Not a week goes by when I don’t get another new e-bike pitch, and usually, I get several. But they are largely carbon copies of each other. Hardly any bike or any e-bike feature is truly “new” or extraordinary. I usually skim over the emails, eyes rolling, brain bubble stating, “Ugh, another e-bike from China. Pass.”
But an email from an industry buddy made my bike dork brain pause: “Stromer Solid-State Ceramic Battery,” it stated. Solid-state electronics? Yes, please. Ceramic? Not sure how it helps a battery, but it sounds cool.
The Roof, the Roof Is On Fire
In addition to endless e-bike pitches and announcements, I’ve also seen a fair amount of news over the last few years about e-bike batteries either exploding or catching on fire, sometimes with dire results. I’ve personally had batteries get hot and swell up, but have yet to have one actually go ablaze.
Stromer promises that ceramic plates will be more durable than lithium-ion cells, hopefully curbing fire hazards. The Swiss brand also states that the batteries will charge in temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit, with the ultimate goal being -22. This will be handy for those crazies that ride in the snowy winters of the northern states.
Advantage: Stromer, With Super-Fast Charging
The real, day-to-day purported advantage of the Stromer ceramic battery is the incredibly rapid charging cycle.
Stromer Co-CEO Tomi Viiala had this to say in a company press release: “This new technology can provide many benefits in the future, however, particularly in terms of safety and the speed until fully charged, which will be around 10 times faster than for a current lithium battery.”
This could mean charging times of an hour or less. Indeed, that in itself could change the e-bike game.
The Holy Grail?
In addition to the already-mentioned advancements, the Stromer solid-state ceramic battery could be lighter than current e-bike batteries.
Safer, faster, lighter. Sounds super legit. And, yes, like the holy grail of e-bike batteries.
But hold your horses. Even though our BikeRumor man on the street, Zach Overholt, was informed at last month’s Eurobike that Stromer has a rideable prototype with this new ceramic power source, it’s still in the concept phase.
Viiala continued, “As an innovative brand, we also want to be involved in the early stages of research and development for new technologies. The solid-state ceramic battery is our holy grail. It will take many more years before this technology can be used for series production, as the current production costs remain very high and the battery power is still inadequate.”
Stromer communicated with Overholt that a consumer version of a solid-state, ceramic battery-powered bike could hit our shores as early as 2025. I, for one, will be excitedly waiting. E-bikes, in general, may not get me going, but this ceramic battery sounds super promising.
