- reuters reports that tesla and chinese company catl have come up with a battery solution that will drive down the cost of evs to reach parity with gasoline-vehicle costs.
- the solution will use less or no cobalt, which is the most expensive element in ev batteries.
- all of this news is expected to be announced at tesla's upcoming battery day, scheduled for the end of may.
the most expensive part of an electric car is the battery. the giant slab of expensive and difficult-to-obtain elements powering the motors is what makes an ev more expensive than its gasoline equivalent. but it looks like tesla and battery partner contemporary amperex technology ltd (catl) of china may have figured out how to make an electric car cost the same as a gas car.
reuters reports that tesla and catl have been working on and will announce a new low-cost battery. this battery is expected to be officially unveiled at tesla's battery day event, which ceo elon musk has announced will happen at the end of may in either california or texas. the new batteries are supposed to last for one million miles and make it possible for tesla to sell cars at the same cost as gasoline-powered counterparts.
the model 3 in china will be the first vehicle to receive the battery technology. eventually, the higher density, lower-cost battery will make its way into other tesla vehicles in other markets including the united states, according to sources cited by reuters.
in february, reuters reported that tesla was in talks to use catl's lithium-iron-phosphate batteries that don't use cobalt, which is the most expensive element in today's ev batteries. catl has also created a less expensive and simpler battery packaging scheme called cell-to-pack that reduces weight and cost. put all that together with the advances in power density, and you get a cheaper battery with the same range at a cost that's near $100 per kwh. that’s the price point many believe will be the point where evs cost the same as gas cars.
earlier this year, general motors unveiled its next-generation lithium-ion battery technology, and claimed the low-cobalt chemistry brings cost down to $100 per kwh. those batteries, called ultium, will go into 20 new electric vehicles, such as the cadillac lyriq, by 2023.
tesla's battery day event is also expected to bring news that tesla vehicles will be able to share energy back to the grid. the development would essentially make a tesla car work like a powerwall, the battery pack tesla sells to consumers to store energy from solar panels for use at night or to keep the lights on during a blackout.
finally, reuters reported that tesla is planning to implement high-speed and highly automated battery production. it goes in line with musk's dream of the machine building the machine. tesla tried this initially with the model 3, but it turns out humans are still needed in vehicle production. battery building might be easier and, if successful, will also bring down costs of the evs.