Tesla cars could get a decent boost in range in the future. The Japanese electronics group Panasonic has announced that it will invest over 700 million US dollars in the development of a new battery. Tesla should initially benefit from this.
The race for long-range batteries for electric cars continues. Tesla will soon be able to rely on a new battery that will not only be cheaper to produce, but will also provide a longer range.
Panasonic plans to start mass production of a new lithium-ion battery for the US automaker’s vehicles next year. The Japanese electronics group is investing a good 700 million US dollars in this.
The new battery should increase the range by more than 15 percent. Panasonic promises the “world’s longest range per battery weight”. This in turn should accelerate the switch to electric cars.
The Japanese company introduced the new battery with the designation “4680” for the first time last October, which bears its name because of its 4680 battery cells. This should have a capacity five times greater than the battery systems currently used by Tesla. This should mean that fewer batteries are needed to achieve the same performance.
Annual production for 150,000 electric vehicles
Panasonic wants to expand its plant in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan to produce the new battery. Operations are slated to begin partially this year before moving to mass production next year. The company expects annual production capacity to be around 10 gigawatts, equivalent to 150,000 electric vehicles.
“We are evaluating various options for mass production, including a test production line that we will set up this fiscal year. However, we cannot announce anything at this time,” Panasonic said in a statement sent to Reuters news agency.
After Tesla, other manufacturers should also be able to use batteries
The new battery is expected to bring cost savings of 10 to 20 percent. According to Panasonic, batteries account for 30 percent of the total cost of an electric vehicle.
According to its own statements, the electronics group wants to regain the market share in battery production for Tesla vehicles that it lost to the battery manufacturers CATL and battery manufacturers LG Chem. After supplying Tesla, Panasonic aims to supply the battery to other automakers in the future. At that time, however, there were assumptions that the new battery could initially only be used in more expensive Tesla vehicles.
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Source From: Stern
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