The Electric: In the Battery Olympics, Startups Must Overcome Multiple Hurdles

When lithium-metal battery developer SES AI held its first-quarter earnings call this week, executives were especially prepared for one question: When would the company complete its “A Sample”? And when that was done, when would SES finish its “B” and “C” samples? CEO Qichao Hu assured analysts that all three were on schedule, and the battery on track to be in a commercial electric vehicle by 2026.

Out of the public eye, the A, B and C samples—industry argot for the stages of validating a new EV battery—have become the obsession of Western battery companies and their future automaker customers. It’s a deadly serious one, because before combustion can fade away, the batteries to power moderately priced EVs that go 500 miles on a charge must pass the three sample stages, as judged by the automakers that will use them. In all, the process can take four years. And not every next-gen battery will pass muster. “Some hit fundamental showstoppers,” Hu told me. “It’s not easy.”