Solid-State Batteries to Power the Muscle Cars of Tomorrow

You read that right: Stellantis—the car conglomerate that’s practically a family reunion for brands like Jeep, Dodge, and Alfa Romeo—has teamed up with Factorial to stuff their future Dodge Charger Daytona fleet with solid-state batteries. Think of this as the muscle car meeting the mobile phone battery, only now with proper performance metrics.

The ambitious plan? A demo fleet by 2026, with battery technology boasting over 390 Wh/kg energy density, which in layman’s terms means more vroom for your volts. But this isn’t your typical lab experiment—it’s an actual fleet hitting the roads, all based on the STLA Large platform, Stellantis’ go-to chassis for the beefier, full-sized electric SUVs and performance cars that’ll likely hog the left lane.

Let’s be honest: the race to battery supremacy is starting to resemble a heavyweight showdown. Stellantis dumped $75 million into Factorial back in 2021, hoping their FEST® technology would be the secret sauce. FEST®, for the uninitiated, is Factorial’s buzzword-friendly, solid-state tech that promises to beat lithium-ion on energy density, weight, and cost. In other words, fewer heavy, flammable batteries and more oomph to make those 0-100 sprints a bit more interesting. This battery tech reportedly slices off a fair chunk of the weight, which means your Charger Daytona will carry fewer kilograms and perhaps an ounce or two more of pride.

In a press conference, Stellantis’ Chief Engineering and Technology Officer, Ned Curic, practically sparkled about the development: “By integrating Factorial’s battery solution, we’re ensuring better performance, longer range, and quicker charging times.” Not to be outdone, Factorial’s CEO, Siyu Huang, pitched in with some inspirational chatter about “accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles,” which, let’s face it, roughly translates to “we’re making EVs that can actually do cool things.”

This partnership is no small feat, as Stellantis is aiming to build two million EVs by 2030 with the STLA Large platform at its core. So, come 2026, you may just see a Charger Daytona whizzing by, silently, with no roar, yet carrying all the thrill. Just with a few more kilowatts and none of that carbon guilt.

And if it works? Well, Stellantis might just have cracked the code to making EVs both affordable and as exhilarating as the petrol-guzzling ancestors they’re destined to replace. And if it doesn’t? At least they gave it a better shot than a lithium-ion.

One thing is for sure, this Charger will need a….w