Panasonic has completed preparations to begin production. 4680 format lithium-ion battery at a Japanese factory, Reuters reported on Monday.
The company is reportedly sending samples of batteries made at its plant in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, to automaker customers for approval and will begin production once approval is received.
Compare 4680 vs 2170 – Panasonic
Panasonic supply batteries to TeslaOne of the main proponents of the 4680 battery, so named because they are 46mm in diameter and 80 inches tall, compared to the 21mm and 70mm dimensions of Panasonic’s current cylindrical 2170 battery.
Larger cells have been championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk since 2020 as the key to unlocking cheaper electric vehicles, as well as a key component for power-hungry applications like the Tesla Semi and Cybertruck. Tesla has begun manufacturing its own 4,680 cells, but has difficulty in increasing volume. Musk in July reported Tell the Tesla Battery Team that the issues need to be fixed or large format cells will be removed.
Tesla cells of the future will generate energy, power
Panasonic expected difficulties with new cell format, warning in 2021 that Tesla 4680 battery mass production will require “new engineering” and expressed skepticism that potential overheating issues could be overcome. However, the start of production is only slightly behind target. Panasonic announced in 2022At the time, the company said mass production would begin in the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Other battery suppliers have shown interest in large-format cells, but none have been able to scale up faster than Panasonic and Tesla. CATL has taken a completely different path with cell-to-pack technologyeliminates the modules used in most current battery pack designs. By 2022, CATL says the current version of its cell-to-pack could deliver 13% more energy than Tesla’s 4,680 cells, with the same volume. But cell-to-pack is also slow to ramp up.
