- Panasonic’s chief financial officer Hirokazu Umeda said the company has decided to launch an additional production line at the Nevada factory next year
- Tesla’s new battery cell, a larger cylindrical format called 4680 that can store more energy and is easier to make
As per a report by Reuters, Panasonic said that it is working to develop a new battery cell for Tesla based on the US electric vehicle maker’s new cell format. The report added that Tesla’s new battery cell, a larger cylindrical format called 4680 that can store more energy and is easier to make. It is important to achieving the goal of cutting battery costs in half and ramping up battery production nearly 100-fold by 2030.
The report added that Panasonic’s chief financial officer Hirokazu Umeda said at a briefing that the company has considerable know-how for that battery. The company reported an 11 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit, beating analyst estimates. He added that the company started working on it immediately after Tesla’s Battery Day (in September) and are also preparing to set up a prototype production line in parallel
Launch an additional production line at the Nevada factory next year
As per the report, Umeda also said the company has decided to launch an additional production line at the Nevada factory next year. It will increase the plant’s total capacity by some 10 percent to 38-39 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year by around 2022. He added that the company is targeting a profit margin of around five percent at the Tesla battery business within two to three years.
As per the report, Tesla has said it plans to manufacture its own battery cells at several highly automated factories around the world. It will also continue to use its existing cell suppliers, Panasonic, South Korea’s LG Chem and China’s Contemporary Amperex.
