In Battery Revolution, a Clean Leap Forward - WSJ

High hopes

"According to calculations by Kevin Jones, a battery expert and materials-science professor at the University of Florida, when batteries can store as much energy as those proposed by Sakti3, electric cars that cost the same to own and operate as conventional vehicles become possible. Another advantage of solid-state batteries is that they are much less likely to explode or catch fire if damaged in an accident.

Solid batteries already exist, though they tend to be tiny—just big enough to fit next to a microchip, providing backup power in case of interruption. Using current technologies, a solid battery large enough to power a cellphone would cost $15,000, if it could be built. And one big enough to power a car would cost $90 million.

But, says Dr. Sastry, “We project being able to hit $100 per kilowatt-hour at scale. That’s less than half the cost of the incumbents.”"

In Battery Revolution, a Clean Leap Forward - WSJ