Gogoro showcases solid-state battery for two-wheeler

Taiwan's Gogoro has unveiled what it claims is the world's first solid-state lithium-ceramic battery for two-wheelers, developed in conjunction with ProLogium Technology, which is known for its expertise in the field.

According to Gogoro, the lithium-ceramic batteries, when compared to their conventional lithium-ion counterparts, deliver higher energy density, allowing for greater range. Gogoro also says this new battery is designed to be backward compatible with their existing vehicles. 

Solid-state batteries are one of the next steps being considered in battery technology to improve upon the currently prevalent lithium-ion and lithium-polymer battery technologies. These batteries use solid electrodes as well as solid electrolytes instead of the traditional liquid or polymer gel electrolyte found in lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries. In addition to higher energy density, another advantage is lower charge times.

But the biggest plus, however, has to be the fact that these batteries are safer and more stable than liquid Li-ion batteries. In liquid Li-ion batteries, the electrolyte is volatile and flammable at high temperatures, which makes electric vehicles that use these batteries vulnerable to fires and chemical leaks. Another benefit is that solid-state batteries also degrade slower over time than their traditional Li-ion counterparts. 

Gogoro claims that the new battery technology will become the mainstream power source for electric vehicles and consumer electronics, as the higher energy density in these batteries ensures a greater range than their traditional counterparts. While Gogoro hasn't officially announced the exact capacity of this new battery, it estimates that its solid-state batteries will increase the capacity of its current lithium-ion batteries by around 140 percent, or from 1.7kWh to 2.5kWh.

In Taiwan, Gogoro cut its teeth in the market with the Gogoro Network, which is a battery swapping platform. Here in India, Gogoro and Hero MotoCorp announced a joint venture in April last year. Hero has the majority partnership in this joint venture, which aims at bringing Gogoro’s battery-swapping network to our shores. If the new batteries live up to the promises made by Gogoro, it should give Hero a distinct edge in the near future. The solid-state batteries could also find their way into future Hero MotoCorp electric two-wheelers. 

Gogoro currently claims to manage over 10,000 battery swapping GoStations at over 2,300 locations and claims to have facilitated over 3,40,000 daily battery swaps with more than 260 million total battery swaps to date across the globe. Gogoro also says that 95 percent of electric two-wheelers in Taiwan are powered by Gogoro’s ecosystem, so it seems their battery swapping ecosystem is clearly working well there. The joint venture with Hero MotoCorp promises to bring a similar ecosystem to India as well.