Huawei's 3,000 km EV battery claim sparks skepticism in solid-state race

Korea Herald

3 days ago

Experts call range 'implausible,' citing technical hurdles, mass-production limits
Huawei is making bold claims in the race for next-generation electric vehicle batteries, but are they too good to be true?
The Chinese tech giant, already a high-profile newcomer in the EV component market, has filed a patent for a sulfide-based all-solid-state battery that reportedly enables a driving range of up to 3,000 kilometers and ultrafast charging in just five minutes, according to Chinese media outlet CarNewsChina. If true, the battery would far exceed the capabilities of any EV battery currently in commercial use.
The patent, presumed to be filed in China, details Huawei's method of enhancing battery performance by doping sulfide solid electrolytes with nitrogen. The technique aims at mitigating interface instability — a key hurdle in solid-state battery development. The energy density is reportedly between 400 and 500 watt-hours per kilogram, potentially two to three times higher than today's lithium-ion cells.
But skepticism is mounting among industry experts in Korea, who view the 3,000 km range and five-minute charging claims as ungrounded.
'Even the most advanced lithium-ion batteries, which generally have higher capacity than solid-state prototypes, fall far short of that kind of range,' said Yang Min-ho, professor of energy engineering at Dankook University. 'Such performance might be possible in lab conditions using only active materials, but real-world factors like energy loss and thermal management make mass production extremely difficult.'
Yang pointed out that the cathode — the component that most determines a battery's energy capacity — remains largely the same between lithium-ion and solid-state formats, casting further doubt on Huawei's projection.
A researcher at a major Korean battery firm described the nitrogen doping approach as 'a standard technique with limited scalability.'
'While nitrogen doping can help with interface stability, it's usually done under vacuum and with great precision. It's not something you can scale for commercial production without major cost and time penalties,' the researcher said. 'It's like trying to sprinkle pepper on a sandwich using tweezers.'
Huawei's patent, the researcher added, may offer theoretical promise but lacks the kind of third-party validation or performance data required in academic research or production-grade rollout. 'That's the nature of patents. They grant rights, not credibility.'
In the meantime, Korea's 'big three' battery makers — LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On — appear unfazed. 'We monitor developments in China closely, but this doesn't look like a game-changer yet,' the researcher said.
Samsung SDI is currently leading Korea's solid-state battery efforts, having already sent samples to clients and targeting mass production by 2027. LG Energy Solution is working on both oxide- and sulfide-based solid-state technologies, aiming for commercialization by 2030. SK On plans to introduce polymer-oxide and sulfide variants between 2028 and 2030.
Huawei's domestic rival Xiaomi has also entered the solid-state patent race, filing for a layered electrode structure that claims to deliver 1,200 km of range and an 800 km recharge in just 10 minutes.
While the race for solid-state dominance continues, experts say such breakthrough-level numbers should be met with caution, especially when they come without independent verification.
'Huawei's ambition is clear,' said Yang. 'But battery science doesn't move in leaps. It moves in increments, and those increments take years to scale.'