If there’s any doubt that solid state batteries
are actually here, well … here’s your proof. You can actually buy this for yourself, like
I did, and get it delivered to your door in a day or two. No, solid state batteries aren’t
everywhere and definitely not mass market yet, but they aren’t vaporware and always five
years away. Just like this Yoshino battery, which I’ll get into the details in just a
second, there’s other solid state batteries right on the cusp of ending up in consumer
electronics devices near you. But do these early versions live up to the hype? And who
is this Yoshino battery really good for? I’m Matt Ferrell … welcome to Undecided. This video is brought to you by
Ground News, but more on that later. I published a video a few weeks back about the
progress of solid state batteries and how they’re finally here. To say I got some pushback would
be an understatement. I received comments like: “Nuclear fusion has some
company.” -rajivpokharel88 That’s really funny … not accurate, but it is
funny, I'll give you that. I guess I sparked quite a reaction. I really opened myself up
to that point of view with how I talked about the latest developments. Everyone has a different
opinion of what a product being “here,” as in now, means. Does it mean it’s mass market or
just that the first cells are shipping? It’s a bit of a charged topic. My focus
on EVs didn’t help matters either. Bottom line: I could have done a MUCH better
job clearly defining what I meant by “here” and “now” in my video. I’ll amp up my clarity on
that kind of stuff next time. But in a nutshell I was talking about how many companies are
now producing solid state battery cells for actual use and/or testing by partners. We’re
officially in the manufacturing ramp-up stage, so figuring out the chemistry and if
it works is in the rear view mirror in some cases. That is a major milestone and
a sign that the technology has hit a turning point—definitely a positive change. However,
I should have focused on a product that you can actually get your hands on today. Or
to quote another comment on that video: “Until I can order from
Amazon it’s not even close; so PLEASE no SS information unless it’s
in your possession.” -jamesbuckingham8073 Okay, here you go… I bought myself this Yoshino B330
solid state portable power station on Amazon and had it delivered to my
house in two days. And to be clear, I have no relationship with Yoshino. This is
the smallest version of their battery pack, which has 330W of continuous power and 241Wh of
storage. They also have versions that scale all the way up to their B4000, which has 4,000W of
continuous power and 2,611Wh of storage capacity. In general, the reason you might want a
small battery like the B330 is for going camping or reserving emergency power
to charge up your phone or laptop in a blackout. The larger batteries are also
great for those same uses, but are even better for running power tools at a worksite
that doesn’t have power available, backing up more substantial appliances in a blackout,
or even getting your entire home back online. The little guy I have right here weighs in at
9.9 lbs and can charge in a couple of hours. What’s nice to see on even a small unit like this
is that you can charge through one of three ways: 1) the DC input on the back, 2) solar panels,
and 3) USB-C power delivery on the front. You can also tandem these up to speed up the
charging, so you can be charging through both the USB-C and DC or solar input on the
back at the same time. There’s a couple of DC output terminals on the front, as well as
2 AC outlets, 2 USB-A, and 2 USB-C ports. The main focus of Yoshino for this design is meant
for on-the-go power, like as an emergency backup or for use during camping trips, so there’s a
LED light bar that can act as a light source. It’s not the brightest light in the world,
but in a pinch it’s a nice thing to have. And much like other battery packs in this type of
product, you can also connect to it through an app via Bluetooth or wifi. This allows you to install
firmware updates and to control it remotely. It’s not an earth shattering app, but is well designed
and easy to navigate. It shows you what ports are currently active, the power draw, and how much
time is left on the current charge. You can also monitor its charging status, which can be handy
when you’ve got some solar panels plugged into it. So what’s inside this thing? Well, it’s
a solid state cell that’s using an NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) formula, which might
sound similar to the widely used NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt). The reason for the different
order of letters usually reflects the different ratios of those elements in the chemistry for
the battery cathode. The big difference though is the use of a solid electrolyte versus a
liquid or gel version. For Yoshino, they’re using an inorganic-polymer composite (IPC) for
their electrolyte between the anode and cathode. I reached out to Yoshino for some additional
details on their battery and found out some interesting things. The team didn’t give
me the exact formulation of their battery for obvious reasons, but did share details
on the safety testing done by USA Energy Assurance Labs. Yoshino’s batteries were
put through the paces for thermal runaway, nail penetrations, and short circuits,
which are some of the big selling points of solid state batteries. This
battery is substantially safer in those regards than a typical lithium
ion battery with a liquid electrolyte. But there’s also some of the other key
attributes that set this battery apart that shouldn’t be a surprise if you’re familiar
with solid state. They’re more energy dense, which means you can get the same power
output and storage in a smaller package. They’re also better on the cycle life
front too, so these should last longer than the competition that’s out there.
But … how does that look in context? Context is super important when looking
at technologies like this, as well as all of your news stories. Misinformation
and bias shows up in all reporting, which is why I’m excited to have Ground News as
a sponsor. Created by a former NASA engineer, the Ground News app and website gathers news from
over 50,000 sources into one place and allows us to compare the coverage and get context into
the sources themselves. Every story comes with a breakdown of the political bias, how reliable
the source’s reporting practices are – all backed by ratings from three independent news
monitoring organizations. For instance, this recent story about a couple of people
accused of stealing Tesla battery secrets to start their own company. You can quickly see
how many total sources covered this story out of which 52% lean left, 43% center and only 5% lean
right. Best of all, you can compare headlines to see how these biases might affect the framing.
For example, this right source leans into the country of origin and the definitive word, “stole”
as fact. While this left source doesn’t mention nationality at all and uses the word, “accused,”
which means it hasn’t been settled as fact yet. I love being able to access different viewpoints
to make sure I’m not living in an echo chamber, which makes their Blindspot Feed my favorite
feature. It highlights stories underreported by one side of the political spectrum. Ground News
has become an essential resource for me to make sure I’m seeing the nuance in different stories
and not just one source’s perspective. Go to https://ground.news/undecided or scan the QR code
to give it a try. If you sign up through my link you’ll get 40% off the Vantage plan, which is what
I use to get unlimited access to all features. I think Ground News is doing important work and
I hope you’ll check them out. Thanks to Ground News and all of you for supporting the channel. So
back to how the Yoshino battery looks in context. This is where we should compare the
Yoshino battery to comparable power stations on the market. Some of the more
popular brands out there are Bluetti, Anker, and EcoFlow, so let’s
take a look at some of those. Since I have the Yoshino B330, let’s
compare it to similarly sized batteries: the EcoFlow RIVER 2, Bluetti EB3A, and Anker 522. When you look at the price, it looks like it
falls right in line with the competition. However, when you divide the cost of the unit by the Wh
capacity, you start to see the difference. Yoshino is roughly $1.24/Wh, while the others chime in
between $0.90 - $1.12/Wh. That means Yoshino’s battery, which is a first-gen product, comes in
11-37% more costly than the competition per Wh. However, one of the key benefits of solid state is
safety, longevity, and energy density, so how does it compare on that last one? Well, not so great
for the model I’ve got. Yoshino is at 53.56Wh/kg, which is just slightly lower than Bluetti, but
both EcoFlow and Anker have 73 and 76Wh/kg. What’s going on there? This made no sense to me,
so I decided to expand my comparison to Yoshino’s largest battery, the B4000, to comparable
batteries. I picked the EcoFlow DELTA Pro, the Bluetti AC300/B300 Combo, and Anker Solix
F3800. This is where it got more perplexing. Now, these models aren’t exactly an apples
to apples comparison because of how they’re intended to be used. The Bluetti AC300/B300
combo is actually two separate boxes that you have to use together. It’s more meant for
a permanent or semi-permanent installation, like whole-home backup or for an RV.
In terms of power output and storage, though, it is comparable,
which is why I picked it. Money-wise, the numbers across the
board landed in a very similar region, at least when non-sale prices are used for
comparison. The Yoshino clocked in between 21-29% more expensive than the competitors. Not
shocking, but the Wh/kg was very different. The Yoshino B4000 has 107Wh/kg vs. a range of
53-80Wh/kg. That makes the B4000 101% more energy-dense than the comparable Bluetti and
34% more energy-dense than the Ecoflow. This is more of what I was expecting to see when I
dove into this comparison in the first place.. So why is the smaller battery, the one I’ve
got, so behind in the comparison? My hunch was the physical design of the product and all
the bells and whistles. Yoshino’s battery has a large and heavy metal handle that wraps around the
entire box. EcoFlow’s River2, on the other hand, is all plastic with no light, which means there’s
a weight savings from materials and components. This hunch was confirmed when I reached
out to Yoshino for more information. The team compromised some additional weight
for the sake of additional functionality and aesthetics. Having one in hand, I can
say it’s nice to pick up and looks great, but I’d personally have preferred a plastic
casing to save some weight. However, those design choices become less impactful as
you scale up the battery pack size, which is why we see the B4000 come out way ahead on that
front. All of that raises the big question … Why would you want this? Well, it really comes down to your use case.
Let’s start with the small battery packs. If you’re looking for the lightest weight and
cheapest small battery pack to take with you on a trip, then you’re most likely
looking at EcoFlow or Anker. However, if you’re looking for a battery that will last you
an incredible timespan with the least degradation, is exceptionally safe, and can work in a
wide range of temperatures without concern, then you’re probably looking at Yoshino. In this
small size category though, it’s a tough sell. So what about the larger battery format?
Many of the same arguments hold true here, but this is where weight comes into play.
If you need the largest battery that you can easily toss into the back of your truck or RV for
a trip, even though the Yoshino B4000 costs more, it’s dramatically lighter weight. It’s half to
one third the weight of the competition. Lugging a 53.6lb (24.3kg) battery on the back of your
truck sounds way more appealing than a 100-130lb (57.7-60kg) battery. On top of that, the Yoshino
will have a longer lifespan and is safer, too. However, if you’re looking for a battery
that could serve as a whole-home backup with a semi-permanent installation, Yoshino
isn’t even on the table. Its current batteries are designed for that lifestyle type of brand:
on-the-go uses, camping, and emergency backups. There is an elephant in the room though.
Many of the companies like Bluetti, Ecoflow, and Anker have massive sales and promotions
that drive that cost even further down. If you pick up their batteries on sale, there’s
no contest for the value you get. In that case, though, it’s important to remember one thing: this is the first-gen Yoshino battery. There’s
no doubt they’re working on a second generation product that should be cheaper and more
competitive on that front. The next crop of batteries should also be even more compelling
on the energy density and performance front too. That said, for a first-gen product, I think the
Yoshino holds up surprisingly well. As I always point out when looking at any product,
it all comes down to your personal use case. That will dictate what features are
more important to you and could make the slight increase in cost acceptable. I’m
very impressed with the build quality and performance I saw in my testing … and I’m
really eager to see where Yoshino goes from here. But what do you think? What portable batteries
are your favorite and why? And does seeing an actual solid state battery like this on the
market give you any hope for the future of solid state? Jump into the comments and
let me know and be sure to listen to my follow up podcast Still TBD where we’ll
keep this conversation going. Thanks as always to my patrons for your continued
support. I’ll see you in the next one.
