Tesla To Get Into LFP Battery Manufacturing — As Max Holland Predicted 4 Years In the past

By Last updated Oct 16, 2024

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I recall within the early days of the trendy electrical automobile period when the Tesla Mannequin S and the BYD e6 have been prime promoting electrical vehicles. The BYD e6? Nicely, if you realize, you realize. In case you weren’t round again then, and even when you have been and wish a refresher, let’s get into that first. The Mannequin S — effectively, everybody is aware of about that, it was tremendous quick and enjoyable. The e6 was chunky and was throttled to not mean you can speed up quick. It was bizarre. Nonetheless, due to all of the guardrails put round it, it had sufficient vary and usefulness at an honest worth that it was a preferred automobile for taxis.

One core distinction between the 2 vehicles have been their battery chemistries. The Mannequin S was utilizing a high-energy-density nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) battery chemistry whereas the BYD e6 was utilizing a low-energy-density lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO or LFP) battery. Oh boy, how do I bear in mind the Tesla followers trashing LFP battery chemistry! I might go on and on about the way it was ridiculed and the way Tesla followers claimed you possibly can by no means make an excellent electrical automobile with it. However the chemistry was cheaper, even when you couldn’t pack as a lot electrical energy in the identical dimension pack.

Steadily, battery design and manufacturing improved, and LFP power density bought higher and higher, whereas nonetheless being comparatively low-cost. Ultimately, actually, even Tesla began utilizing LFP batteries in its cheaper fashions. Main battery makers began making LFP batteries increasingly, too. However when you’ve been paying shut consideration over the previous decade or so, you realize all that already, proper? On to the information.

The information is that it now appears to be like like Tesla will begin producing its personal LFP batteries in-house, or at the least its personal LFP cathodes. Zachary Visconti noticed that Tesla has posted a brand new job itemizing on its careers web site — a job opening for a Senior Cell Supplies Engineer place particularly for an LFP cathode program. For extra element, right here’s a part of the job description: “Your duty will probably be spearheading cross-functional staff validation efforts of our LFP cathode supplies, creating new materials and electrochemical exams to speed up qualification time and convey our staff’s experience in supplies and electrochemical information interpretation to the following stage.

What You’ll Do

Speed up screening and validation of LFP cathode
Arrange and handle validation testing of lab to MP scale materials, electrode, and cell validation trials
Interpret electrochemical and materials/electrode characterization information and assign consequence variations to materials change, design change, meeting flaw, particular degradation pathways
Interface with our strategic companions and inner stakeholder by offering and analyzing key outcomes and dangers.”

Cool information. I recall, additionally, that when Tesla Battery Day was approaching 4 years in the past, our personal Maximilian Holland wrote a protracted piece explaining what he thought Battery Day can be all about — LFP batteries. Elon Musk responded that, though that wasn’t what Battery Day can be about, Max made some excellent factors.

No, however you make some nice factors. Vital to notice that iron’s price benefit is partly offset by elevated pack mass, so the absolutely thought-about price is nearer to nickel. That stated, iron alleviates a lot of the scaling downside.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2020

Because it seems, 4 years later, the battery trade is extra into LFP than ever and Tesla additionally continues to maneuver increasingly into LFP batteries. Who would’ve guessed it? (Aside from Max.)

“The corporate can be set to work with Chinese language producer Up to date Amperex Expertise Co. Restricted (CATL), with an government from CATL earlier this yr hinting at plans to develop low-cost batteries for a large-volume EV from the automaker,” Zachary Visconti provides. “A report from Bloomberg in January additionally stated that Tesla can be shopping for equipment from CATL to construct in-house LFP batteries for its Megapack, although it could be 100-percent operated by Tesla.”

We’ll see the place all of it leads, however with the Inflation Discount Act closely supporting reshoring of producing jobs within the US, particularly via the manufacturing of EV batteries and battery elements, I assume Tesla will probably be constructing out battery element and LFP battery manufacturing plans within the US in coming years and that is a part of that.