While Tesla fans are still eagerly waiting for the postponed Battery Day, some news is already seeping through. Apparently the Model 3 could be even cheaper – thanks to a cobalt-free battery.
• Tesla has probably applied for approval for a cobalt-free battery
• LFP battery could make Model 3 cheaper
• Cooperation with CATL
The heart of an electric car, but also the most criticized component, is the battery – it stores the energy that drives the EV (Electric Vehicle). For the US electric car manufacturer Tesla, optimizing the battery cells for his models is a priority. An innovation could now lead to a cost reduction for the Model 3 produced in Shanghai and make the batteries more durable.
Tesla and CATL – long-lasting and cheaper battery?
In cooperation with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Tesla is said to have developed a new battery, reports the Reuters news agency. Months ago, Tesla and the Chinese battery manufacturer were talking about a cooperation and the use of cobalt-free batteries. The centerpiece of the EV should almost do without a particularly criticized raw material: cobalt. In addition, the energy density was increased by lowering the pressure, which means higher storage capacities. The battery developed together with CATL is said to be the almost legendary “1 million mile” battery, the Tesla boss Elon Musk had promised some time ago.
Tesla’s 1 million-mile battery: $ 100 per kilowatt hour
This is bigger news than it seems at first glance. With this progress, the production of electric car batteries should not only be cheaper. The key figure of $ 100 per kilowatt hour is an important limit in the auto industry. Because from that point on is a Electric car comparable in price to burners. Tesla’s “1 million miles” battery should enable the company to sell its models profitably – and at the same price or even cheaper than gasoline and Co., Reuters reports people familiar with the matter.
Cobalt-free battery for Tesla’s Model 3?
As Reuters also reported, the Silicon Valley company plans to launch a cheaper, long-lasting Model 3 battery in China by the end of the year or 2021. The deal between Tesla and CATL would provide a cobalt-free battery for the Model 3. The Standard Range + version is to receive LFP cells that do without the rare raw material – an important step in gradually releasing electric cars from their dependence on the controversial raw material. In terms of costs, this project is particularly brilliant: Because, according to Reuters, the costs at the battery pack level were even lower than US $ 80 per kilowatt hour. At the cell level, the cost was probably only $ 60 per kilowatt hour. CATL’s cell-to-pack technology enables this cost reduction.
Even if it is not yet known exactly how much the cobalt-free battery will affect the total, the Model 3 could transform more and more into a mass-market vehicle than it was originally designed.
Optimizing Tesla batteries is an important part of Elon Musk’s strategy. In January, for example, he told investors about how cost reductions can be achieved by increasing production: “We have to raise battery production to a crazy level that people can’t even imagine today.” More information and further news should follow at the latest at the postponed “Battery Day”. Musk suggested via Twitter that there could be two dates.
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Image source: Nadezda Murmakova / Shutterstock.com, Keystone, Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images, Tesla
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