Hitachi Zozen has received its first commercial order for All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries (ASSLBs).
Hitachi Zosen has been dedicated to developing ASSLBs for many years. Initially, the company was only engaged in experimental research and sample shipments.
Now, Hitachi Zosen has announced that it has received its first commercial order from a semiconductor equipment manufacturer. The application of all-solid-state batteries in space has been growing for over a year.
Nikkei reported that Hitachi Zosen shared its venture into all-solid-state battery research with the public in 2018 and began recruiting talent in preparation for solid-state space applications in 2019. The company aimed to supply all-solid-state batteries to purely electric vehicle-related businesses by the 2020s.
In 2021, Hitachi Zosen announced that the capacity of its all-solid-state batteries was among the world's largest and seven times that of previous products, at 1,000mAh. These batteries can be used in harsh environments.
By 2023, Hitachi Zosen produced samples with a capacity of 5,000mAh. The company plans to further increase its capacity several-fold by 2025.
However, there have been no reports of pure electric vehicle manufacturers adopting Hitachi Zosen's all-solid-state batteries or collaborating on technology development. Japanese automotive giants, such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, are actively conducting their own research and development.
At the end of February 2024, Hitachi Zosen announced that its all-solid-state battery product, "AS-LiB," had received its first commercial order. The buyer is a semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
The order consists of all-solid-state batteries with a capacity of 140mAh. There are a total of 12 units forming set for shipment.
Previous AS-LiB shipments were only for providing samples. This time the technology will be used in commercial equipment.
The order has piqued the interest of industry insiders who expect continued receipt of commercial orders in the future. However, Hitachi Zosen did not disclose detailed information such as the amount of this order, so the extent of its contribution to performance is unclear.
In August 2022, Hitachi Zosen collaborated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to send its 140mAh all-solid-state batteries to the International Space Station (ISS). They were installed in a Japanese experimental module and underwent charging and discharging tests in the actual space environment.
Finally, in December 2023, the batteries returned to Earth along with the experimental equipment. The company is scheduled to analyze the batteries and equipment in March 2024.
The AS-LiB product line includes two models: 140mAh and 1,000mAh. The dimensions of the 140mAh model are 52×65.5×2mm, and it operates within a wider temperature range.
Two additional 55mAh and 5,000mAh models are under development. They have an even wider operating temperature range.
