant expansion plans.