--- title: "Forget Solid-State. This EV Battery Breakthrough Is Ready To Upend The Market Now" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/290215928.md" description: "General Motors is prioritizing silicon anode technology as the next major leap in EV battery performance, viewing it as a more immediate solution than solid-state batteries. Silicon anodes promise significantly increased range and faster charging by replacing some graphite. While startups like Amprius and Sila are already deploying these batteries in high-end vehicles, GM aims to scale production for broader market adoption alongside other chemistries like lithium-manganese-rich and sodium-ion." datetime: "2026-06-18T14:35:44.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/290215928.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290215928.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/290215928.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Forget Solid-State. This EV Battery Breakthrough Is Ready To Upend The Market Now Solid-state batteries for electric vehicles have been grabbing headlines over the past few years, but mos automakers don’t expect them to be ready for commercialization before the end of the decade. Battery companies expect several other chemistries to arrive first, including an advanced version of current lithium-ion batteries with silicon in the anodes. “We believe silicon is the next anode technology,” Kurt Kelty, the head of battery and sustainability at General Motors, told me in an interview at last week’s GM Empower conference in San Francisco. Amprius Technologies: silicon anode Li-Ion battery cells The goal remains the same: to make EVs drive further, charge faster, and be safer. The anode can help automakers achieve that. It is a critical battery component, storing ions during charging and releasing them during discharging. Today, anodes are almost universally made from graphite, a material tied to expensive, environmentally fraught mining, with more than 90% of its processing concentrated in China. Battery makers have stuck with it anyway, because graphite keeps batteries stable and energy-dense. But by increasing the amount of graphite in the anode and increasing the amount of silicon, you can massively improve batteries, even if you still need some graphite to prevent the swelling that would occur in a pure silicon anode. A pivot away from pure graphite anodes is now already underway across multiple sectors. Silicon anode batteries are already powering high-end smartphones, and the technology is now being adapted for automotive-grade applications. ![Group14 Silicon Anode Battery](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdn.motor1.com/images/static/16x9-tr.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Group14 silicon anode battery Photo by: Group14 Technologies “We're definitely deep on silicon,” Kelty said. “What you're going to see in the short- to mid- term is silicon anodes being deployed in greater percentages,” he added. GM didn’t specify how far along it was in developing silicon anodes, or how much range or charging improvements are expected in these future batteries. But several battery startups have made the benefits of silicon anodes plenty clear. California startup Amprius Technologies claims an EV with 310 miles of range on a traditional pack could deliver 574 miles with its silicon anode battery. Sila, another American startup, says its high-silicon anodes can boost range by 20% with no increase in pack size. ![Sila silicon anode U.S. battery plant](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdn.motor1.com/images/static/16x9-tr.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Sila's silicon anode U.S. battery plant in Moses Lake, Washington. Photo by: Sila What makes silicon anodes particularly compelling right now is their development timeline compared to solid-state batteries. Some high-end silicone anode batteries are already in production. The McMurtry Spéirling hypercar, which made headlines for its ground-effect aerodynamics and record-breaking run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, is powered by Taiwanese company Molicel’s batteries, which use Group14’s silicon anodes. The result: enough discharge power to launch the Spéirling to 60 miles per hour in just 1.55 seconds and through the quarter mile in eight seconds. Mercedes-Benz has also installed silicon-containing anodes in the new AMG GT, which enables its extreme charging performance. The automaker claims it can juice up from 10% to 80% in just 11 minutes at its peak charging rate of 600 kilowatts. ![GM Ultium Battery](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdn.motor1.com/images/static/16x9-tr.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) GM's Ultium EV battery pack. The challenge is to make these batteries at scale, drive costs down, and install them into more affordable models, not just high-performance cars. It looks like efforts are already underway to make that happen. Sila’s U.S. factory in Moses Lake, Washington is already operational with the initial capacity to make battery materials for up to 50,000 EVs per year. It also has locked supply agreements with Mercedes-Benz and Panasonic, Tesla’s primary battery supplier. If demand grows, it could expand the facility to make anode materials for 2.5 million EVs. U.S. battery company Group14 has also started production of silicon-anode battery materials at its joint venture factory with SK Inc. in South Korea. The factory is designed to produce up to 10 gigawatt-hours of capacity, enough to power over 100,000 EVs. ![GM Prismatic LMR Battery Cell 2](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cdn.motor1.com/images/static/16x9-tr.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) General Motors' prismatic LMR battery cell. Photo by: General Motors Even though silicon anodes are the near- to mid-term solution for improving EV battery performance, Kelty said GM will continue to work with multiple chemistries, matching the right battery with the right application. The automaker is developing the lower-cost lithium-manganese-rich battery for large SUVs and pickups due out in 2028. It already uses high-nickel batteries for most of its line-up and lithium-iron-phosphate on the Chevy Bolt. Plus, it recently announced that it’s also developing sodium-ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage systems. On top of all that, Kelty said GM is also keeping a close eye on solid-state batteries, which researchers say is the “holy grail” of battery technology that could potentially eliminate range anxiety and make charging as fast as refueling gas. “We've got a bunch of solid-state prototypes in our labs,” he said, adding that testing of solid-state batteries was underway at the automaker’s labs. “We need to know what the latest and greatest \[technology\] is.” * * * What do you think? View Comments * * * All said, it’s plenty clear that the battery race has no finish line in sight. There’s a long road ahead comprising multiple battery chemistries, similar to how combustion engines evolved over a century. Thanks to these constant improvements, the range and charging times we see in a few years could be dramatically different from what’s common now. *Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com* Related Stories This Silicon Anode Breakthrough Could Mark A Turning Point For EV Batteries \[Update\] Silicon Anode EV Batteries Are The Real Deal, But It's Complicated Panasonic Signs Up For Sila's Titan Silicon To Deliver Unmatched EV Performance Mercedes EQG To Feature Revolutionary Range-Boosting Battery Technology We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Insideevs.com? Take our 3 minute survey. \- The InsideEVs team Share this Story - Facebook - X - LinkedIn - Flipboard - Reddit - WhatsApp - E-Mail - copy GO TO COMMENTS ( ) Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com View all comments ( ) ### Related Stocks - [AMPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMPX.US.md) - [GM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GM.US.md) - [AMPU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMPU.US.md) - [6752.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/6752.JP.md) - [TSLA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [AMPX+.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMPX+.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [General Motors Raises Guidance as Truck Demand Offsets EV and Tariff Pressures](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296406451.md) - [GM Reveals U.S. Probe Into Nearly 1 Mln Vehicles After Recall Fixes Fail](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296638130.md) - [US highway agency expands probe into GM pickups, SUVs over engine failures](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296645850.md) - [VIMAB: Strong Q2 revenue growth and new battery contracts signal improving performance](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296577862.md) - [Home batteries are suddenly cheap and everywhere. Here’s why.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296365569.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**