SES inks deal with Honda to develop lithium-metal batteries

Lithium-metal battery maker SES said on Wednesday that it has partnered with Honda to develop products as part of the Japanese carmaker's next-generation battery strategy.

The partnership marks a key milestone on SES’ strategic roadmap to achieve commercial production of hybrid lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles, said the battery maker headquartered in Boston, the United States.

Besides Honda, General Motors and Hyundai have signed joint development agreements with SES.

In a previous statement, SES said the samples with GM and Hyundai will be ready in 2022 and their commercialization is scheduled to start around 2025.

Like several carmakers including GM and Hyundai, Honda said it would invest in the battery maker after its combination with Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp.

SES unveiled the world's largest lithium-metal battery late last year, marking a breakthrough for the automotive industry that is shifting towards electrification.

The battery cell, with 107 ampere hours, is also the world's first 100 plus Ah lithium-metal battery ever demonstrated.

The average capacity of a lithium-ion battery cell in today's electric cars ranges from 50 to 120 amp hours.

SES founder and CEO Qichao Hu said he is confident that SES will be the first to commercialize this next generation lithium-metal battery.

Hu said SES is building a production facility in Shanghai, which is scheduled for completion in 2023.

It will be capable of producing 1 GWh of lithium-metal batteries annually, by far the largest of its kind in the world.

Carmakers in China, Europe and the United States have rolled out plans to go electric, ranging from volume brands including Volkswagen and GM to premium marques such as Jaguar and Volvo.

Last year, over 3.5 million electric cars and plug-in hybrids were sold in China, up 157.5 percent year-on-year, the fastest growth rate since 2016, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Their deliveries are expected to reach 5 million units in 2022, up 42 percent, said the association.