Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla plans to begin producing a battery pack that is durable enough to last for a total of 1 million miles. It is currently unclear exactly when it will appear, in which of its electric cars, and what role the battery will play in Tesla’s comprehensive overall plans for much more and probably its own battery cells. But CATL, world leader in battery cells from China and, according to its own account, a close partner of Tesla, has now announced that it can now produce such batteries – for everyone who orders them.
Soon Tesla Model 3 with CATL battery
The Bloomberg news agency said in a conversation with Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL. Technical information on the million-dollar battery from China cannot be found in the article, and the company did not want to give names of potential customers. However, it is known that the delivery of the Tesla Gigafactory in China with cells from CATL should begin soon. Thanks to LFP chemistry, these should be both cheaper and more durable; Because the energy density of this technology is lower, only the Model 3 within standard range should be equipped with it initially.
Neither Tesla nor CATL have spoken of a million miles in connection with the Model 3 from China. In initial reports about the beginning of delivery this year, however, there was talk of the cells being tailored specifically to Tesla’s requirements; on another occasion, CATL managers spoke of close collaboration with Tesla in development. That does not seem to fit the Chairman’s current statement that anyone who is interested can now order the millions of cells.
BMW and VW also buy from CATL
At the same time, this value may not be as spectacular as it may sound. Canadian Tesla research partner Jeff Dahn said in a lecture that his group didn’t have to do much more than try out a few different electrolyte liquids and additives – even 2 million miles are quite possible. General Motors also recently spoke of working towards batteries for a million miles in its electric cars. And at CATL, according to the company, they are already ready or are even already being produced.
According to earlier reports, his customers also include BMW and Volkswagen, and the Chinese are setting up their own battery factory near Erfurt. VW announced in July 2018 that it had placed orders for electric car batteries with a volume of 40 billion, including CATL.
Tesla shouldn’t just shop
However, Tesla’s plans are likely to go far beyond pure purchases – CEO Musk said they are so spectacular that they still overwhelm him. He does not reveal any details, but according to Musk’s general statements, Tesla wants to achieve production in the range of terawatt hours, i.e. thousands of gigawatt hours per year, which would be at least ten times as much as the total production capacity worldwide at the end of 2019. And Tesla’s own patents on cell chemicals and structures as well as production processes suggest that the electric car pioneer is not planning to work with purchased standard goods in the future.
This is also supported by the fact that, according to reports from mid-May, Tesla plans to use another battery developed with CATL from the end of this or the beginning of next year. Unlike the one for the small Model 3, it should be based on a revised NMC chemistry (with little cobalt at low cost) – and should also last over a million miles. According to current rumors, it should first be used in the Tesla Model Y. The new Gigafactory building for its production in China should be ready around the time.
