Chinese researchers have announced a breakthrough in solid-state battery technology that could accelerate the global shift away from internal combustion engines, with a new design that more than doubles the range of current electric vehicles and addresses long-standing limitations in safety, durability and efficiency.

The development, detailed in a report by The China Academy, marks what researchers describe as a “systems-level leap” in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries, a next-generation technology long seen as the holy grail for electric transport.

“This isn’t just incremental progress. It’s a systems-level leap that could accelerate the end of the internal combustion engine—not just in China, but globally,” the Academy said.

The newly developed batteries promise to double the range of batter-powered cars and go beyond the range of regular petrol-fuelled cars. The range of the new batter is over 1,000 km on a single charge, compared to approximately 500km in today’s most advanced electric vehicles and 600–800km for conventional petrol-powered cars.

In practical terms, that would allow a vehicle to travel from Shenzhen to Changsha, Paris to Milan, or Los Angeles to San Francisco and back without recharging—redefining long-distance travel for EVs.

The breakthrough addresses a persistent engineering problems with using lithium: the unstable interface between brittle ceramic electrolytes and soft lithium metal anodes, which has historically led to poor ion transport and short battery life.

Chinese labs have solved this through three distinct innovations:

1. A “self-healing” iodine-based interface, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which migrates during use to seal microscopic gaps and maintain continuous ion flow.
2. A flexible polymer skeleton, engineered by the Institute of Metals at CAS, which improves stretchability and allows the battery to withstand over 20,000 bends—boosting energy density by 86%.
3. A fluorine-reinforced electrolyte, designed at Tsinghua University, capable of withstanding high voltages, extreme temperatures up to 120°C, and even needle puncture tests, without igniting—addressing key concerns around battery safety.

Together, these advances offer a solution to what the article calls the “holy trinity” of battery design: safety, energy density, and durability.

If scaled successfully, China’s solid-state battery technology could upend the global automotive industry, particularly as governments phase out internal combustion engines and consumers demand longer-range, safer, and faster-charging electric vehicles. The developments also reinforce China’s strategic lead in battery manufacturing and EV supply chains—a priority sector under its industrial policies, including Made in China 2025.

While commercial deployment timelines remain uncertain, the implications are already prompting attention across the global automotive and energy sectors. “The future of transport isn’t just electric. It’s solid-state. And it’s being built in China,” the report concludes.