Batteries in cars may not seem at first to be the more important element to the vehicle, but when it
comes to the electric car world...it's a different story. Not the least of which is because of how
electric cars run solely off of batteries so that they can not give off any pollution. However, for
the longest time, the batteries that were used for these cars weren't powerful enough to really make
a difference. But now, not only is that changing, but companies like Tesla and their partners at
Panasonic are changing the game with their new battery models. Allow us to show you how Tesla's
INSANE NEW 4680 Battery DESTROYS the Industry! 5. The Newer, Better, and Cheaper Battery
Battery technology is constantly evolving, and the latest advancement comes from Panasonic,
which revealed a prototype of its new 4680 battery cell. Automotive
News reports that the advanced-technology battery is due to power future Teslas,
saying the 4680 batteries will have five times the storage capacity of current Tesla battery packs
and will cost 50 percent less to build. This is the first time Panasonic has unveiled
the 4680 battery. Tesla's earnings report issued earlier in October said it was testing battery
packs using the 4680 cells. Panasonic constructed a test line for the new format earlier this year.
4680 refers to the battery’s dimensions: 46 millimeters (1.6 inches) wide by 80 mm (3.1 in)
tall. Tesla claims that there will be a 100-fold increase in battery production by 2030 thanks to
the new battery type, and that the new cell design produces six times the power of current cells.
Tesla is one of the only automakers using cylindrical cells,
and the additional energy capacity of the new 4680 cell isn't magic, it's simply a lot larger than
the current ones Tesla employs. On a purely volume basis, the 4680 is 5.5 times larger than the 2170
cells currently used in the Model 3 and Y battery packs and 8.0 times larger than the 18650 cells
used in the Model S and X (the 18650 is slightly larger than a typical AA battery).
The head of Panasonic's battery operations, Kazuo Tadanobu, said at the meeting, "We have developed
this because of the strong desire of the other party, and we think this can only lead to stronger
ties.” Panasonic has a battery manufacturing plant in Nevada, supplying the Tesla Gigafactory.
According to Electrek, Tesla claims the first vehicles with the 4680 battery cells
will be delivered next year. Tadanobu also said that Panasonic does not intend to build cheaper
lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for standard-range Teslas, even though Tesla's
report said the company plans to start using those in its "standard range" vehicles worldwide.
Along with building the 4680 batteries for Tesla, Panasonic will also supply batteries to American
electric startup Canoo, which recently announced an agreement with the Japanese
electronics corporation. The batteries will power the Lifestyle Vehicle that Canoo predicts will
begin production in the fourth quarter of 2022, with Dutch contractor VDL Nedcar building the
vanlike vehicle for the European and American markets. Canoo said they chose the Panasonic
batteries—which will not be the Tesla-specific 4680 format—for their proven reliability. Canoo
is claiming a range of 250 miles from a 80.0-kWh battery, with the base panel van
version starting at $34,750. 4. The Competition Speaks
Tesla bets on a new 4680-type cylindrical cell format, but according to Lucid's CEO/CTO
Peter Rawlinson. it will not be "this huge breakthrough."
In an interesting IEEE Spectrum article, Peter Rawlinson noted that the larger format
and new design has some advantages, including reduced internal resistance and higher volumetric
energy density, but it's better packaging rather than a breakthrough chemistry:
"...But even that 4680 appears a triumph of packaging, not of chemistry, with its tightly
packed "jelly rolls" that allow more active cell material versus its surrounding casing."
""I do think there's an upside to going to large format." he says. "That would reduce
internal resistance, and that's a valuable step forward. But people are looking at 4680 as this
huge breakthrough, and that's a fantasy."" However, according to Tesla, the 4680-type
and structural battery pack will allow it to increase capacity/range by 30%
(16% from cell design and 14% from vehicle integration) without a new chemistry.
So yeah, who's in the right here? Well, as in many things, we'll just have to wait and see how it all
goes. Because the big thing for companies like Tesla and Lucid is to have the best batteries
around so that they can go and not just make better cars, but cheaper cars. IF these batteries
are able to help increase range and be cheaper to make, that'll lower the price of the car,
and that is why so many, like Lucid, might be trying to talk down this
potential revolutionary battery, because they know it'll spell trouble for the competition.
3. Truly Valuable Batteries It's easy to go and look at what
the batteries will do for electric cars and see their importance. But there is even more value in
the batteries that you might not be seeing. In particular, the extremely long life of
batteries soon to hit the market are likely to mean the batteries hold their value well enough
to be resold when owners trade in their cars, possibly for use storing solar electricity for
homes. And the next-gen batteries’ long lives may let them be used in ridesharing businesses
that demand cars that can take the pounding of near-continuous use.
“If you’re talking about batteries that can last twice as long for the same price,
it completely changes the math for the consumer,” says Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. “Iron
phosphate batteries are safer, and they can have second or third lives as electricity storage.″
That's multiple business ventures right there for Tesla and whoever else can make these batteries
and have them live up to this potential. As such, getting these into cars and into homes could very
much spark a revolution in terms of power usage and what powers homes, businesses, and more.
And that's not to say that Tesla isn't taking the chemistry route, they're looking for all sorts
of ways to improve battery power. 2. The Science Of New Batteries
There's a lot going into the process of making new batteries. The key thing here is the science and
chemistry of making them and making them work. Because to someone on the outside
it might be as easy as thinking "oh they just swap in one chemical for another!"
But it's rarely ever that simple, especially when it comes to batteries.
Shirley Meng, a materials scientist and professor at the University of California
San Diego who directs the school’s Sustainable Power and Energy Center,
said efforts to reduce the use of cobalt have been ongoing for a few decades already, and Tesla has
made significant strides in doing just that. But Meng said one of the major advantages of building
batteries with cobalt is how easily it allows complex chemical structures to be engineered.
“If I have to train a high school student to make a battery, cobalt makes it easy;
it always works. Without cobalt the synthesis process gets much more sophisticated,” she said.
Lithium-iron phosphate, meanwhile, has never proved to be efficient in the space constraints
of an electric car — it was originally designed for the grid storage market due
to its energy density profile. But its chemistry is suited to fast-charging and cost efficiency
because it does not rely on cobalt. According to Tesla,
vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, also used in cellphones, are expected to give way over
the next few years to cars and trucks made with lithium-iron phosphate and other chemistries.
This will cut costs, extend vehicle ranges to 400 miles or more between charges and
enable batteries to last as long as 1 million miles. Which is 5-10 times longer than what
most standard gas-powered cars could ever hope to get with their engines at times.
So when you mix the "larger batteries" that Panasonic is making with the
"new chemistry" batteries that Tesla is working on getting going, that's two different batteries
that can help change the game. 1. Better Batteries, Better Cars
In the end though, no matter which battery comes out and stands out from the crowd,
the result will hopefully be the same. In this case, making better electric cars for
people to not just drive, but afford. And the better electric cars get,
the more we'll come to accept them over gas-powered cars and thus slowly grow the
user base so that we can go and get things done in terms of limiting the pollutants of cars.
So what do you think? What do you think of this look at the new upcoming batteries from
Tesla/Panasonic and how they will change the industry when they're put into cars? Do you
think that this really will be a major step forward for the electric car industry? Or,
do you agree with their competition in that they aren't really a big step forward?
Let us know in the comments below, and we'll see you next time on the channel!