Stellantis CTO: Future electric vehicle batteries will be 50% lighter

According to foreign media reports, Ned Curic, chief technology officer of automaker Stellantis, said on September 8 that the company’s goal is to develop lighter-weight electric vehicle batteries to halve the weight of the battery and thereby improve sustainability.

Curic said current electric vehicle batteries are "too heavy", making the vehicles "unable to meet" sustainability goals. "So a very tough goal for my team before 2030 is to reduce the weight of batteries by at least 50%," Curic said at the inauguration of the company's battery technology center in Turin, Italy.

However, he also said that currently “I really don’t know what batteries will look like in the future.” "We have to think about completely new materials, new chemistries, and completely new ways to replace these heavy materials with lighter materials," he said.

Image source: Stellantis

As part of a long-term effort to improve batteries, Stellantis said it has invested 40 million euros ($43 million) in a Turin battery technology center that will focus on testing and developing the group's upcoming electric vehicle battery packs . Stellantis also added that the company is building a similar facility in Windsor, Canada.

Curic also said in the presentation that Stellantis will release a "very affordable" model later this year. "Almost everyone in our society can afford this car," he said, without revealing the exact price.

In addition, he added: “We consume a lot of carbon-based energy in the existing system, so switching to an electric vehicle system will really make the future more sustainable.”