Now Nissan is only taking the first steps towards that goal laboratory of feasibility studies where he experiments with handmade batteries, limited in batches. But if all goes according to plan, a small, secret workshop will lead to the launch of a pilot plant in 2024 and mass production in 2028.
Nissan is struggling with this important new technology many startups and almost every old school rivalfrom Toyota and Volkswagen to General Motors, are rushing to find the right path to success.
A look into the Nissan Lab shows how a long and difficult road to a solid state will be.
The 1,400-square-foot workshop is a dry-walled dry room inside an old warehouse at the Nissan Oppama plant, where engineers once worked on prototyping new catalysts.
There a group of 10 workers thoroughly mixes the electrolyte suspension, scooping the cathode powder from a plastic cup with a long spoon. They mix it into an ink-black slurry, which, as a mixture for pancakes, is applied to thin aluminum sheets – only two cells at a time.
After drying, the sheets pass through a stamping machine resembling a telephone box, which compresses them with a pressure three times greater than for standard lithium-ion elements.
The workers then cut the electrolyte sheets to the desired size and carefully fold them with the anode sheets. Finally, they vacuum the four-layer sets of cells into aluminum foil bags.
The work is fastidious and time consuming. The bulk of the processes are carried out through plexiglass gloveboxes to maintain ultra-low humidity and cleanliness. Because the rooms are very dry, technicians are required to take hydration breaks every two hours.
