China’s huge battery breakthrough

Chinese carmaker Chery has debuted a groundbreaking solid-state battery.

Chery showed off a prototype cell with more than double the energy density of conventional batteries at the 2025 Chery Global Innovation Conference, according to reports.

This means it can deliver more than twice the driving range compared to current batteries of the same size.

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Chery suggests it can theoretically exceed 1500km on a single charge, but a more realistic real world range is 1300km.

The battery has not been fitted to a vehicle but the working prototype is said to have gone through extensive testing.

Solid state batteries are often thought to be crucial to mass electric car adoption by destroying range anxiety.

The futuristic tech is also key to developing electric sports cars, utes and 4WDs are they are lighter and less prone to fire.

Chery said its prototype kept working even after nail penetration and power-drill damage. It also didn’t catch smoke or produce fire.

Solid state batteries were meant to already be fitted to cars but the tech has proved more difficult to develop than many manufacturers thought.

Some believe the tech will only be for high-end, low volume vehicles as the production of the batteries would be prohibitively expensive.

Despite the difficulties nearly every major carmaker and battery manufacturer is pursuing the new tech.

Chinese giants Chery, GWM and SAIC are all well advanced in their pursuit of the energy dense cells.

So are BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The two big Germans have actually fitted early working prototype solid-state batteries to vehicles, which no other maker has publicly done yet.

Japanese carmakers Honda, Nissan and Toyota are also investing heavily in the next-gen cells.

Toyota appears to be leading the pack of its compatriots, with the brand confirming early this month it is aiming to launch vehicles with solid state batteries in 2027-2028.