Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery in 1991 and is now approaching the electric vehicle battery industry.
Sony can expect to perform well in the industry, even if it loses the bid for the FIA Formula E Championship, which is electric racing cars in need of better batteries.
Electric race cars may eventually become a standard, but there is a call for more efficient battery designs.
Sony would be a more-than adequate supplier for the Formula E, although Panasonic is also interested in the Formula E 2018 battery deal. As to which company would allow the electric race cars to perform better, the battery type would need to be investigated. One of the companies will replace Xalt Energy, which currently supplies battery cell components for Formula E.
The public is desperately waiting for more detailed information about what Sony’s battery cells will have to offer. Although the VCT6 cell (3000 mAh 18650) was just released, the VC7 cell is coming next. The VC7 cell will have 3500 mAh capacity, reaching the same standards that Sanyo, LG Chem, and Samsung SDI have already produced.
By 2020, Sony plans to commercialize new batteries for the smartphone market and then extend its efforts into other industries, such as the electric vehicle industry. Its batteries are said to be high-capacity lithium-sulfur and magnesium-sulfur batteries, despite how the usage of lithium has apparently caused short circuits.
The company places confidence in the supposed 40% increase in volumetric capacity to 1,000 Wh/l. While other companies develop batteries with sulfur-applied electrodes, we will have to hope that Sony’s lithium batteries will rise above the associated problems.
We can probably expect to see more pouch cells on the market after Sony’s entry into the EV industry, since these lightweight batteries have 90-95 percent packaging efficiency.
