xEV Battery Technology, Application, and Market

The EV industry is entering a phase where battery systems must deliver higher usable energy, greater volumetric efficiency, faster charging, and dramatically lower system cost to compete with gas platforms. This will require a fundamental rethinking of high voltage architectures. Ford will discuss its vertically integrated UEV battery pack, engineered from the cell level upward to electrical systems to minimize system complexity and improve battery utilization.

Nissan's first All-Solid-State Battery (ASSB) electric vehicles are slated for production in 2028. ASSB technology has enabled state-of-the-art advances in vehicle range, fast charging, and safety. At this stage we must critically assess the problems that remain to be solved and how we can further improve the performance and scalability of ASSBs. At Nissan Silicon Valley, we are pioneering a materials informatics led approach to develop the next generation of ASSBs.

General Motors is building an electrification powerhouse, having launched a dozen EVs into the market, ranging from the Equinox EV to the Cadillac Escalade IQ. Mr. Oury will provide an update on GM’s battery strategy, focusing on engineering the right battery for the right vehicle—aligning performance, cost, and range with customer needs.

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a subsidiary of USCAR, is a collaborative research organization comprised of technical personnel from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. USABC has been pursuing advanced energy storage technologies for electrified vehicles for over 30 years. This talk will highlight recent updates to USABC’s long term battery development targets and provide an overview of expected upcoming funding opportunities for US-based battery suppliers.

As software-defined vehicles (SDVs) centralize compute and decouple software from hardware, the functional safety of high-voltage battery packs faces new challenges in fault propagation, OTA-driven recalibration, and zonal E/E integration. This presentation examines how ISO 26262 ASIL-D goals can be achieved through fail-operational BMS architectures, deterministic in-vehicle networking, and cybersecurity-aware design, and proposes a practical reference framework for OEMs developing next-generation SDV battery systems.

Solid-state electrolyte SSE materials hold the key to enabling highly efficient solid-state battery technologies. Thus, the demonstration of SSEs capable of meeting the performance metrics demanded is of paramount importance. Herein, we will provide an update related to progresses being made in the area of SSE material development.

Development of advanced US-patented cathode materials is critical to establishing next-generation domestic battery materials. Wildcat will highlight breakthrough performance of high energy, low cost, and cobalt-and nickel-free Disordered Rocksalt (DRX) cathodes. Wildcat has significantly improved performance in cycle life, voltage fade, and resistance growth while maintaining high energy density. The material has also been demonstrated with roll-to-roll coating and multi-layer pouch cells.

Lithium-metal anodes have become a ubiquitous next step in battery development, offering the only near-term pathway beyond 400 Wh/kg. Blue Solutions, pioneer industrial-scale solid-state battery manufacturer since 2011, presents its GEN4 platform targeting 450 Wh/kg with NMC, with A-sample maturity now achieved and with performances validated by third-party testing. The safety roadmap addresses both intrinsic cell safety and inter-cell propagation, against SAE J2464 protocols and achieving GB38031-2025 compliance.

The battery market saw a deployment of around 2.0TWh in 2026. Battery evolution is occurring in many different directions, with each avenue viewed as "the next big thing." Solid-state batteries have gained interest for over a decade now. This session will give a broad overview of the market dynamics, costs and how we expect the market to evolve in terms of and next generation battery technologies.

Can 200 Wh/kg at a pack level be exceeded? As xEV battery systems grow in complexity, competitive differentiation has shifted from cell chemistry to system-level integration. Mechanical structure, thermal management, and BMS greatly impact a battery pack's performance, safety, and lifecycle promises. This presentation examines current performance benchmarks at a pack level and then evaluates each subsystem, looking at the most promising innovation opportunities in next-generation battery systems.

As the transit and commercial vehicle markets accelerate toward electrification, American Battery Solutions (ABS) is preparing to launch its next-generation high-voltage battery platform—purpose-built for the demanding duty cycles of transit buses and heavy commercial vehicles. This session examines the advanced technologies integrated into ABS's new platform, including expanded chemistry options that add lithium iron phosphate (LFP) alongside proven NMC-based solutions. Attendees will gain insight into the priorities shaping next-gen battery design, the commercial realities of launching new platforms into the OEM ecosystem, and how chemistry selection is being used as a strategic tool to address durability and TCO.

Commercial vehicle electrification is proving more complex than early market forecasts anticipated. Long development timelines, fragmented vocations and weight classes, infrastructure dependencies, and competing vehicle architectures create significant commercialization challenges across the battery ecosystem. Yet these same dynamics may also create stronger supplier relationships, higher switching costs, and long-term market defensibility. This presentation examines the structural realities shaping MHD electrification and what stakeholders must understand to successfully navigate development, deployment, and scale.

Electrification of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks could improve energy efficiency and lower freight costs, yet battery performance under realistic operating conditions remains poorly understood. This study evaluates commercial lithium-ion cells under regional and long-haul duty cycles to examine aging behavior. Results highlight the effects of operational parameters on battery life and performance, providing insights into fleet optimization, total cost of ownership estimation, and informed decision-making for heavy-duty truck electrification.