Mercedes-Benz just finished a real-world range run that is hard to ignore. A lightly modified EQS with a lithium-metal solid-state battery covered 1,205 km (749 miles) from Stuttgart to Malmö at the end of August — no charging stop — and still showed 137 km (85 miles) remaining. Official numbers from MBUSA and the Mercedes-Benz Group tech page.
The pack, not a show car
The cells are from Factorial Energy and use FEST®. The pack itself was developed with Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. Mercedes says usable energy is up 25% versus a standard EQS battery of comparable weight and size. Pneumatic actuators handle the cells as they expand and contract. Cooling is passive airflow — no extra cooling loop on this test car.
Road tests started in February 2025 in a slightly modified EQS. The kickoff kit still says the same-weight, same-size pack should add up to 25% driving range, with more than 1,000 km (620 miles) expected. For context, Mercedes lists the current EQS 450+ at 118 kWh and already more than 800 km (497 miles).
A7, E20, no ferries
The route ran highways A7 and E20 through Germany and Denmark into Sweden. Electric Intelligence planned the line from topography, traffic, temperature, and heating or cooling load. No ferries. The run beat the Vision EQXX Stuttgart–Silverstone trip by nearly 2 miles (3 km).
Markus Schäfer, Mercedes-Benz Group CTO, called the battery a gamechanger and said the goal is series production by the end of the decade.
Factorial is the same cell supplier now studying scale manufacturing with SK On. We covered that memorandum here. The Stuttgart–Malmö drive is Mercedes’ own validation program, not part of that MOU.
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