Nissan ups EV battery development tempo

LIKE many automakers, Nissan has a battery development program tasked with making better, cheaper, lighter, smaller, safer and longer lasting batteries for electrified vehicles.

Battery Holy Grail, potentially solid-state technology, hasn’t arrived yet but Nissan is in hot pursuit and has recently upped the tempo of development – like nearly everyone else in the BEVosphere as the rewards are immeasurable.

Despite financial headwinds, the 92-year-old Japanese automaker is pressing forward partnering with LiCAP Technologies to develop all-solid-state battery (ASSB) cathode electrode production process technology.

While Nissan’s credentials are known globally, LiCAP Technologies is a US-based outfit dedicated to the development and commercialization of advanced electrode manufacturing technologies.

Its Activated Dry Electrode process provides “high-performance and sustainable solutions for lithium-ion batteries, solid state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, ultra-capacitors and other applications”.

In a media statement, Nissan said developing a dry electrode production process for cathode electrodes is highly beneficial for the smooth production and commercialisation of ASSBs.

“Compared to conventional solvent-process electrodes, dry-process electrodes eliminate the need for drying and solvent recovery, significantly reducing manufacturing costs and environmental impact,” the company said.

“However, when considering future mass production, achieving high production efficiency remains a major challenge for dry-process electrodes.”

LiCAP’s proprietary Activated Dry Electrode technology is said to provide significant advantages in production efficiency and performance over traditional methods.

Nissan’s partnership with LiCAP may accelerate the development of dry electrode production process technology, marking an important step toward the realization of next generation EVs equipped with high-performance and cost-efficient ASSBs.

Relatively new to the battery development space, Nissan only began operating its all-solid-state battery pilot line in January 2025 aiming to launch EVs equipped with in-house developed all-solid-state batteries by fiscal year 2028

With this goal front of mind, Nissan is accelerating its R&D efforts no doubt to stay ahead of the curve as other automakers pursue the same goal exemplified earlier in the week when Hyundai announced potentially game changing battery tech’ using copper in solid state batteries.

Other automakers actively developing solid-state battery technology include Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, BMW, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen (via partner QuantumScape).

All are collaborating with battery developers like Factorial Energy and QuantumScape to overcome technical challenges and plan for future production, though widespread adoption is still several years away.

For the technically inquisitive among us, solid-state batteries are a type of lithium-ion battery that replace the liquid or gel electrolyte with a solid material offering several potential advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries including increased energy density, lower cost, improved safety with a lower risk of thermal runaway and faster charging times.

Because they have the potential to store more energy in the same volume or weight, theoretically solid-state batteries may lead to longer ranges for electric vehicles.