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Fisker has filed patents for solid-state batteries

It seems that we're on the cusp of a solid-state battery revolution. The latest company to announce progress in developing the new type of battery is Fisker. It has filed patents for solid-state batteries and it expects the batteries to be produced on a mass scale around 2023. Though Fisker is a very small car company that is currently taking deposits for its upcoming EMotion electric sedan, there are reasons to believe that the company could fulfill this promise. One of the members of the battery-development team was a co-founder of Sakti3, a company that formed to develop new batteries and announced its research into solid-state technology back in 2011. That company was purchased by Dyson, the vacuum cleaner company, which also intends on producing electric cars that AutoExpress reports will feature solid-state batteries in 2020. Toyota is also expected to have solid-state batteries just ahead of Fisker around 2022. The reason all these companies are working on developing solid-state batteries is because they present a whole host of advantages over what you'll find in today's phones, computers and cars. The two big ones are greater energy density and rapid charging times. Fisker claims the batteries it's developing have an energy density 2.5 times that of current batteries, and they should be capable of providing a 500-mile driving range. The company also says the batteries could be recharged in as little as a minute. Both claims are similar to past claims from others, including Sakti3. Other benefits include lower estimated cost than conventional lithium-ion batteries as well as very little risk of fires or explosions. Fisker also announced that it will display the new battery technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. It will be on display along with a close-to-production EMotion, which will be using more conventional lithium-ion batteries from LG Chem. That car has its own impressive claims with a range of more than 400 miles and the ability to regain around 125 miles of range in about 9 minutes. It will also retail for around $130,000, and the company is taking $2,000 reservations now. Fisker intends for it to go into production in 2019. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fisker EMotion View 14 Photos News Source: Fisker, AutoExpress Green Fisker Technology Emerging Technologies Electric Future Vehicles Sedan solid-state battery

Recharge Wrap-up: VW CEO mulls battery factory, voters approve $201B in transportation funding

Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Muller says that it would "make sense" for the automaker to begin producing its own batteries. As the company moves toward electrification, Muller says it would be a smart move to build a battery factory. "If more than a quarter of our cars are to be electronic vehicles in the foreseeable future then we are going to need approximately 3 million batteries a year," he says. Volkswagen has agreed to cut 30,000 jobs in its restructuring, while committing to creating 9,000 jobs in Germany through battery manufacturing and mobility services. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Election results show a desire for transportation funding. Earlier this month, voters in 22 states approved ballot measures adding up to $201 billion in funding for transportation projects, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. California passed 15 transportation measures, including one in Los Angeles worth $120 billion for roads, bridges, and transit. The state of Washington secured $54 billion for light rail and buses. Atlanta approved about $4 billion for road and transit projects. Illinois and New Jersey passed measures to prevent the diversion of transportation user fee revenue to other industries. Read more from ITS International. The US Department of Energy (DOE) must hand over confidential documents about Fisker's bankruptcy. A Delaware federal judge ordered the DOE to give the documents – which concern a presentation by Fisker to the DOE in which it falsely claimed to meet milestones set forth in a government loan – to lawyers in a case in which investors claim Fisker lied to them about financial troubles. While the DOE has given over documents already, they were incomplete and heavily redacted. "I understand that such disclosures may have a negative impact on future DOE analyses," says US District Judge Sue Robinson. "but conclude nonetheless that under the circumstances at bar – the public money at stake, the Congressional hearings, and the fact that Fisker Automotive is now a defunct company – the balance of interests favors plaintiffs." Read more at Law360. Related Gallery Volkswagen I.D.

Fisker teases $40,000 electric crossover with 300 miles of range

Henrik Fisker has been at the drawing board for some time, and we've enjoyed following along. We don't know what to do with this latest one, though, because we know almost nothing about it. Fisker, Inc., Henrik's electric vehicle company, promised "a teaser picture and some tech details" on a new EV priced "close" to $40,000. We have the teaser pic, but the tech details are mostly the same EV future-tech buzz every non-traditional player loads up on. It is a crossover, it looks like a Fisker, and it has a front-mounted radar unit behind glass. Those are the exterior concretes. As for the rest of the look, it's "Dramatically sculpted" with "futuristic, elegant muscular look" and there are "captivating design touches that have been traditionally reserved for supercars," By pressing a button, the roof opens in some way to create "an extended open-air atmosphere." An "enhanced +80 KWh lithium-ion battery pack" will provide power, not the solid-state batteries we know Fisker's working on and thought would make their first appearance here. The EMotion sedan will debut the solid-state units. Sounds like the standard version will use a single electric motor, but optional all-wheel drive puts another motor on the front axle. An optional wheel spans 22 inches, but we don't know what size the stock rims are. There's a luxurious, "vastly spacious interior" with "a modern aesthetic and high-quality materials." A "large heads-up display and unique, intuitive user interface... will control some of the latest emerging in-vehicle technologies." All of which could mean anything, so ends up meaning practically nothing. Closer to firm ground, this will be the first of three affordable EV models coming in well below the $129,000 EMotion flagship electric sedan. Fisker, Inc. says the crossover's price will come in below $40,000. The target range is 300 miles when this as-yet-unnamed SUV goes on sale in the second half of 2021. That's a long way off to be shooting for 300 miles. Come 2.5 years, 300 miles could be the baseline distance to be taken seriously. The Tesla Model Y is already there and the Germans are loading their EV cannons with compact offerings right now, led by Volkswagen's ID onslaught. Fisker won't open dealerships, planning to sell direct to consumers and service owners with a "nationwide concierge service model." More details to come, hopefully ones with more specific detailing. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.