Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has gained much attention compared to the company’s other electric vehicle production plants worldwide.
True enough, the facility builds high-quality Model Y SUVs and offers the most cutting-edge paint shop. However, Giga Berlin is also famous for gaining the most opposition from authorities and environmentalists during its construction.
Despite all that, Tesla remains optimistic about the factory, with plans to raise its annual production target from 500,000 units to 1 million under the Phase 2 development.
Challenges
Apart from the issues Tesla encountered during the Giga Berlin’s construction, it has also gained many criticisms as it attempts to establish operations.
For context, the opposition to the Giga Berlin’s development exerted serious efforts to stop its operations at that time, with environmentalists closely watching Tesla’s moves inside the facility and local citizens voicing out worries about a potential water shortage in the location.
Fortunately, these efforts were not able to bring down the Gigafactory. However, they did not stop launching initiatives against the factory.
Consequently, these drawbacks impeded Tesla from hitting its annual production target of 500,000 Model Y units. Interestingly, Tesla is now apparently planning to launch the factory’s Phase 2 development, expanding its target by an additional 500,000 units. It will raise Giga Berlin’s output to one million EVs annually.
What’s the big deal?
The planned launch of Giga Berlin’s Phase 2 is undoubtedly good news for Tesla. However, the American automaker must first gain the necessary approval to continue.
rbb24 reported that Giga Berlin’s Phase 2 is now in the public consultation stage, allowing citizens to assess the documents online from July 19 to August 18. This stage will enable the public to express their sentiments at a public hearing by October.
As you can see in the document attached to the Tweet above, the Musk-led automaker is planning to develop a new enormous production area for vehicle manufacturing. It also aims to optimize its operations on the current production line to raise its output capacity. In addition, Tesla intends to raise its annual battery production capacity from 50 GWh to 100 GWh.
See Also:
- Tesla Gigafactory Berlin finally hits 5,000 unit/week target
- Tesla to expand Gigafactory Berlin after a 100-acre land acquisition
- Tesla starts shipping Berlin-made Model Ys to Taiwan
- Tesla Model Y made in Berlin will get Mega Casts and Structural Battery Packs
- Tesla unveils “Godzilla” robot and newest EV production line in Giga Berlin
The emergence of Tesla’s opposition and critics during these critical times would not be surprising anymore. That said, Tesla developed ways to operate fully without raising its water consumption at all.
Tesla aims to launch innovative hybrid cooling towers and remove quench tanks in the casting process. It will also employ cascade rinsing systems in the paint shop, and the battery can wash process. The EV giant also aims to recycle water, such as collecting rain, and utilize it for cooling production equipment. Tesla will also use the condensed water from the factory’s air conditioning system for the cooling towers to reduce water usage.
