Panasonic showed first 4,680 cells for Tesla, LFP> teslamag.de not planned

All of Tesla’s previous battery suppliers, after introducing cells in the format 4680 developed by the same electric car maker, in September 2020 indicated that they intend to supply these batteries as well. CEO Elon Musk has emphasized several times that this is also intended — in no way does Tesla want to replace previous partners, he said. And so the 4680 production setup is going elsewhere as well. On Monday, Panasonic was the first of three Tesla suppliers to submit prototypes of its 4,680 private cells.

Check Panasonic wish Tesla

The filing took place in Tokyo, according to reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Accordingly, Panasonic stated that the capacity of the new cell was five times higher than the capacity of the current cell, which is Information from Tesla on Battery Day equivalent. Developed according to the requirements of Tesla, WSJ quotes Head of the battery unit in the Japanese company. A test unit producing 4,680 cells should be commissioned by March 2022. It is planned to supply it to Tesla, but he does not want to say more about it.

According to a Reuters report on the event, Panasonic installed a 4,680-cell pilot line in Tokyo earlier this year. According to the head of the battery, the reason for this was “the urgent desire of the other party.” Panasonic assumes it will be able to enhance connectivity with Tesla. The Japanese company was Tesla’s first major supplier of batteries, but more capacity now comes from newer partners LG Energy Solutions and CATL.

CATL from China It came into play with the introduction of LFP batteries in Teslawhich allow viewable domains at relatively low prices. It will soon be used in all standard Teslas cars around the world and will be produced on the same continent where electric cars will also be manufactured, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkorn said on a conference call on the latest quarterly figures. Clearly, Panasonic doesn’t want to be there: It said there are no plans for LFP batteries According to Reuters Monday.

The first electric car with 4,680 cars in 2022

Relatively little information is available on Tesla’s progress in producing the 4680. A pilot plant with a high annual capacity of 10 GWh should be ready by the end of this year near the US plant in Fremont. In a conference call about the Q3 numbers, Tesla’s chief technology officer, Drew Baglino, said the first electric cars with 4,680-cell battery packs could be delivered early next year. The tests with the final packaging went well, and the production of cells for them is on schedule as well. However, with such new technology, there are always “unknown unknowns”.