THE DRY ROOM AT SOLID POWER’S Louisville, Colorado, facility is abrasively bright, and yet the low, encompassing hum of the fans and chillers is oddly soothing. It’s here in the humidity- and contaminant-free production area where Solid Power produced their first full-size solid-state lithium-metal battery cells. The cells, a shining silver contrast to their surroundings, were a moonshot.
The technology, in theory, sounded too good to be true: a 10× jump in power (or 10× drop in size) from traditional lithium-ion cells. Solid Power was aiming for more modest gains in its first prototypes, but could still see an 80 per cent improvement in the near future.
Then, on 7 August 2021, three engineers donned protective Tyvek ‘bunny suits’, entered the dry room, and drew voltage from the largest prototype lithium-metal battery to date.
Josh Buettner-Garrett, Solid Power’s chief technology officer, monitored from his office. He felt confident, but a little apprehensive: ‘We knew we could make
