Bosch says it can double electric car batteries by 2020

Bosch electric car
Bosch has battery plans.

One of the problems with electric cars is what's known as 'range anxiety': wondering whether you can reach the next charging point without running out of juice. Until every petrol station is kitted out to cope with electric vehicles it's going to be an issue that keeps coming up.

Bosch is offering some hope for the early adopters and Tesla drivers, however — the German multinational says it's developed an electric car battery technology that gives twice the lifespan of current packs between charges. That's a lot of extra miles.

Bosch says it's going to have the solid-state battery on the market by 2020. "Bosch is using its knowledge and considerable financial resources to achieve a breakthrough for electromobility," boasted Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board.

Battery know-how

According to Bosch, a combination of its solid-state cell battery knowledge and its portfolio of existing patents are going to enable it to make this breakthrough in the next few years. What's more, the cost of the batteries should go down at the same time.

As with any emerging technology, there are early teething problems that will eventually be overcome as it becomes more widespread. It's expected that by 2025 around 15 percent of all the new cars manufactured worldwide will have at least some form of electric power included.

While Tesla is the standard bearer for electric cars (and indeed for batteries in general), almost every car maker on the planet has plans for this quiet, environmentally friendly technology - perhaps even Apple.

Via Ecomento

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.