These are the impressions that TSLA models give. Behind these leading features lies the result of TSLA's dedicated research into electric vehicle technology. Following its self-developed FSD (Full Self-Driving) autonomous driving processing unit, TSLA has now begun dabbling in battery manufacturing. What exactly is TSLA up to with this? Today, let's talk about TSLA's self-manufacturing of batteries!
Why make our own batteries?
Since 2016, the vast majority of lithium-ion batteries for TSLA vehicles have been produced at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, USA, by a joint venture between TSLA and Panasonic. With TSLA's global sales increasing, and with the Chinese factory officially commencing production in January of this year, Gigafactory 1's battery production capacity has long been unable to keep pace with the demands of new vehicle production. To break free from this production bottleneck, TSLA must quickly find a solution.
When the cost of batteries for pure electric vehicles drops to around $100/kWh, the price of electric vehicles can be on par with that of gasoline-powered vehicles. This has always been TSLA's goal. According to some industry analysis data from the end of 2018, the cost of lithium-ion batteries produced by TSLA in cooperation with Panasonic was $111/kWh, while the cost of lithium-ion batteries produced by LG of South Korea was about $148/kWh, and the cost of lithium-ion batteries produced by CATL of my country exceeded $150/kWh.
TSLA and Panasonic have a long-standing partnership, with Panasonic serving as the sole battery supplier for TSLA models for an extended period. However, in recent years, TSLA's global expansion has accelerated, and Panasonic's battery production capacity has been insufficient to meet the demands of new TSLA vehicle production. With TSLA's Chinese plant officially commencing production earlier this year, finding alternative battery suppliers has become a top priority as production ramps up.
While the addition of new suppliers alleviated battery production issues, the cost problem remained unresolved, and the battery technology advantage of the TSLA model was diminishing compared to its competitors. Therefore, tech visionary Elon Musk decided to develop a completely new battery himself—one with lower costs, larger capacity, and higher performance.
Five years of quiet preparation, recruiting talent to manufacture batteries in-house.
Starting in 2015, TSLA began secretly developing a brand-new power lithium battery technology and planned to achieve mass production. To achieve this goal, TSLA did three "big things": first, it sponsored Jeff Dahn Research Group at Dalhousie University; then, it acquired supercapacitor manufacturer Maxwell and battery manufacturing equipment company Hibar.
Currently, the ternary lithium-ion batteries used in mainstream pure electric vehicles all employ a wet electrode process. In this process, the positive or negative electrode material is first mixed with a solvent and then coated onto the electrode sheet. This traditional technology is relatively mature and produces stable electrode quality, but because the electrodes produced by this coating method are thinner, the energy density is limited.
Since the new battery structure and manufacturing process are simpler, this is beneficial for reducing battery manufacturing costs. As for the exact cost reduction effect, the official data has not yet been released. Perhaps the relevant information will be released at the TSLA "Battery Day" in April this year.
When recovering kinetic energy, storing electrical energy in a supercapacitor results in significantly lower losses compared to storing it in a battery pack via a power conversion unit. During rapid vehicle acceleration, supercapacitors can discharge at a much higher power than traditional lithium-ion battery packs, thereby improving driving performance while preventing the formation of lithium dendrites (which would accelerate damage to the internal structure of the battery) during high-power discharge in traditional lithium-ion battery packs.
Having assembled the talent, technology, and production equipment, TSLA now possesses the key elements for its own battery research and development and production. According to foreign media reports, TSLA is currently building a power lithium-ion battery production line at its Fremont, USA plant, a surprisingly rapid pace.
How powerful are TSLA's self-made batteries?
What exactly will TSLA's self-made battery look like? TSLA has not officially disclosed any information, but considering TSLA's development in the field of power lithium batteries over the past five years, its self-made battery may integrate an improved nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary lithium-ion battery with a supercapacitor. This would allow it to fully leverage the advantages of both energy storage components under different operating conditions, improving battery discharge power and capacity. The improved ternary lithium-ion battery may employ dry electrode technology and an improved electrolyte, resulting in significant improvements in capacity and cycle life.
The dry electrode technology and supercapacitors mentioned above are Maxwell's flagship technologies. The reason for speculating that TSLA's self-made battery is an NCM nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary lithium-ion battery is that Jeff Dane's research team has always based their research on NCM nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, the new battery should apply existing research results to accelerate the mass production process.
Maxwell's dry electrode technology enables lithium-ion battery cells to achieve energy densities exceeding 300 Wh/kg, with a current maximum of 500 Wh/kg. Compared to the commonly used NCM811 ternary lithium-ion battery cells in China (NCM indicates the cathode material is a nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary material, and 811 indicates the nickel-cobalt-manganese ratio is 8:1:1), which has a maximum energy density of approximately 300 Wh/kg, TSLA's new battery technology has greater potential for energy density improvement. This could potentially lead to a leap forward in the driving range of pure electric vehicles in the future.
According to my country's national standards for automotive power lithium batteries, the battery capacity should be greater than 80% of the initial capacity after 1000 charge-discharge cycles. Currently, the battery life of vehicles sold in China equipped with ternary lithium-ion batteries meets or slightly exceeds the national standards.
Research findings from Jeff Dane's group indicate that improvements to the electrolyte can significantly enhance the cycle life of nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary lithium-ion batteries. In some experiments, cells using the improved electrolyte retained over 80% of their initial capacity after 3000 charge-discharge cycles, and some samples retained over 90% of their initial capacity after 5000 charge-discharge cycles.
Finally, let's talk about supercapacitors. Actually, supercapacitors have been used in the automotive industry for some time, but not extensively. Mazda's i-ELOOp technology is one example of the application of supercapacitors in automobiles.
To achieve these goals, TSLA manufactures supercapacitors with significantly higher capacitance and rated voltage than those used in the Mazda i-ELOOp. The Mazda i-ELOOp's supercapacitors were previously recalled due to fire hazards. TSLA's goal of integrating supercapacitors with higher capacitance and rated voltage into vehicles makes the supercapacitor's safety design a key point of interest.
Summary of the whole article:
This article introduces some information about TSLA's in-house battery manufacturing and makes some forward-looking speculations. If all goes well, this new battery system will have greater capacity, longer lifespan, better output characteristics, and lower manufacturing costs. Detailed information about this new battery system may be revealed to the public at TSLA's "Battery Day" this April, at which time we will have more comprehensive and accurate information. Let's look forward to it!
