HIROSHIMA, Japan — Toyota is "investing like crazy" in new battery technologies for electrified vehicles but sees no dramatic breakthrough from today's basic chemistry for at least another decade.
The lithium ion composition used in contemporary EVs and hybrids will likely be the go-to for another 10 to 20 years, the Japanese carmaker's top scientist predicts.
"We are investing like crazy in new types of batteries," said Gill Pratt, Toyota's chief scientist. "But we're very pragmatic and honest about these things. It's high-risk, high-reward research."
Speaking to Automotive News on Thursday on the sidelines of the G7 Summit here, Pratt said it is difficult to predict when researchers might strike upon a battery breakthrough technology.
"I'm not sure when it's going to pan out," he said. "But I suspect that again, maybe 10 to 20 years from now, we'll see some pragmatic change — from the current chemistries that are used — to something else. And exactly what that's going to be, I'm not sure."