Tesla's new battery tech

[begreen]

Tesla continues to push the envelope and scale of battery production. They are becoming an energy company. Later this month we are supposed to get an intro to the new battery tech. If they can drop the cost of production to below $80/kWh it could be a game-changer.

Exclusive: Tesla's secret batteries aim to rework the math for electric cars and the grid

Electric car maker Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow EV batteries to have second...

www.reuters.com

 

[kennyp2339]

I worked on a "tesla" project house 2 years ago. Tesla has developed something just as great as there battery tech, its there transfer switch system that monitors battery capacity and balances battery power with shore power and solar power, on the solar power side of things, the actual roof shingles were the solar cells and heating / cooling was put in a economy power saver mode. (So on a 90 deg day your house temp will be automatically set at 76 rather then cooler, the temp will go down to your comfort setting later in the day.)
The batteries were basically (2) car chassis standing on its sides vertical to save space, (look for possible floor integration in the future) The transfer switch will constantly monitor batter charge, energy input / output, outside priority sources (solar) and constant source (utility power) it constantly cycles through on regular intervals to keep battery life at its peak performance. If my memory serves me correctly on the tesla project house, the one test simulated a utility power outage that lasted 5 days and solely relied on solar and battery power to manage the houses load, 200amp main service on a 2500 sqft colonial house (typical of NJ) with a KW of 7.5 (10kva) all lights and appliances left in the "on" position at certain intervals to simulate electric use, house passed with flying colors.

 

[semipro]

Related - This just out WRT the rare earth metal issues.

Department of Energy Announces $30 Million for Innovation in Critical Materials Processing Technologies

DOE announced up to $30 million in funding for research and development for critical materials.

www.energy.gov

 

[ABMax24]

I know Tesla has talked for a long time about bringing extremely cheap Lithium batteries to market, although it has yet to be realized.

Personally I think we are a long way from $80/kwh, maybe that could be manufacturing cost, but consumers won't see that anytime soon, supply and demand won't allow for it. At $80/kwh lithium ion will be able to displace lead acid batteries, it would easily become viable in things like off-grid living, RV and marine batteries, possibly even for car starter batteries. Not to mention a slew of other electronics and power tools that could become battery electric at that cost. The immense demand for these batteries will keep the costs to the end consumer high.

That being said there is going to be a huge market for these batteries, hopefully there can be at least a few manufacturing facilities built in North America to build these batteries.

 

[peakbagger]

With the current state of technological change and the overhyping of basic research break throughs its hard to keep track of the rare winners and the many losers. The cobalt issue happens frequently where some strategic material is a bottleneck and lots of attention and money get thrown at it only to become less of an issue when the scarcity drives someone to figure away to use less of the material. I see the effort to build a rare earths mine in the US has gotten stalled as they are dependent on Chinese technology and have a Chinese partner.

It does sound like promising tech but then again the Tesla Solar Roof history is over promise and underperform. The current design still costs too much, has too many parts, questionable longevity and takes a week for a skilled contractor to install compared to plug and play PV arrays.