Batteries for 1.5M EVs annually

Tesla has confirmed a $3.6 billion expansion to its battery Gigafactory in Nevada.

The investment will add 3,000 new jobs and two new factories to its Sparks, Nevada site, Tesla read as a press release, along with several details confirmed as part of Tesla’s quarterly results on Wednesday. said.

One plant will be the first high-volume production plant dedicated to producing batteries for the Tesla Semi, while the other will produce enough 4680 format battery cells for 1.5 million small cars per year.

If Tesla can hit that manufacturing capacity with its $3.6 billion investment, it will arguably be the most efficient battery factory project ever in terms of spending relative to factory output.

“If you look at the size of Giga Nevada allocated for 100 gigawatt hours of production, it’s a fraction of the current size of 35 gigawatt hours,” Musk said, adding that the company now has an advanced manufacturing toolbox for battery cells. said to apply to make.

“The goal we set for Battery Day to reduce the investment required to deploy cell manufacturing is a key focus for us, and the team has done a good job of meeting that goal,” said the CFO. added Zachary Kirkhorn.

Tesla announced the Gigafactory in 2014 and plans to produce 50 gigawatt hours (gwh) annually by 2020, enough for half a million cars. The company said he has now invested $6.2 billion to build a 5.4 million square foot factory. A huge initial investment from Panasonic helped kick off the project, and Japanese battery suppliers remain involved as technology partners.

Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada [CREDIT – YouTube user California Phantom]

To date, the Nevada Gigafactory has produced 7.3 billion battery cells (equivalent to 37 gwh per year), 1.5 million battery packs, 3.6 million drive units and 1 million energy storage modules, with a total capacity of is 14 gwh, says Tesla. Tesla also began on-site recycling of batteries at the Gigafactory in 2019.

Meanwhile, Panasonic chose Kansas City, which last summer claimed to be the world’s largest battery factory. Panasonic later revealed that the factory’s “world’s largest” claim was the first battery factory in the United States outside of a partnership with Tesla, referring to the expected financial investment.

With additional report from Bengt Halvorson