Panasonic, one of Tesla’s major battery suppliers, will increase the energy density of its cells over the next five years. A way for the electric vehicles of the American manufacturer to gain autonomy, while becoming increasingly competitive on the market.
Tesla will soon have more advanced batteries, capable of delivering greater autonomy
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The war of numbers over the range of electric cars is in full swing, and should gain ground over the next few years. By giving pride of place to the range of their vehicles, manufacturers are placing this type of argument at the heart of their communication strategy: the manufacturer Tesla is the illustrative example, and rightly so.
Elon Musk’s group will always have more to seduce consumers over the next five years, thanks to an improvement in the “2170” battery cells installed in particular in its flagship automobile, the Model 3. One of its main suppliers, Panasonic, will improve their energy density by up to 20%.
The law of competition
The report published by Reuters tends to provide an explanation for this future novelty: today, Panasonic is no longer the exclusive partner of Tesla in terms of batteries, LG Chem and CATL having managed to get into the little papers of the boss of SpaceX . The Japanese group must maintain its legitimacy and be competitive.
Cobalt, an ore doomed to disappear in Tesla’s batteries
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The new generation of battery currently under development will therefore make it possible to increase the radius of action of the four wheels, without impacting the size of the battery packs. Panasonic is also committed to supplying this type of component without cobalt, within two to three years.
A long-awaited “Battery Day”
Determined to break away from this ore – or at least to better control its origin – whose exploitation in Congo (main cobalt producer country) poses ethical problems both on a human and ecological level, Elon Musk is pushing his partner here to make strong choices in this area. CALT, for example, no longer uses cobalt.
The point is that Asian society is preparing to increase the energy density of cells as early as September. Month in which Tesla’s “Battery Day” event will take place. This should be an opportunity for Mr. Musk to reveal significant advances related to batteries.
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