Beijing Breakthrough: Solid-State LRMO Battery Could Double EV Range

A Tsinghua University team reports a solid-state battery using a lithium-rich manganese oxide cathode with a tailored polymer electrolyte, achieving about 604 Wh/kg and 1,027 Wh/L energy density—roughly doubling today's EV cells. The lab results also show over 500 cycles of capacity retention and a nail-penetration safety test, and the work is published in Nature. While this signals a potential path to twice-range or half-weight EV batteries, significant scale-up and manufacturing hurdles remain before it can be used in cars; other players are pursuing similar solid-state approaches, and the relocation from lab to production will take years.