The two biggest disadvantages of electric cars – limited range and slow charging – are likely to persist until battery manufacturers can solve the dendrite problem.
That solution will be worth billions, and a series of startups often backed by automakers are touting their first successes. Investors are swarming around one of the few publicly traded competitors, QuantumScape Corp., which for some time last year was worth more than Ford Motor Co.
In the human body, dendrites are extensions of nerves that transmit signals between cells. In lithium-ion batteries, they are tiny deposits of needle-like lithium, similar to microscopic tree branches. They can grow inside batteries, causing short circuits or even fires.
The batteries that are in use in cars today require a slower charge, partly due to the risk of dendrite formation. Too fast a charge can cause dendrites to accumulate. Since QuantumScape’s batteries seem to have solved the dendrite problem, they can be charged more quickly.
“If you can build a better battery, you can build a better car,” said QuantumScape Chief Executive Jagdeep Singh.