Significant increase in range
Tesla cars soon with five times more powerful battery: Panasonic presents new battery prototypes
Tesla cars will soon come onto the market with a significantly more powerful battery (symbol photo)
© Tang Ke / Costfoto / Picture Alliance
Tesla cars are said to have a five times more powerful battery. The Japanese electronics company Panasonic has presented a corresponding battery prototype. The battery should not only enable a longer range, but also reduce the US carmaker’s production costs.
Panasonic introduced the new battery with the designation “4680” last Monday. At a round table discussion with media representatives, Panasonic Managing Director Kazuo Tadanobu showed the prototype, which is five times the size of the battery systems currently used by Tesla. The news agency “Reuters” reports on it.
Panasonic is so far the only manufacturer of the battery in the 4680 format (46 millimeters wide and 80 millimeters high). “We developed this out of the other party’s strong desire and we think it can only lead to stronger relationships,” said Tadanobu. In addition to a greater range, Tesla wants to reduce its production costs with the help of the new battery.
Panasonic is not Tesla’s sole battery manufacturer
In the spring, the Japanese electronics company said it had sold all of its Tesla shares and wanted to become more independent, Panasonic announced. After all, the Japanese wanted to take on other car manufacturers as customers. However, the two companies still jointly operate Tesla’s battery giant factory in the US state of Nevada, and Panasonic has been developing batteries for Tesla for over a decade. The new battery prototype is a sign of further collaboration between Tesla and Panasonic.
Tadanobu also said on Monday that Panasonic does not want to develop cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) for cheaper electric vehicles. LFP batteries are 95 percent made in China and are considered cheaper and safer than nickel-based batteries, but have a lower energy density and require more frequent recharging. The new “4680” battery from Panasonic consists of a nickel-cobal-aluminum mixture.
New battery is expected to be used in more expensive models
Since Tesla will continue to rely on LFP batteries, the electric car manufacturer will continue to cooperate with the Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology, among others, for some Model 3 and Model Y manufactured in China as well as for the Model 3 entry-level model in the United States.
The new battery from Panasonic, on the other hand, is only likely to be used in more expensive Tesla vehicles for the time being. Its production is scheduled to go into operation by March 2022. Tesla aims to increase production a hundredfold by 2030.