The pilot line has been set up with an investment of USD 310m. It’s a pilot; the batteries are not headed for production cars or scooters. Even when it goes beyond a pilot, we expect most production to go to Honda cars.
However, solid-state batteries should also be suitable for performance motorcycles and scooters. Honda displayed two concepts at EICMA this year.
We have always been skeptical about the technology suitability of electric powertrains for performance motorcycles. These motorcycles suffer from high weight due to heavy batteries. If the batteries are made smaller, the motorcycles will no longer deliver the range that the customers in the performance segment are used to.
If we change a conventional NMC 15kWh pack to solid state, we estimate a 30-percent weight savings at the pack level. This translates into about 20kg less weight. For a performance motorcycle, 20 kg is all the difference between success and failure.
Impact
Honda has just started the pilot, and the company has given no indication that solid-state batteries are headed for its upcoming performance motorcycles. At the same time, the Japanese manufacturer is known for doing things comprehensively. With its 2025 and 2030 plans to go all out in electric, there is scope for some of the large-format performance models to use solid-state batteries.