It’s crisis time at Tesla Inc., where? Elon Musk looking for ways to decipher to do better, cheaper the battery.
The electric vehicle maker is recruiting Chinese and Korean material suppliers to help reduce costs and boost power for its latest battery cells, even as the company struggles with Production and performance issues related to the battery helped delay a future Cybertruck launch. , according to people familiar with the plans.
Tesla has mined of China According to sources who requested anonymity, Ningbo Ronbay New Energy and Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing will help cut material costs as they ramp up production of 4680 battery cells in the United States.
The details of these arrangements have not been previously reported.
If the Austin, Texas-based electric-vehicle maker can figure out the performance and folding processes and meet its ambitious production goals, the 4680 could ultimately be the key – instead because of the bottleneck – in CEO Musk’s dream of building 20 million cars a year. 2030.
Neither Tesla nor Musk could be reached for comment.
As part of its efforts, Tesla also signed an agreement with South Korea’s L&F Co to supply high-nickel cathode that can increase the power density of its 4680 cells, one of the sources said. .
The automaker aims to increase its own output with 4680 cells from Korea’s LG Energy Solutions and Japanese Panasonic – one insurance policy to secure future EV production, two of the sources said. LG and Panasonic are expected to supply cells for the Cybertruck, one of the sources said.
Musk told investors in early March that battery shortages mean “factories shut down.”
The new battery is expected to play a key role in the launch later this year of the sharp, stainless steel Cybertruck, the company’s first new model in more than three years.
Tesla reviewed three battery options to ensure that the launch is not delayed again: 2170 smaller cells widely used in other Tesla models, 4680 cells, and cheap lithium iron phosphate cells more, but electric vehicle manufacturers prefer to wait until 4680 cells are ready. source said.
Detailed information about Tesla’s e-car Battery strategy, including using 4680 cells and considering other options, has not been reported.
In 2022, Musk said he doesn’t expect the 4680 battery to be “the limiting factor for the Cybertruck or anything else.”
The Tesla-designed 4680 cell — named for its exterior dimensions (46mm in diameter, 80mm in length) — is important to future production plans. Tesla plans to manufacture versions at plants in Texas, California, Nevada and Berlin for use in vehicles from Model Y for Cybertruck, sources said.
But Tesla is still struggling to push ahead with the first wave of production, Musk acknowledged at Tesla’s investment day on March 1.
‘TESLA IMPACT WERE LOWER-ESTEDED’
Despite the immediate problems, some analysts are optimistic Tesla will address these issues.
“While enforcement risks remain and many details are unknown, Tesla’s impact on the global battery industry may still be underestimated.” Morgan Stanley said after the investment day.
Musk first announced the new battery at Battery Day in September 2020. At that event, he promised a 50% reduction in battery costs through a series of improvements, from larger battery sizes to a coating process. The new “dry” pole could significantly reduce the size and cost of a battery factory while increasing cell efficiency.
Repeated delays in moving new cells from the early prototype stage to large-scale production also pushed back the long-awaited introduction of the Cybertruck, designed to take advantage of the improved cell potential in terms of energy density and power — unprecedented advances. reality.
But it will take time for suppliers to ramp up production.
Panasonic is operating a test production line of 4680 at its Wakayama plant in Japan and plans to begin mass production by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Shoichiro Watanabe, chief technology officer of Panasonic Energy, said last month that the company’s new Kansas battery plant will initially focus on 2170 cells, but will eventually move 4680 production to North America.
Last year, LG said it plans to open a new 4680 production line at its Ochang plant in South Korea in the second half of 2023.
Tesla’s first-generation 4680 cells, built at the Fremont, California plant, failed to meet their energy density goals, the people involved said.
The sources say the automaker has so far been able to dry coat the anode – the cathode – but is still having problems with dry coating the cathode, where a significant gain is expected to be achieved. best.
Musk and company executives say Tesla’s effort to ramp up production of the dry paint process has so far only produced enough batteries for about 50,000 vehicles a year.
In 2020, Musk said Tesla will have enough 4680 internal capacity to supply 1.3 million Model Ys.
While executives say it looks like Tesla will be able to increase production of the 4680 by fivefold by the end of the year, the company is hedging.
Musk is betting if Tesla ends up with too many batteries this year, that’s a good deal. It can use them for energy storage systems that it sells to utilities and consumers.
Tesla also installed first-generation 4680 cells with “wet” cathode in a so-called structural package in the Texas-built Model Y. The majority of those vehicles use the older 2170 cells.
Tesla plans to use a cathode with more than 90% nickel in the next generation generation out of 4680 cells, two sources said. L&F is expected to be one of those high-nickel cathode suppliers, another source said.
(Reporting by Zoey Zhang in China and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Austin, Texas and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis)
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