Race leaders to build a better EV battery

The two main drawbacks of electric cars – limited range and slow charging – are likely to persist until battery makers can fix the dendrite problem.

This solution will be worth billions, and a range of startups often backed by automakers are touting their early 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, these are tiny, needle-like deposits of lithium resembling microscopic tree branches. They can develop inside batteries, causing short circuits or even fires.

The batteries used in cars today require slower charging, in part because of the risk of dendrite formation. Charging too fast can cause dendrites to form. As QuantumScape’s batteries seem to have solved the dendrite problem, they can be charged faster.

“If you can build a better battery, you can build a better car,” said Jagdeep Singh, CEO of QuantumScape.