--- title: "Hyundai Bets Big on the White Whale of EVs: Solid-State Batteries" description: "Hyundai has invested in U.S. company Factorial to develop solid-state EV batteries." date: "2021-10-29" modified: "2021-10-29" authors: - name: "Hazel Southwell" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/hazel-southwell" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/42934/hyundai-bets-big-on-the-white-whale-of-evs-solid-state-batteries" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Electric Vehicles" - "Hyundai News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Hyundai" --- # Hyundai Bets Big on the White Whale of EVs: Solid-State Batteries ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* Hyundai has announced the latest in a series of investments it's making in the United States that'll add up to a massive [$7.4 billion]() on EV manufacturing and infrastructure by 2025. This new round is a specific partnership with battery specialist Factorial to push forward solid-state tech in electric vehicles. Solid-state isn't an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, it's just a different way of constructing them. The benefits are longer-lasting batteries with much higher energy density and better thermal resilience. When you're building car batteries, those are all things you want—a battery that can withstand a large number of charge cycles, regular usage, and near-constant partial-charging (via regenerative braking) at the same time as operating. Because solid-state offers a more stable cell, it's been the white whale of automotive for years. Fisker announced it was going entirely solid-state for a supercar [back in 2017](), to be delivered in 2024, only to [drop the idea]() completely earlier this year. But it's not just a startup buzzword. BMW has also made an investment in [U.S.-based Solid Power]() to advance its own solid-state developments. Toyota is arguably at the forefront of the whole thing, despite having only just announced a production battery-electric car, having given its [e-Palette vehicles]() solid-state batteries for the Tokyo Olympics and now testing a road car that [uses a solid-state pack](). Hyundai is teaming up with Factorial specifically to test its technology in vehicles, so this isn't a complete development partnership but one where they're essentially taking Factorial's already-developed battery product and getting it on the road. According to the release, "the companies will integrate Factorial technology at the cell, module, and system levels, perform vehicle-level integration, and co-develop specifications for manufacturing Factorial’s batteries." Factorial says its technology is based on the FEST (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology) battery architecture, which has been scaled up to a 40-amp-hour cell that performs well at room temperature. EV batteries tend to produce far more amp-hours than that but it does show Factorial actually has a product. Hyundai and Factorial haven't given a timeline for when they see prototypes hitting the road but it's interesting to see a Korean manufacturer invest in the U.S. for battery technology. Korea is [the dominant force]() in global battery making, especially for electric vehicles, and the government has made [$35 billion]() of funding available to push the technology. *Got a story tip? Mail it to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Hazel is a writer specializing in electric vehicles and new fuel and powertrain technologies. She’s covered tech in motorsport since the inception of Formula E and has been a journalist for 17 years. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [Twitter]()