Tesla is developing a new type of battery, and the big question now is knowing which batteries Tesla will produce in Germany. With the Nevada Gigafactory close to achieving its maximum production, 35 GWh or capacity for around 500,000 packs per year, and the demand from China fueled by local production, Tesla needs to develop a new offer for its European production that, as we see, will bring a new type of battery.
This could be the design that Tesla has been working on for a while, and they are packs without modules, something that will allow to substantially increase the energy density of each battery with little change in the chemistry of the cells. Tesla is working on removing the modules from its batteries.
The decision to remove its battery modules initially should allow Tesla to simplify the design of its packs, make production more accessible, and ultimately lower its price. Although it is not confirmed, this new architecture will possibly begin to be implemented thanks to the original cells of its design that the brand is preparing. It will have a useful life of 1.6 million kilometers and will be cheaper to produce than the current ones, and its production could start in the German Gigafactory.
The other question is when. In principle, if there are no unforeseen events, the German factory should be ready and produced by the summer of 2021. Therefore, it is expected that Tesla will follow the model it has used in China, starting to expand the facilities with the factory very close to the end of its construction, which would mean starting work on this new production area before next summer.
Some deadlines that would take us to see how the battery production work begin already in 2022, at which time Tesla should have its technology ready that, as we remember, will be presented at the end of September, except for new delays.