Panasonic to produce Tesla new '4680' battery cells from 2021: Report
<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1609303975744966.jpg" alt="7.jpg" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20201230/1609303975744966.jpg"/></p><p>Tesla Inc supplier Panasonic will build a prototype production line for the Tesla 4680 battery cells at its existing facilities as early as 2021, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.<br/><br/>The cost of the project is expected to run into tens of millions of dollars and it could lead to a new supply agreement with Tesla, the report added. The new battery design is half as expensive to make, relative to its capacity.<br/><br/>Tesla had unveiled a new tabless battery cell '4680' in a bigger format with new chemistry and announced its plan to produce it in-house on the much-anticipated 'Battery Day'.</p><p><br/></p><p>The 4680 cells are expected to have 5X the energy density and 6X more power than Tesla¡¯s existing batteries. Tesla¡¯s new cells are also predicted to cost 56% less to produce per kWh.<br/><br/>However, CEO Elon Musk had also added at the event that Tesla would continue to use other battery manufacturers and buy the battery cell supply they can get to support its ambitious growth plan.<br/><br/>Panasonic's chief financial officer Hirokazu Umeda said in October that it started to work ¡°immediately¡± after Tesla announced the prototype in September and was ¡°preparing to set up a prototype production line in parallel,¡± Reuters reported.<br/><br/>At present, Panasonic is Tesla¡¯s main supplier of battery cells but the EV manufacturer buys batteries from LG Chem and CATL also.<br/>The new cells are being produced only at a pilot plant in Fremont.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Tesla is working on large scale factories to produce the batteries at Gigafactory Berlin and other locations.</p>
30 Dec,2020
