Tesla’s new “low cost long life” battery could be announced this month

Tesla is planning to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery that could bring the costs of EVs down to the same as ICE models, it is reported. Volkswagen is saying that it has already achieved this feat with the MEB platform, and goes even a step further to say that the first launch, the VW ID.3, will be lower in acquisition and running cost as compared to a petrol car in the same segment.

Reuters has reported that Tesla will be launching the new battery in Model 3 later this year in China and the new batteries are developed to last up to a million miles or 1.6 million km. Tesla has developed the million mile battery along with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), China and the battery is expected to use new low-cobalt and cobalt-free battery chemistries.

The batteries are supposed to use new materials and chemical additives that help in storing energy for longer periods and decrease internal stress. The report further suggests that Tesla Motors has plans to put in place new manufacturing processes that are faster and heavily automated to reduce labour cost and significantly increase production. The new processes will be implemented in the new Tesla ‘Terafactory’ which is expected to be 30 times the size of Tesla’s Gigafactory.

There were reports earlier that suggested Tesla is in talks with CATL to use the latter’s lithium iron phosphate batteries that don’t use the most expensive metal in EV batteries, Cobalt. Tesla is taking a multi-level approach to make EVs cost the same as ICE vehicles – to make advances in battery technology, expanding the use of EV batteries in other applications and large scale automation of manufacturing.

Also See: 9 game-changing electric pickups worth waiting for

After the launch in China, Tesla will be launching improved versions of the battery with greater energy density and lower cost in other markets like North America and in other Tesla vehicles too. The company is expected to rollout the Tesla Cybertruck next year and follow it up with the Tesla Roadster a year later.

Source: Reuters.com