BMW teams up with Ford to play solid-state battery catch-up

Ford and BMW have joined forces and invested more than $US130 million ($A170m) in US-based Solid Power in an effort to catch up to rivals which are already developing the next-gen battery tech.

According to reports, the latest funding round will allow the solid-state battery pioneer to set up an in-house production line.

When complete, Solid Power says limited manufacturing of batteries will commence in early 2022, with the small plant producing batteries big enough to power pure-electric vehicles.

Once up and running, if the tech developed by Solid Power proves to be reliable, it's been reported that BMW's battery cell chief, Peter Lamp, expects the US tech company to supply batteries for its future EVs before the end of the decade.

Both Ford and BMW are understood to have been lagging behind rivals such as the Volkswagen Group and Toyota when it comes to solid-state battery development.

The Volkswagen Group announced recently that it will introduce its next-gen batteries as soon as 2024, while Toyota is on track to offer its pioneering tech even earlier.

Long considered the silver bullet for EVs, solid-state cells offer a 50 per cent increase in range and are capable of topping up the battery in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Safer and lighter than any current batteries, even a long-range solid-state battery with a range of up to 1000km can be fully recharged in just 15 minutes.

The drawback with the tech, which replaces the liquid or gel-form electrolyte with a solid conductive material, is it's hugely expensive.

So despite VW's claim it will introduce its first solid-state battery-powered car in 2024, full-scale rollout of the technology won't happen until much later in 2028, which coincides neatly with Solid Power's timeline.

It's not the first time Ford has invested heavily in Solid Power; back in 2018 it raised more than $US26 million ($A34m) with a consortium that also included Hyundai and Samsung Electronics.

BMW, meanwhile, has been working with the battery-maker since 2016.

Following the recent investment, Ford and BMW will own an equal share in Solid Power, although how much has yet to be declared to the markets.

Founded back in 2012, Solid Power was created by graduates and lecturers from the University of Colorado Boulder.