Safety by design: a next-gen blueprint for EV batteries

The EV industry can - and should - stop pushing decades-old battery architecture well past its limits.

For more than three decades, the fundamental design of lithium-ion batteries has remained largely unchanged, tracing back to Sony's original design in 1991 for small portable electronics. While impressive advancements have been made in materials, chemistry, and manufacturing efficiencies, the core design has remained the same. This legacy design, initially developed for small, low-voltage, low-energy-density applications, has now become a significant bottleneck for the automotive industry and the future of electric vehicles.

Imagine only updating the apps on your phone without ever updating the operating system. No matter how modern the apps become, the system cannot keep up with new demands. At some point, performance stalls and the system hits a wall. This is the situation the EV industry faces today. We're pushing decades-old battery architecture well past its limits.