There were some big announcements at Tesla’s Battery Day event: the company’s move towards eliminating cobalt in its batteries, a new Plaid powertrain for the Model S that could get to speeds of 200mph, and a new cathode plant to streamline its battery production. And, with the new battery technology, CEO Elon Musk has said Tesla will make a USD25,000 car.
Here are the biggest announcements from Tesla’s 2020 Battery Day:
‘Tabless’ battery cells will improve Tesla’s range
Tesla plans to manufacture its own ‘tabless’ batteries, which will improve its vehicles’ range and power. The new tabless battery cells are not only more powerful and improve the range, but will also be developed by Tesla itself, unlike the current battery cells which are sourced from outside, which Musk says will reduce costs and bring the sale price of Tesla electric cars closer to gasoline-powered cars.
The tabless cells are being referred to as ‘4680’ since they measure 46mm by 80mm. This means that the new cells are bigger than the cells that Tesla currently uses. Tesla Powertrain and Energy Engineering division senior vice-president, Drew Baglino, explained the reasoning behind the switch to tabless: “Supercharging and thermals in general become really challenging as you make bigger cells. And this was the challenge that our team set our sights on to overcome. And we did, we came up with this tabless architecture that basically removes the thermal problem from the equation and allows us to go to the absolute lowest cost form factor and the simplest manufacturing process.”
It’s expected to lower Tesla’s cost per kilowatt hour, a key metric used to measure electric vehicles’ battery packs. “We get five times the energy with six times the power and enable 16% range increase, just form factor alone,” added Baglino.
Tesla currently sources its batteries from Panasonic, and is likely to keep doing so for some time, but moving battery production in house has been on Musk’s to-do list for some time; in 2018 a shortage of those cells added to production delays. Musk has said the pace of battery production at Panasonic had slowed production of both the Model 3 and the Model Y.
Model S Plaid will be available in 2021 at a cost of USD139,990
Tesla also unveiled the Model S Plaid, which is powered by three electric motors that together produce 1100 horsepower. Tesla claims that the car can sprint from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in under 2 seconds, complete a quarter-mile run in under 9 seconds and top out at 200 mph (320 km/h) – Musk claimed the Model S Plaid could lap Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1:30.3, making it the quickest four-door to ever drive the California circuit. In addition, the Model S Plaid will also have a range of over 520 miles (837 km).
When the Model S first arrived back in 2012, it had just a single motor powering the rear wheels. An all-wheel drive version with a motor for each axle arrived in 2014, and currently, it’s the only configuration available for the Model S. Now, Tesla is upping the ante with a third motor. What are the advantage of a third motor? Torque vectoring. The ability to control what wheels on opposites sides of the car are doing provides for some fascinating handling possibilities.
The price is listed on Tesla’s website at USD139 990. Musk had noted in the past that a Plaid trim level would “cost more than our current offerings,” which it does. It will be available in the Model S in late 2021.
A new cathode plant is coming… eventually
A year ago, during Tesla’s 2019 shareholder’s meeting, Musk said the company “might get into the business of mining minerals used in electric vehicle batteries”.
At the Battery Day event, Musk confirmed that the company is taking the first official step by securing the rights to a 10 000-acre lithium clay deposit in Nevada.
The lithium mine is just one piece of Tesla’s broader plan to build a cheaper, more efficient battery that will ultimately allow it to lower the price of its vehicles. It’s also another example of Tesla aiming to bring its supply chain closer to home.
Musk said this is part of Tesla’s quest to reduce supply chain costs and simplify cathode production. Tesla is also making improvements to its process that will make cathodes 76% cheaper and produce zero wastewater. The company also plans to diversify the cathodes it uses, due to low nickel supplies.
The lithium mine as well as a proposed cathode facility, both of which will be in North America, will be two new additions to Tesla’s growing portfolio of factories and operations.
No more cobalt in the cathodes
Tesla intends to eliminate cobalt in battery cathodes by switching to batteries that use less costly metals such as nickel and manganese. In recent years, battery manufacturers have been focused on cathode design, particularly the ratio of nickel, cobalt, and manganese used in cathodes. Manufacturers, including Tesla, are moving towards high-nickel cathodes with lower cobalt content.
Tesla’s determination to transition to a cobalt-free cathode appears primarily to be driven by reducing costs and ensuring that their EVs’ raw materials are ethically sourced. Currently Tesla sources most of its cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been beset by claims of illegal mining, human rights abuses and corruption.
Nickel is the cheapest and the highest energy density. “And that’s why increasing nickel is a goal of ours and really everybody’s in the battery industry. But one of the reasons why cobalt is even used at all is because it is a very stable bookshelf. And the challenge with going to pure nickel is stabilising that bookshelf with only nickel. And that’s what we’ve been working on with our high nickel cathode development, which has zero cobalt in it, leveraging novel coatings and dopants we can get a 15% reduction in cathode dollar per kilowatt hour,” said Baglino.
The shift away from cobalt appears to be achievable but will take many years and will only apply to a small segment of a large battery market. Musk didn’t offer a timeline for when the company will stop using cobalt but said it will make its batteries significantly cheaper. “It’s absolutely critical that we make cars that people can actually afford,” he said. Affordability is key to how we scale.”
A USD25,000 car is a new goal
Tesla plans to reduce the cost of its battery cells and packs, with an end goal of building a USD25 000 electric car – USD10 000 less than its current cheapest model. Tesla will hit this goal using its new ‘tabless’ battery cells, and changing the materials inside the cell, which Musk said should allow Tesla to “halve” the price per kilowatt-hour.
“It was always our goal to try to make an affordable electric car. And I think probably, about three years from now, we’re confident we can make a very compelling USD25 000 electric vehicle that’s also fully autonomous,” said Musk.
