TL;DR
The battery inside an electric car may be heading for its biggest change in years. CATL, the company that made 39.9% of the world's EV batteries in the first half of 2026, says its solid-state cells, which replace the liquid inside a battery with a solid material, have doubled in size in testing, from 10 to 20 amp-hours, and that it aims to start making small batches in 2027. Solid-state is the chemistry tied to denser batteries, and denser batteries could mean electric cars that go farther on a charge, and drones, robots and aircraft that carry more power for their weight. For most people the payoff is still years off: CATL targets large-scale manufacturing only around 2030, and its own chairman rates the technology four on a nine-level readiness scale.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "CATL makes its first small batches of solid-state cells by 2027"; our labeled speculation on what it adds up to; and every source.