MG4 Urban is poised to become the first mass-market EV equipped with a semi-solid-state battery sold in Europe, starting later this year Chinese carmaker MG will launch the first semi-solid-state battery in Europe later this year. The cutting-edge tech that bridges the gap between solid-state and liquid-electrolyte batteries will first power the affordable MG4 Urban. Sales in the UK are projected to start in the second half of 2026. Everyone is busy developing viable solid-state batteries, though giants like CATL and BYD warned that we're still years away from mass production. Meanwhile, some battery makers want to start with semi-solid-state batteries as a compromise solution. Semi-solid-state batteries combine solid and liquid electrolyte components, with solid materials typically accounting for more than 90% of the battery's structure. Semi-solid-state batteries promise higher energy density and improved thermal stability compared to liquid electrolytes, without the drawbacks of solid-state batteries. These include a short lifecycle due to dendrite growth between the electrodes, which eventually causes a short circuit. Chinese carmaker SAIC has been among the first to use semi-solid-state batteries in its volume EVs, starting with the MG4 Anxin Edition launched last year in China. Now, the same tech will make its way to Europe, and this time will be a mass-production EV: the MG4 Urban. The affordable EV will start sales in the UK by the end of 2026. Its battery pack will have a liquid content of only 5%. This contrasts with standard Li-ion batteries, which use a liquid electrolyte and can contain up to 20% liquids. MG calls the new battery, which was developed by SAIC in partnership with QingTao, "SolidCore." Among its advantages are a wider operating temperature range, faster charging, and greater safety. The battery showed no signs of thermal runaway during nail-penetration and three-way extrusion testing. It can also charge 15% faster than LFP packs, as internal tests demonstrated. The Chinese carmaker claims the MG4 Urban, equipped with a semi-solid battery, takes 21 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%. This is 7 minutes faster than the same model equipped with a liquid-based Li-ion battery. There's no indication of the peak DC power, but the LFP model is limited to 100 kW. For now, there's no advantage in terms of energy density, with the MG4 Urban's battery at 180 Wh/kg, similar to existing Li-ion batteries. However, keep in mind that this is the brand's first generation of semi-solid-state battery cells. SAIC promises the next iteration will reach up to 400 Wh/kg, though it didn't offer a timeline for this improved tech. While no specifications have been released for the European-bound model, the Chinese-market MG4 Urban, which uses the same technology, sports a 53-kWh battery. The range reaches 328 miles (528 km) under the more generous CLTC standard, which should translate to around 280 miles (450 km) WLTP. This is similar to the current MG4 Urban equipped with the standard Li-ion battery, which has a capacity of 54 kWh.