Silicone Carbide + Semi Solid State

[kagemushablues]

Qingtao and Welion have been selling their semi solid state batteries a la carte on Taobao/Alibaba in China. They are NCM chemistry apparently.



For example I'm looking at 111ah cells 3.7v that are about 1kg each.
That's a sweet 400 EDIT: 375-380wh/kg!!

Meanwhile the latest Oppo/Xiaomi phones have been using extremely thin and light Silicon Carbide batteries that are basically solid state. EDIT: As BlueSwordM pointed out - these are actually just high silicon batteries that still semi-solid state. They are however, 60% thinner than 2020+ phone batteries so there's some progress.

Will we be ripping apart laptops and phones for the best batteries in the near future? After my current build (see VFR400 20kw thread) with the semis, will be looking into how to get a SiC build going. Basing off of Oppo replacement battery costs... it'd be like a $10k battery. Maybe I can find some investors for a superbike product.

We should be very excited right now. It's looking like 2026 is gonna be the year when we go mainstream.

 

[BlueSwordM]

>Meanwhile the latest Oppo/Xiaomi phones have been using extremely thin and light Silicone Carbide batteries that are basically solid state.

Nope, these aren't solid state electrolyte cells.

They're just high Si anode HV LCO cells using silicides as Group14's anode tech (likely silicides since they're the absolute best way to get up to 55% Si loading in anodes).

 

[BatteryMooch]

Nope, these aren't solid state electrolyte cells.

They're just high Si anode HV LCO cells using silicides as Group14's anode tech (likely silicides since they're the absolute best way to get up to 55% Si loading in anodes).

I’d be very surprised if these cells used something as expensive as SCC55 in their anode. Probably just tossed in some silicon and compliant binder to handle the expansion. We can only guess…fun to do though.

 

[neptronix]

400whrs/kg? big if true!

 

[BlueSwordM]

I’d be very surprised if these cells used something as expensive as SCC55 in their anode. Probably just tossed in some silicon and compliant binder to handle the expansion. We can only guess…fun to do though.

Actually, I'm not guessing

All of the CN phones having 5500-6000-7000-7600-8000mah are using Groupe 14's silicide/silicon carbide anodes.

Group14 Enters Production to Power the Next Generation of Smartphones for ATL

Learn how Group14's advanced silicon battery materials will power the next generation of smartphones for ATL at global commercial scale.

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Of course, their Si loading isn't anywhere near the optimal 30% or the max of 55% of silicon carbide/silicides (max is 10-15% currently).

 

[kagemushablues]

Nope, these aren't solid state electrolyte cells.

They're just high Si anode HV LCO cells using silicides as Group14's anode tech (likely silicides since they're the absolute best way to get up to 55% Si loading in anodes).

Thanks for correcting me on that. Edited in original post. Yep the silicon allowing for higher binding of lithium is the real progress there. Not completely solid state yet. These having higher capacity, thinner, and being able to take fast charging is what's really interesting to me.

Especially recently, the spec sheets of battery suppliers in China have changed from using kwh/kg to kwh/l.

I think they're cognizant of that there will be weight gains due to density. Purely from a moto perspective - I do hope this will give electric motorcycles market new life because range anxiety and charging speed.

 

[kagemushablues]

400whrs/kg? big if true!

It's more like 380wh/kg. Corrected in the post!

I should have been more clear --- the weight ratio is not nearly as impressive as the size ratio improvements.

For my current build I'm able to cram a 96v 222ah battery into a 40cm*40cm*24cm case, a pretty big jump forward from current LiPos and LiFePo4 pouches. Looks like for the next year or two semi-solids will be the way for garage builds.

---

The new silicon carbide tech is even more impressive. I'm keeping an eye out for when the "ultrathin" third party powerbanks come out, which indicates that the tech has reached a point of affordability.... can't recommend to anyone yet for building. The ultra fast charging is also a major win for electric motorsports.

 

[BatteryMooch]

Actually, I'm not guessing

All of the CN phones having 5500-6000-7000-7600-8000mah are using Groupe 14's silicide/silicon carbide anodes.

I was referring to the Alibaba cells mentioned at the top of @kagemushablues poat and thought you were too.

 

[BatteryMooch]

Of course, their Si loading isn't anywhere near the optimal 30% or the max of 55% of silicon carbide/silicides (max is 10-15% currently).

I’m curious…what makes 30% optimal? Especially since you say 55% is max and an all-silicon (100%) anode is the holy grail for some development efforts.

If 30% was indeed the optimal level then it seems there would be no need to go beyond that since it increases cost and requires additional engineering to handle the increased swelling.

 

[BlueSwordM]

I’m curious…what makes 30% optimal? Especially since you say 55% is max and an all-silicon (100%) anode is the holy grail for some development efforts.

If 30% was indeed the optimal level then it seems there would be no need to go beyond that since it increases cost and requires additional engineering to handle the increased swelling.

I should have worded my statement differently.

#1 I meant to write pareto-optimal: you get most of the energy density gains with 30% equivalent Si loading.

#2 For pure silicides/silicon carbide, the maximum Si loading you can have is around 55% because of their chemical makeup; it is physically impossible to get more Si from them

#3 Indeed. Ideal/optimal is either 100% Si anodes or anode-free cells (lithium metal anodes only).