Battery500 is a PNNL-led and DOE-sponsored consortium with the goal of developing lithium-metal batteries that have almost triple the "specific energy"—the amount energy packed into a battery based on its weight—found in the batteries that power today's electric vehicles. Since electric vehicles need to be lightweight to drive farther on the same charge, batteries with high specific energies are essential.
The consortium aims to build a battery pack with a specific energy of 500 watt-hours per kilogram, compared to the 170-200 watt-hours per kilogram in today's typical electric vehicle battery. If successful, the Battery500 consortium will result in a smaller, lighter and less expensive electric vehicle battery.