Mercedes-Benz has agreed to collaborate with Canadian battery material company Hydro-Québec on future electric vehicle research and development activities. Hydro-Québec developed a first-generation solid-state battery in the 1990s and has continued its R&D to improve both efficiency and manufacturing methods.
“We’re pleased to be partnering with Mercedes-Benz to pursue our research even further,” said Karim Zaghib, general manager of Hydro-Québec’s center of excellence in transportation electrification and energy storage. “Our association will allow us to test new materials quickly in field conditions, and so accelerate the development cycle and respond to the concerns of automobile manufacturers.”
With its latest developments, Hydro-Québec has achieved promising results for future battery performance, range and weight, as well as harnessing the potential of solid-state-materials on safety. The two companies’ researchers will cooperate to test new materials under field conditions to accelerate the development cycle.
The joint research activities will be carried out at Hydro-Québec’s center of excellence in transportation electrification and energy storage in Canada as well as the SCE France laboratory, a Hydro-Québec subsidiary.
“The battery is a key component of our electric vehicles. Mastering their chemistry is therefore a focal topic for Mercedes-Benz research and development,” said Jochen Hermann, VP of eDrive development, Mercedes-Benz.
“Solid-state batteries are supposed to be a next important technology leap for e-mobility, meaning an alternative to today’s Li-ion battery systems. The latest advancements Hydro-Québec researchers have made are very promising and we are looking forward to the first results of our joint development program.”