Hyundai to unveil solid-state ‘Dream Battery’

Hyundai is primed to unveil its next-generation solid-state battery as soon as next month, with the new technology set to unlock a longer range and faster charging.

According to Korea's ET News, the new battery will be revealed on March 9 along with the opening of the car-making giant’s new Uiwang Research Center in Gyeonggi, where the next-generation batteries will be tested on a pilot production line.

Developed under the ‘Dream Battery’ codename, reports suggest Hyundai will begin testing as soon as this year, although production won’t commence until much later in 2030.

Solid-state power packs have long been considered the holy grail of battery technology as replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid one can reduce weight and boost power density.

The solid electrolyte is also more tolerant of the high temperatures associated with fast charging, unlocking faster charging speeds.

In the event of an accident, the solid electrolyte is less reactive to damage, with less chance of fires caused by the battery pack being punctured.

Following the introduction of the production solid-state battery packs, it’s thought that instead of rolling out EVs with super-long ranges, most car-makers are set to cap the average distance travelled between top-ups at around 500 to 600km.

This will then allow future electric cars to run with much lighter batteries for enhanced efficiency. The move to smaller powerpacks will also slash costs and see EVs undertake combustion-powered cars on pricing.

As well as previewing its new solid-state batteries, the move to develop these batteries in-house has been seen as a big move by Hyundai to back away from its reliance on current battery suppliers, like China’s CATL.

Once launched, the new solid-state batteries will go on to power not only Hyundai models but Kia and Genesis cars too, as well as some cars made by General Motors.

The American car-making giant has already agreed to a far-reaching deal that, in return for Hyundai’s battery tech, could see the Korean brand jointly develop a new range of utes with GM.

It’s still not known who will win the race to mass-produce solid-state batteries, with Toyota, Nissan, Chery, SAIC and GWM all claiming they’re close to a breakthrough.

Late last year Stellantis said it too was ready to begin real-world testing in 2026 with a fleet of electric Dodge Charger EVs.

MG’s owner, SAIC, has said it will launch first with a semi-solid-state pack in 2025 that should offer a range of more than 800km on a single charge.

Chery, meanwhile, says it will launch its next-gen batteries in 2026, with Toyota confident of mass production of solid-state cells in 2027 and Nissan announcing a plan for a year later.

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