American electric vehicle giant Tesla is gearing up to mass produce the “complete” version of its highly-awaited 4680 battery through the dry electrode process, which it announced during the Battery Day event in September 2020.
Tesla’s 4680 battery with dry electrodes on track for 2024
Tesla plans to kick off the mass production of the 4680 battery’s complete version with dry electrodes and install them in consumer cars before the end of 2024, Chinese publication LatePost reported, citing people reportedly familiar with the matter.
The unnamed sources asserted that the current 4680 battery cells present in the Cybertruck electric pickup utilize a cheaper negative electrode and a pricier positive electrode.
This cost efficiency is apparently due to Tesla’s adoption of a dry electrode process to produce the negative electrode. Meanwhile, the higher price of the positive electrode is primarily due to the fact that Tesla is acquiring them from suppliers like LG. These positive electrodes reportedly undergo the more traditional wet electrode processes.
What’s special about 4680 cells with dry electrodes?
Tesla claims that adopting the dry electrode technology reduces battery production costs by a whopping 50%, potentially making its next-gen EVs more competitive in the rapidly growing market. It also promises to offer an extended driving range and faster charging capability for Tesla EVs.
If Tesla succeeds in mass producing the dry electrode 4680 battery, it can finally manufacture the batteries entirely in-house. As a result, its reliance on external suppliers will diminish.
The challenge
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has set a deadline for the 4680 battery team to deliver the complete version of the technology by the end of 2024, according to The Information.
“In May, Musk told the team working on the 4680—the nickname for the cylindrical battery, which is 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters tall—to cut its cost and scale up one of its key innovations by the end of the year, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. And in recent months, Musk has told them he wants to see a solution to a thorny technical problem that can cause the batteries to collapse on themselves while in use, one of those people said.”
The Information
Two unnamed sources claimed that CEO Musk might finally give up on scaling the innovative battery cell if the team fails to overcome the major hurdles, particularly the dry coating of the cathode, by the end of 2024.
Fortunately, the team seems close to delivering Musk’s demand. They reportedly finalized the dry-process design recently, making mass production closer to reality. The American automaker now seeks to boost production yield and efficiency and increase production capacity.
