Tesla will take the time to work on the creation of its battery cells. This movement will allow it to increase the gap that currently separates the automaker from other manufacturers of electric cars. The company will be in complete control of the productive process of the essential element of this type of vehicle, taking care of the fabrication of the cells, the modules (they can disappear in the next generation of batteries), the packaging, and more.
One of Tesla’s most exciting features, which is being developed under the “Roadrunner” project, is its long service life. According to Elon Musk, executive director of the company, he could withstand a total of 1 million miles of use, which in practice may vary significantly exceeding the useful life of the car.
These batteries are developed by Jeff Dahn’s team, an expert who is currently working for Tesla. The first investigators’ problems were carried out with cells equipped with an NMC 532 cathode of “single crystal” and an electrolyte with additive double patented by the brand itself. With this technology, it will achieve a useful life of 4,000 cycles, substantially improving the average of the current lithium-ion batteries available in the market.
Now, based on previous research, Dahn and his students Yulong Liu and Jessie Harlow have published a work that has been able to achieve similar durability results with NMC 622 and NMC 811 chemicals. By reducing their use of cobalt it allows them to achieve an energy density even more significant than that of the previous ones. The results, described as “exceptional,” show a long useful life while maintaining solid performance at all times.
The lower use of cobalt will also allow Tesla to reduce the production costs of cells. Something that will be of vital importance to achieving a price of less than 100 dollars per kWh.
It is expected that Tesla reveals new data on these advanced batteries soon. For the moment, the brand has launched a pilot production line for rigs in Fremont and is testing prototypes equipped with Roadrunner batteries, which could be staged by the Cybertruck pick-up at the end of 2021. Recently it has been known that the brand has acquired machinery for the manufacturing of batteries,l. Now, Tesla is closer than ever to make their dream come true.