{"id":101144,"date":"2026-02-24T20:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/895232051"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:15:42","slug":"karma-automotive-plans-first-u-s-ev-with-a-solid-state-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/karma-automotive-plans-first-u-s-ev-with-a-solid-state-battery\/","title":{"rendered":"Karma Automotive Plans First U.S. EV With a Solid-State Battery"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Factorial Energy\u2019s cells will power the Kaveya coupe due next year<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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Lawrence Ulrich is an award-winning auto writer and former chief auto critic at The New York Times and The Detroit Free Press.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Siyu Huang, CEO of advanced battery maker Factorial, holds one of Factorial’s FEST semi-solid-state battery cells in front of a Karma Kaveya.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Karma Automotive <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In the race to bring solid-state batteries<\/a> to cars, a dark horse is breaking out of the pack: Karma Automotive<\/a> plans to integrate Factorial Energy\u2019s<\/a> cells in its new Kaveya coupe in late 2027.<\/p>\n

Factorial made waves in 2025 by supplying batteries<\/a> for a lightly modified Mercedes EQS<\/a> production sedan that covered an impressive 1,205 kilometers (749 miles) on a single-charge drive from Stuttgart to Malm\u00f6, Sweden<\/a>. Factorial, based in Massachusetts<\/a>, was co-founded by Siyu Huang <\/a>and her husband Alex Yu and continues to supply cells to Mercedes<\/a>, Stellantis<\/a> and other customers for testing and validation. But the China-owned Karma, formed from the ashes of two bankrupt companies \u2014 Fisker Automotive<\/a> and battery maker A123 Systems\u2014could become the first solid-state four-wheel EV in U.S. or European showrooms if it can drag its long-gestating Kaveya over the finish line. <\/p>\n

Marques McCammon<\/a>, president of the Irvine, Calif.-based Karma, says Factorial\u2019s high-profile battery would give this underdog automaker a technical and market edge in its effort to compete with better-known ultra-luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce. McCammon says the company reworked its original Kaveya design after realizing that conventional high-nickel-cathode lithium-ion batteries<\/a> weren\u2019t going to reach its lofty performance targets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a formula that we were satisfied with,\u201d McCammon says. \u201cWe were going to have to carry a lot more mass, including in terms of thermal management<\/a>. We were adding either a bunch of cost or a bunch of weight that unbalanced the car.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Solid-state\u2019s potential has dozens of companies vying for first-mover advantage. The batteries replace liquid electrolytes<\/a> with a solid ceramic or glass material, with huge potential to carry more energy, charge faster and improve fire safety in comparison with today\u2019s lithium-ion<\/a> cells.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Factorial\u2019s Battery Tech Might Reach 500 Wh\/kg<\/h2>\n

Factorial\u2019s Electrolyte System Technology (FEST) are pouch cells that are semi-solid state, meaning that they have a largely but not entirely polymer electrolyte. Huang, Factorial\u2019s CEO, says these cells still use a bit of electrolyte fluid to make them more compatible with current battery manufacturing processes. The <\/span>cells can use a conventional graphite<\/a> anode, or lithium-metal or silicon anodes<\/a> for better performance. The still-evolving<\/span> FEST cells have energy density<\/a> around 391 watt-hours per kilogram, as demonstrated in the Mercedes EQS. For comparison, Tesla\u2019s commonly used 4680 battery reportedly has energy density in the range of 272 to 296 Wh\/kg<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Factorial is also developing a fully solid-state \u201cSolstice\u201d cell, with a sulfide electrolyte, which the company says could reach 500 Wh\/kg, as measured at the cell level. That energy density is about 70 percent higher than today\u2019s best high-nickel batteries, and nearly 2.5-times that of leading lithium-ion phosphate cells. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since its early \u201cproduction hell\u201d<\/a> in setting up a pilot battery line near Seoul, Korea<\/a> in 2022, Huang says the company has boosted FEST yields from 10 percent to 85 percent \u2014 a critical factor in reducing scrap, controlling costs and proving commercial viability. \u201cFor a pilot line like that, even for the traditional industry, 70-to-80 percent yield is pretty good,\u201d Huang says. \u201cWe were able to achieve 85 percent, which is state-of-the-art for established cell makers, not to mention solid state.\u201d The company, which has a second pilot line in Massachusetts, is aiming for annual manufacturing capacity at the Korean line of about 500,000 cells, or 200 megawatt-hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kaveya coupe<\/a> is the kind of pricey, limited-production car that, for now, can take best advantage of Factorial\u2019s tech. The roughly $400,000 Kaveya features an aluminum structure, carbon-fiber body and fanciful butterfly doors. A \u201cdog bone\u201d shaped battery configuration, as opposed to the conventional skateboard design, allows the Kaveya to balance its weight and sit lower to the ground than typical EVs<\/a>, improving its silhouette and performance. The all-wheel-drive Kaveya is targeting over 400 kilometers (250 miles) of range, 735 kilowatts (1,000 horsepower) of electric power<\/a>, a 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) time of roughly two seconds and a top speed above 322 kph (200 mph). It\u2019s a modern software-defined vehicle<\/a> with a zonal architecture, which uses powerful centralized computing to replace dozens or hundreds of individual or haphazardly located control units.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Marques Siyu Huang, CEO of Factorial, sits behind the wheel of a Karma Kaveya. Marques McCammon, President & Chief Executive of Karma Automotive, stands at right.<\/small>Karma Automotive<\/small><\/p>\n

Karma plans to produce about 300 Kaveyas in its opening year, and then, if all goes well, expand its lineup and reach annual capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 cars. McCammon and Huang argue that solid-state tech will drive EVs farther into the mainstream, allowing them to shrink their battery packs, weights, and eventually costs. Alternatively, cars could maintain current-size packs with jumps in driving range. A<\/span>dvantages appear<\/span> especially clear<\/span> for the<\/span> SUVs<\/a> and pickups that dominate the U.S. market, but <\/span>whose EV versions remain bulky and <\/span>cost-prohibitive<\/span> due to<\/span> overscaled<\/span> batteries<\/span>.<\/span> Ford cancelled its F-150 Lightning pickup<\/a> after initially strong sales stalled. Ram axed its electric Ram 1500 REV pickup, whose 229-kilowatt-hour battery would have been the global industry\u2019s largest, before it reached showrooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Up Next: Electrifying Muscle Cars<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe cannot continue to have this excessive mass in vehicles, and still get to the value propositions we want,\u201d McCammon says, \u201cbecause that is what will stall the growth of electrified powertrains.\u201d <\/p>\n

Potentially being first to market \u201cis absolutely a coup for us,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut our business model is to catalyze change and growth for the industry.\u201d <\/p>\n

Factorial has also partnered with Stellantis\u2019 Dodge brand, known for its gasoline-powered muscle cars, for a demonstration fleet of electric Charger Daytonas<\/a> powered by a version of the FEST batteries. Stellantis validated these 77 amp-hour cells, which have a claimed robust energy density of 375 watt-hours per kilogram. The cells can charge from 15 to 90 percent capacity in a swift 18 minutes, and have demonstrated more than 600 charging cycles. <\/p>\n

Huang calls solid-state technology a perfect opportunity for domestic battery makers and automakers to leapfrog current technology. She notes that lithium-ion batteries were invented in the U.S., which dropped the ball and allowed Japan\u2019s Sony<\/a> to commercialize them<\/a>, and Korea and China<\/a> to eventually dominate their manufacture and supply chains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now a $300 billion industry, right?\u201d she says. \u201cSo for the next 30 years, I do think we need to focus on solid state. We\u2019ve seen enough cases in the industry that being a copycat in lithium-ion batteries doesn\u2019t work.\u201d <\/p>\n

Some automakers and battery leaders, including Kurt Kelty<\/a>, the former Tesla<\/a> battery guru who now heads General Motors\u2019 battery technology teams, believe solid-state batteries remain several years from production. Huang acknowledges<\/span> skepticism over solid-state batteries, driven by companies around the world that have trumpeted production breakthroughs that<\/span> fail to<\/span> materialize. <\/span>But Huang says Factorial has kept its promises and met its timelines so far. Where Mercedes and Factorial targeted a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) range for its EQS demonstration, the Mercedes actually traveled 1,205 kilometers (749 miles) on a charge, with 137-km of range to spare.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo the car actually over delivered,\u201d Huang says. \u201cWe wanted to hold that promise, and we do think we\u2019re closer than ever\u201d to production.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy supporting this Karma collaboration, we\u2019re targeting to launch our first vehicle on the road in 2027 And that\u2019s a timeline we\u2019re holding firm on.\u201d <\/p>\n

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