SVOLT starts series production of semi-solid-state 'Dragon Armor' battery

SVOLT has produced the first batch of its 100-kWh 'Dragon Armor' semi-solid-state battery on series production lines, chairman Yang Hongxin announced this week in a video posted on Weibo. The launch lands roughly a year ahead of the 2027 series-production timing he set out in mid-2025.

Hongxin said the pack is under consideration by "multiple" customers, with vehicle details to follow soon. He didn't name a single one. Test conditions and the size of the first batch also remain undisclosed — thin verification for a claim the trade will now press against actual production data.

What does the technology change?

The Dragon Armor battery uses cells with a semi-solid electrolyte (a solid-liquid hybrid, positioned between conventional lithium-ion cells with liquid electrolytes and fully solid-state batteries). Per SVOLT's datasheet:

• 900-volt architecture with liquid cooling on both the top and bottom of the pack
• 6C charging rate, restoring roughly 500 km of range in twelve minutes
• Lifespan above 3,000 cycles

SVOLT's first-generation semi-solid-state cells were previously stated at 300 Wh/kg energy density. A second generation, reportedly already in preparation, targets 360 Wh/kg.

Is Mini a launch customer?

Not confirmed. CN EV Post earlier reported SVOLT will supply the semi-solid-state cells for next-generation models of BMW's Mini brand. Rumours of a billion-dollar BMW–SVOLT deal circulated as early as 2023. The connective tissue is ownership history: SVOLT was spun off from Great Wall Motor in 2018, and GWM runs a joint venture with BMW that builds the Mini Cooper Electric and Mini Aceman. Mini, however, has never been officially confirmed as a first customer.

Why the race matters now

Only a handful of semi-solid-state batteries are on the market today, and even fewer fully solid-state ones. SVOLT ranks tenth among Chinese battery manufacturers and is moving to claim ground. Hongxin predicts 2026 will be the first year hybrid solid-liquid batteries gain broad acceptance and reach large-scale market introduction.

On pure solid-state cells, SVOLT is reportedly developing them too — but Hongxin said in May that commercialisation "will take a very long time." He expects semi-solid designs to be the common technological path until true solid-state reaches mass production, not least because semi-solid production costs are projected to land on par with conventional lithium-ion cells using liquid electrolytes.

What to watch next: named customers and fitted vehicle models, the gap between the announced first batch and verifiable output volumes, and whether the second-generation 360 Wh/kg cells keep their development schedule.