The 4680 battery cell was already presented by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Battery Day 2020. Analysts, investors and Tesla drivers were impressed by the new battery. But it is only now that mass production of the 4680 batteries seems to be really getting started – with major consequences for Tesla’s car production.
• 4680 battery cell: Announced in 2020, only now mass produced
• Apparently more than 800,000 cells are now being manufactured per week
• Particularly important for semi- and cybertrucks
In the midst of the hype surrounding Tesla shares Elon Musk as part of Battery Day on September 22, 2020, that the US electric car pioneer would soon begin mass production of significantly improved battery cells. Due to the dimensions of the battery cells – 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters in length – they are called “4680 battery cells”. They are intended to replace the previously most commonly used 4170 batteries. In addition to higher performance with faster charging times, the 4680 battery should also offer a better price-performance ratio: According to Tesla, the production of the new batteries should only cost around half as much as the 4170 version. However, it took almost three years for the production of the new cells to really get going. However, Tesla has now reached a milestone.
Tesla produces the 20 millionth 4680 cell
In mid-October, the US electric car manufacturer announced via X (formerly Twitter) that the 20 millionth 4680 battery cell had been produced in the Gigafactory Texas, marking another milestone. Tesla had already announced in June that it had produced the 10 millionth 4680 cell. This information suggests that the electric car maker produced 10 million 4680 battery cells in the approximately 16 weeks between the two company announcements – again, an average weekly production of 625,000 cells per week. However, “electrek” assumes that Tesla is now producing more than 800,000 cells per week – and the trend is rising.
Tesla cars require a lot of batteries
20 million battery cells sounds like an enormous amount – but the number must be put into perspective. It is generally estimated that a 4680 cell has a capacity of 26 amp hours, according to Trending Topics. This means that Tesla’s 4680 cells have an output of around 100 watt-hours and that Gigafactory Texas – assuming that around 800,000 cells are actually manufactured per week – produces around 80 megawatt-hours of 4680 battery cells per week. With a battery pack capacity of 65 kilowatt hours, that would be enough – depending on the vehicle class and type – to produce just over 1,200 vehicles per week. The innovative batteries will initially be used primarily in Tesla’s new electric truck “Semi Truck” and in the “Cybertruck”, which is not yet available for mass sales – i.e. in vehicle classes that are particularly dependent on good battery energy conversion .
Criticism of 4680 cells: Not as good as advertised
The 4680 cells now seem to be used in more and more Tesla vehicles in the foreseeable future. However, the batteries cannot do everything that Musk promised in 2020. It was originally announced that they would feature novel cell chemistry using a silicon anode, which was initially met with enthusiasm. However, it has now been discovered that the anode is actually made of graphite and therefore differs only slightly from conventional batteries. A crucial detail is missing: Modern anodes contain 10 to 15 percent silicon to increase energy density and capacity, which is apparently not the case with the 4680 cells. Silicon has a far better lithium-ion storage capacity compared to graphite and has lower electrical resistance.
Tesla also did not follow its announcements in another aspect. The cathode of the 4680 cells consists of 80 percent nickel, 10 percent manganese and 10 percent cobalt, the latter raw material causing significant damage to the environment. Tesla originally promised cell chemistry without cobalt and with higher amounts of manganese and less nickel. Both nickel and cobalt are expensive raw materials whose prices fluctuate widely. In addition, nickel, manganese and cobalt are heavy metals that are extremely toxic to the environment. In addition, the walls of the 4680 cells are significantly thicker than those of the smaller 2170 batteries, which leads to a reduced energy density.
The new 4680 battery cells are by no means like the Holy Grail of battery research, which they were celebrated as by some Tesla enthusiasts in 2020. Nevertheless, the 4680 cells undoubtedly represent an improvement over the 2170 batteries currently used and are likely to enable important advances in terms of their high performance with comparatively short charging times, especially in Tesla’s Semi and Cybertrucks.
Editorial team finanzen.net
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