Solid-state batteries have been hailed as a game-changer for electric vehicles — always five years away, but never quite arriving.

Solid-state champions say the technology, if perfected, would slash EV prices and weight, and maybe double range. Government subsidies wouldn’t be required to sell them. Buyers would be infatuated.

The trouble is the technology remains on the drawing board. Some experts say a breakthrough is imminent. Others point to problems said to be intractable.

Because the prize is so tempting – an EV that can match and beat internal combustion engine’s all-around utility – the world’s leading automakers and the Chinese state are investing massively. These next-generation batteries seek to use solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte, replacing the liquid or gel electrolytes found in conventional lithium-ion batteries.

The consensus opinion is that success is one last heave away. You can exclude Donald Sadoway, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from the consensus. Sadoway, in an interview, said not only is the technology incomplete, the ability to produce at scale remains elusive.

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