(Yicai) April 29 -- Contemporary Amperex Technology has a massive chance to begin manufacturing all-solid-state batteries on a small scale in 2027, the Chinese battery giant's chief scientist reportedly predicted.

However, CATL cannot realize mass production by that year due to costs and other restrictions, The Paper reported yesterday, citing Wu Kai as saying at the China International Battery Fair, held between April 27 and today in Chongqing.

If the positive integers one to nine are used to indicate the technological maturity of CATL's all-solid-state batteries, its current level is four and the goal is to reach seven to eight in 2027, Wu noted.

Developing batteries with high energy density and safety features is CATL's main research and development focus, Wu said. All-solid-state batteries have huge potential compared to other future battery tech development paths and should be a critical development direction for next-generation cells, he added.

The energy density of lithium-ion batteries has risen to around 350 watt-hours per kilogram, but it will be difficult to increase further, Wu pointed out. However, all-solid-state batteries are likely to reach an energy density of 500 Wh/Kg, he noted.

Researching, developing, and mass producing all-solid-state batteries is a thorny task, so CATL extensively collaborates with partners from the supply chain and other areas, as well as universities, to tackle and overcome various issues, Wu said.

CATL has gained expertise from a decade of R&D of all-solid-state batteries, according to Wu. The Ningde-based company's solid-state and new-system batteries R&D team includes nearly 1,000 workers, he added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev