Last month (Nov 2023), EP Technologies launched its latest solid-state battery. According to the company, the new battery employs solid electrolytes instead of the liquid electrolytes found in conventional lithium-ion batteries. It says that this improves safety as the flammable liquid is eliminated and reduces the risk of overheating.

“It [the new battery] has an exceptionally long life cycle and improved performance in extreme temperatures,” says Marco Ottieker, owner of EP Technologies.

“These batteries have the potential to transform the way energy is stored and utilised in the marine industry, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future.”

Ottieker believes everybody in the marine industry is in need of such energy storage, but says currently they have one downside – and that is that they’re 30 per cent heavier than EP Technologies’ newest NCM batteries.

“So they’re not so great for the speed boat market,” Ottieker says. “But they are extremely safe, they are extremely green and cost-effective as they last around three times as long as standard LFP and or NCM batteries.”

He rattles through a list of situations which could happen to the battery and says that overcharging, over discharging, crushing or being penetrated by nail will have the same effect: no fire, no explosion, no smoke.

“You can puncture a cell and there will be no thermal runaway,” Ottieker says. “It means the cell will not self-ignite, even if there should be a production fault and/or unclean material inside.

“This and the over/under-charge capabilities effectively mean you can only ignite the cell with external heat, that needs to be above 350C for a period of time. If you have that in your battery room you can expect the whole vessel to be on fire, but not due to the battery.”

Main image: testing the solid-state batteries at METSTRADE in November 2023.

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