Mercedes-Benz’s newest electric city bus uses solid-state batteries

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  Mercedes-Benz's latest articulated bus is the eCitaro G, and it is available with solid-state batteries. [credit: Mercedes-Benz ]

Lithium-ion battery technology has made impressive gains over the years. Today's cells are cheaper than they've ever been, but lithium-ion still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of energy density compared to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Which means that putting enough of them in a car to give it an acceptable range adds a lot of mass and volume. Which is where solid-state batteries come in.

In a traditional battery, a pair of electrodes are immersed in an electrolyte solution, and it's this liquid electrolyte that allows ions to move from one electrode to the other. But liquid electrolytes can leak, and that's not a great thing, whether the material is highly corrosive, as in a lead-acid battery, or highly flammable, as in a lithium-ion battery. So researchers around the world have been experimenting with batteries that use a solid electrolyte instead, with a particular eye on using them in electric vehicles.

And now, it seems it's a technology that is ready to be deployed, as Mercedes-Benz just announced that its new eCitaro and eCitaro G city buses will be available with roof-mounted solid-state battery packs, developed in conjunction with the Canadian power company Hydro Quebec.

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