American car maker Tesla is set to introduce low cost and long life batteries in its Tesla 3 model. It will be first launched in China by the end of 2021 or early 2022. The company hopes that this will reduce the price of the car to equal or even less than a petrol car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given his investors, and rivals, a promise of new innovation by Battery Technology during Battery Day last May.
Designed to last one million miles
- The new low-cost battery is designed to last up to a million miles and enables the electric Tesla to sell profitably for as much or as little as a petrol vehicle, which is part of Musk’s agenda.
- According to reports, with a global fleet of more than 1 million electric vehicles capable of connecting and sharing electricity with the grid, Tesla aims to achieve the status of a power company, such as Moneypick Gas and Electric and Compete with traditional energy providers such as Tokyo Electric.
- At the heart of Tesla’s strategy was the new “million-mile” battery jointly developed with China’s Contemporary Ampirex Technology Limited (CATL), and the technology developed by Tesla as one of the academic battery experts recruited by Musk. Three people were familiarized with the effort in collaboration with the team.
Surplus storage capacity and low cost
- According to reports, the improved version of the battery will offer the battery in additional Tesla vehicles in other markets, including North America, with greater energy density, increased storage capacity and lower costs. Tesla plans to launch the new battery first in China, at the moment Tesla has not given any clarification about its comprehensive strategy.
- Tesla’s new batteries will rely on innovation such as low-cobalt and cobalt-free battery chemistry, and the use of chemical additives, materials, and coatings will reduce internal stress and enable batteries to store energy for longer.
- Tesla plans to implement a new high-speed, heavy automated battery manufacturing process designed to reduce labor costs and increase production in large-scale “terrafactories, the company’s expanding Nevada” 30 times the size of “Gigafactory”.
- Tesla is working on recycling and recovery of expensive metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, along with its Redwood Materials affiliate, as well as new “second-life” applications of electric vehicle batteries in grid storage systems, such as in South Australia Tesla made in 2017. The automaker has also stated that it wants to supply electricity to consumers and businesses, but the company did not say much about it either.