Honda chases next big thing in EVs: solid-state batteries

Race to develop next-generation cells heats up among automakers

20220830N Honda EV REUTERS

Honda plans to release electric vehicles with solid-state batteries in the latter half of this decade. © Reuters

SHIZUKA TANABE, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Honda Motor may have been slow to embrace electric vehicles, similar to its Japanese peers, but the automaker has made large bets to get ahead in the growing market, especially when it comes to EV batteries.

Monday's announcement that Honda teamed with South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution to build a $4.4 billion EV battery plant in the U.S. was not the automaker's first move in the sector. The company will spend 43 billion yen ($310 million) to launch a pilot production line that produces all-solid-state batteries, demonstrating that it is going all-in on the next-generation technology.

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