Electric Vehicles from Disruptive Technologies: A Balancing Act of TRLs & MRLs in EV Cell Development

Electric vehicle (EV) batteries have made incredible progress in achieving overall performance & production parity with incumbent internal combustion engine system. However, the translation of battery technology design and process from lab to series production scale, has proven difficult and not without issues. This is due to: 1) the complexities from the nano to the meter scale that impact the cell technology and manufacturing, which impact the battery performance over life, and 2) the different perspectives and challenges between developing technology and in developing manufacturing. Here we discuss the complex balancing act between cell technology and manufacturing from the perspectives of Technological Readiness Level (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) that needs consideration when developing/adopting new technology for EVs.