Abacus | Battery Wars: is Japan about to beat China in race for the energy game changer of the decade?
- Japan once supplied the world with the most advanced Li-Ion batteries. China and Korea now dominate the market, and Japan wants it back
- The search for the holy grail of batteries may be over. After a multi-year industry-wide effort, Japan solves the elusive solid-state technology
BATTERY WARS
Inspired by his grandfather’s passion for airborne personal transport, Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s current president, has not just inherited the world’s largest car company but also his grandfather’s vision – to make cars fly.
Flying cars already exist, but they resemble something more like a helicopter designed by committee rather than a levitating DeLorean. If such machines are ever to go from a curiosity to a commercial success, they must be able to fly a useful distance as well as look desirable – something Toyoda is keenly aware of.
Japan lost its pole position as battery developer and supplier around 2017-2018, and has also been lagging in electric car design, self-driving car technology and large commercial drones – the forerunner to flying cars and trucks. Something had to be done to rebuild the industry, and the Japanese government decided it would be best to start with a fundamental component: developing a much better battery.
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Tesla starts delivery of made-in-China cars
THESE ARE NOT THE BATTERIES YOU ARE LOOKING FOR