Solid-State Batteries And Synthetic Fuels Still Need To Evolve - Toyota CEO

Koji Sato, the new CEO of Toyota, recently spoke about how the world's best-selling car manufacturer should work to reduce emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, as part of the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. He explained that there is no single solution because the plan is to invest in various technologies.

Toyota faces numerous challenges, according to Koji Sato, who stated that the durability of solid-state batteries remains a "huge challenge." He remains optimistic, however: "If we get past this point, the energy efficiency will be really fantastic." We're working on it, but we need some time." Toyota announced in January 2022 that a hybrid with a solid-state battery would be available by 2025.

He belieevs that synthetic fuels also require time to evolve. He stated that the energy required to create e-fuels is still too high, and that only further technological progress will make mass production feasible. It's worth noting that Porsche has begun producing synthetic fuel at its Chilean plant, indicating that the sports car manufacturer believes the ICE can be saved despite the inevitable EV future.

Koji Sato also admits that the company he now leads may lag behind rivals in terms of EV offerings by not offering a variety of zero-emission models. He emphasised quality over quantity in a subsequent statement: "It's not just about numbers - how many models we have on the market - but how good they are, for customers and the environment."

The newly appointed CEO went on to say that cutting emissions should include not only hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles, and synthetic fuel, but also hydrogen. He wasn't just talking about fuel cells, but also about ICEs that have been modified to run on hydrogen, which can already be found in experimental GR Yaris and GR Corolla race cars.