New generation of Tesla batteries being developed in a secret area
Alexander Klimnov, photo Tesla and Teslarati.com
Today Tesla Inc. is working very hard on the next generation of its own batteries. They must store significantly more energy and at the same time become much cheaper.
New batteries can start to be used on a promising Tesla pickup truck
Californians were the ones who created the first high-energy lithium-ion batteries suitable for mass production of electric vehicles, thus dramatically increasing their range. At that time, the batteries of the Tesla Roadster model, the first-born of the Tesla brand, consisted of thousands of ordinary AA batteries for laptops, now lithium-ion batteries are specially created for electric vehicles. Now they are produced by many manufacturers, but Tesla's advanced technology still allows it to remain a leader in the energy-hungry battery segment. However, the first information about the next even more powerful generation of Tesla batteries began to leak into the world media.
Technological breakthrough through business acquisition
A revolutionary leap forward in terms of Tesla battery design is likely to come from the acquisition of Tesla Inc. Maxwell Technologies of San Diego. Maxwell manufactures supercapacitors (ionisters) and is actively researching solid state (dry) electrode technology. According to Maxwell, when using this technology, energy consumption of 300 Wh / kg has already been achieved on battery prototypes. The challenge for the future is to break through to an energy intensity level of more than 500 Wh/kg. In addition, the production cost of solid-state batteries should be 10-20% lower than those currently used by Tesla with liquid electrolyte. The California-based company also announced another bonus, a projected doubling of battery life. In this way, Tesla will be able to achieve the coveted 400-mile (643.6 km) range of its electric vehicles and achieve full price competitiveness with conventional cars. 
New 2020 Tesla Roadster supercar will only be able to reach its claimed range of 640 km on brand new batteries
Tesla has planned its own production of batteries?The German site of the magazine Auto motor und sport reports persistent rumors about the rollout of Tesla's own production of batteries. Until now, the Japanese manufacturer Panasonic has supplied batteries to Californians - for Model S and Model X they are imported directly from Japan, and for Model 3 cells are manufactured at Gigafactory 1 in the US state of Nevada. Production at Gigafactory 1 is jointly managed by Panasonic and Tesla. However, this has led to huge controversy lately, as Panasonic was apparently disappointed with Tesla's sales figures, and also feared that the Californians would not expand this battery business in the future.
The intrigue of the launch of the compact Tesla Model Y in 2020 was the source of the batteries
In particular, the rhythmic supply of batteries for the Model Y announced already for the fall of 2020 has been called into question by Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga. Panasonic has now stopped its investment in Gigafactory 1 altogether. Perhaps Tesla wants to become independent from the Japanese by developing its own production of battery cells.
Tesla is now a leader in high-capacity battery technology for electric vehicles, and Californians are determined to defend this fundamental competitive advantage. The purchase of Maxwell Technologies may be the decisive step, but it depends on how far the San Diego specialists have actually made progress in bringing the revolutionary solid-state battery technology to market. 
If the revolutionary technology of solid-state batteries really takes place, then it is possible that the Tesla Semi electric tractor will become a bestseller in the truck market, like the Model 3 in the passenger car.
So far, many automakers are setting up their own production of battery cells. Tesla also seems to want to become more independent of its supplier Panasonic and is therefore also doing research in this area.
With enough revolutionary high-energy solid-state batteries, Tesla will gain a decisive market advantage and finally release the really cheap and long-range electric vehicles long promised by its owner, Elon Muskov, which will cause an avalanche growth of the BEV market.
According to CNBC sources, Tesla's secret lab is located in a separate building near Tesla's Fremont plant (screenshot photo). Previously, there were reports of a closed "zone-laboratory", located on the second floor of the enterprise. Probably the current battery division is the successor to that former laboratory, but even more classified. 
Tesla can achieve a real breakthrough in the automotive market only if its line of models becomes even more “long-range” with a significant price reduction.
According to IHS Markit analysts, the most expensive element of a modern electric car is the battery, but not Tesla, but Panasonic receives most of the money for them.
Insiders are not yet able to report on the real achievements of Tesla's secret laboratory. It is assumed that Elon Musk will share it at the end of the year during the traditional conference call with investors.
Earlier it was reported that Tesla plans to sell 1,000 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles per day. Tesla's current monthly record for Model 3 deliveries is 90,700 electric vehicles. If the company manages to deliver the planned number of electric vehicles in June, then this record can be broken.
Simple calculation of battery economy tesla model S
First, let's figure out "what this hot dog of yours is made of." Unfortunately, on the manufacturer's website, performance characteristics data are published for the buyer, who does not even like to remember Ohm's law, so I had to look for information and do my rough estimates.What do we know about this battery?
There are three options that are labeled by kilowatt-hours: 40, 60 and 85 kWh (40 has already been discontinued).
It is known that the battery is assembled from serial batteries 18650 Li-Ion 3.7v. Manufacturer Sanyo (aka Panasonic), the capacity of each can is presumably 2600mAh, and the weight is 48g. Most likely there are alternative supplies, but the performance characteristics should be ~ the same and the bulk of the conveyor still comes from the world leader.
(In production cars, battery assemblies look completely different =)
They say that the weight of a full battery is ~ 500 kg (it is clear that it depends on the capacity). Let's discard the protective shell, the heating / cooling system, small things and wiring weighing, well, let's say, 100 kg. There are ~ 400 kg of batteries left. With a weight of one can of 48g, roughly ~ 8000-10000 cans come out.
Let's check the assumption:
85000 watt-hours / 3.7 volts = ~23000 amp-hours
23000/2.6 = ~8850 cans
That is ~ 425 kg
So, it's rough. We can say that there are ~ 2600mAh elements in the amount of about 8k.
So I came across the film after the calculations =). It is vaguely reported here that the battery consists of more than 7 thousand cells.
Now we can easily estimate the financial side of the issue.
Each can of an ordinary retail buyer TODAY costs ~ $ 6.5.
In order not to be unfounded, I confirm with a screen. Pair sets for $13.85: 
The wholesale price from the factory will probably be almost 2 times lower. That is, somewhere around $ 3.5-4 per piece. you can buy even for one bibika (8000-9000 pieces - this is already a serious wholesale).
And it turns out that the cost of the battery cells themselves today is ~ $ 30,000. Of course, Tesla gets them much cheaper.
According to the manufacturer's specification (Sanyo), we have 1000 guaranteed recharge cycles. Actually, at least 1000 is written there, but the fact is that for ~ 8000 cans the minimum will be relevant.
Thus, if we take the standard average car mileage per year of 25,000 km (that is, somewhere around ~ 1-2 charges per week), we will get approximately 13 years to 100% COMPLETE unusability. But these banks lose almost half of their capacity after 4 years in this mode (this fact has been recorded for this type of battery). In fact, they are still working under warranty, but the car has half the mileage. Operation in this form loses all meaning.
So, somewhere around $ 30-40k for 4 years of normal rolling fly away to the scrap. Against this background, any calculations of charging costs look ridiculous (there will be ~ $ 2-4k of electricity for the entire life of the battery =).
Even from these rough figures, one can estimate the prospects for ousting "ICE-skunks" from the car market.
For a sedan similar to the Model S with an internal combustion engine for 25,000 km per year, it will take ~ $ 2500-3000 for gasoline. For 4 years, respectively ~$10-14k.
conclusions
Until the price of batteries drops by 2.5 times (or fuel prices rise by 2.5 times =), it’s too early to talk about a massive market capture.However, the outlook is excellent. Battery manufacturers will increase capacity. Batteries will become lighter. They will have less rare earth metals.
Once for similar jars (3.7v) Affordable wholesale price per 1000 containermAh will be reduced to $0.6-0.5, mass movement into electric cars will begin(gasoline will become ~ equal in costs).
I recommend monitoring other battery form factors as well. It is possible that their prices will fluctuate unevenly.
My guess is that these price cuts will occur before the next revolution in chemical battery technology. It will be fast evolutionary process that will take 2-5 years.
There remains, of course, the risk of a sharp increase in demand for such batteries. As a result, there is a shortage of raw materials or supplies, but it seems to me that everything will work out. Similar risks have been greatly overestimated in the past, and as a result, things somehow got better.
There is another interesting point to note here. Tesla doesn't just seal 8k cans into one can. Batteries undergo complex testing, are matched to each other, a high-quality circuit is created, a cunning cooling system is added, a bunch of controllers, sensors and other high-current stuffing that is not yet available to the average buyer. So it will be cheaper to buy a new battery from Tesla than to save and take any canoe. And it turns out that Tesla immediately signed all buyers for consumables that cost 10 times more than the charge itself. This is a good business =).
Another thing is that competitors will soon appear. For example, BMW is about to launch an electric i-series (most likely investing in BMW stock instead of Tesla for years to come). Well, then - more.
Bonus. How will the global market change?
From the point of view of the main raw material for the production of cars, steel consumption will drop sharply. Aluminum from internal combustion engines will migrate to body parts, because it is no longer possible to make electric car bodies from steel (too heavy). Without an internal combustion engine, complex and heavy steel components are not needed. The car (and infrastructure) will have significantly more copper, more polymers, more electronics, but almost no steel (at least in traction elements + running gear and armor. Everything). Even battery wrappers will do without tin =).The consumption of oils, lubricants, liquids and all sorts of additives will be reduced to almost zero. Stinky fuel will go down in history. However, more and more polymers will be needed, so Gazprom remains on horseback =). In general, it is irrational to “burn” oil. From it you can make solid and durable products of the highest technological level. So the age of hydrocarbons will not end with electric cars, but reforms in this market will be serious and painful.
At the end of April, Tesla introduced batteries for the home. What is it: another revolution from an American corporation or a logical link on the way to building a smart and independent home? Let's figure it out together.
Elon Musk can rightly be called a revolutionary in the world of technology. Even 10 years ago, few people believed that electric cars would hit the mass market, and today the Tesla Model S is a sedan that every car enthusiast would want to own. An alternative to the gasoline engine was found a long time ago, but no one dared to “break the whole industry” for a long time.
The issue of production and consumption of electricity in the XXI century is particularly acute. Today, the existence of mankind literally depends on it. The traditional classification of energy production has two global branches:
- mining using commercial sources: coal, oil shale, oil, gas (in fact, they are the basis of modern energy, covering 90% of the total requests from enterprises and the population), nuclear, hydro, geothermal, solar, wave and tidal stations.
- mining from non-commercial sources: agricultural and industrial waste, muscle strength, firewood.
Despite the crisis in fuel resources that made headlines in the early 1970s, almost 50 years later, little has changed in the principles of electricity generation. The population is growing, the potential need for electricity is growing, and as a result, the planet is becoming more and more polluted. And one can argue about what will come first - an energy crisis or an environmental catastrophe, but the best way out of this situation is a radical revision of the entire energy industry and the principles of providing the population with electricity.
Tesla Energy and Infrastructure
On April 30, Elon Musk will present a solution that should have a positive impact not only on the environment, but also on consumers' wallets. Tesla Powerwall cares about the environment, drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions and lets you forget about hefty energy bills. We will deal with the last point a little later, but for now let's look at the world that Tesla offers us.
The idea of energy storage and autonomous provision of houses is not new. Many owners of country cottages have covered the roofs of their homes with solar panels, providing power with lead acid batteries. And here is the first advantage of the Tesla Powerwall.
The number of charge-discharge cycles for a lead-acid battery barely reaches 800, while a lithium-ion battery boasts 1000-1200 cycles. In terms of weight-to-capacity ratio, a lithium-ion battery is almost 5 times superior to a lead-acid battery. This is what allowed Tesla to create a catchy design for its new product line.
Design and form factor. Yes, a person's opinion about any product is formed by its appearance. Rounded edges, the minimum thickness (by the standards of competing products) of the body, the presence of an assortment of colors. Even without delving into the principles of the Tesla Powerwall, you start thinking about how it would complement your garage. Tesla Powerwall is mounted on the wall and takes up a minimum of space.
Holistic Ecosystem. The presented Tesla Powerwall batteries are supplied in two versions with a capacity of 7 and 10 kWh at a price of $3000 And $3500 respectively. If the consumer feels a clear lack of capacity, he can always supplement the arsenal of batteries by purchasing another one, thereby increasing the total capacity up to 90 kWh (up to 9 batteries can be connected). Connection does not require a thorough study of the principles of building electrical networks: one cable solves all problems.
Solution for enterprises and businesses. Along with Powerwall, a product was also presented that can solve the problem of supplying factories, factories and the whole industry - batteries Tesla power pack. Their peculiarity is the ability to infinitely increase the potential capacity up to several gigawatt-hours.
Plans for full alternative electrification. Elon Musk is a person who is used to thinking globally. That is why the presentation of Tesla batteries does not have the sole purpose of selling the product to a limited circle of interested users. We are talking about large-scale and total electrification of the entire planet Earth with the help of batteries. To provide the entire planet with enough Tesla energy 900 million powerpack batteries.
Caring for the environment, a complete rejection of the production of electricity, the source of which will be exhaustible natural resources leading to the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere and the complete autonomy of any, even the most remote corner of the planet - all these are the realities of today. But until there is (if any) a global transition to electricity drawn from the sun, wind, tides and stored in batteries, a potential buyer is interested in the question: is Tesla Powerwall profitable today?
Dry numbers
So, let's calculate the economic feasibility of purchasing an innovative product from Tesla. Is the game worth the candle and how will the payback behave in the conditions of Russia and the USA.
Payment terms:
- let's take the daily electricity consumption of the Tesla Powerwall owner equal to 10 kW, i.e. the full capacity of the battery is enough for a day of consumption;
- Tesla Powerwall cost - $3 500 , which at the exchange rate current at the time of publication of these calculations is 175 000 rubles(taking into account rounding and at the rate of 50.01 rubles per $1);
- to the cost of Tesla Powerwall we add the need to purchase an inverter, the cost of which is about $ 1,500 - 75,000 rubles;
- take into account losses when connecting Tesla Powerwall in the chain battery - current converter - inverter. General System efficiency will be 87%. Those. Initially, not 10 kWh, but only 8.7 are available to the consumer.
- with two-zone billing (“day/night” rates), we will take daily energy consumption at the level of 5 kWh (57.5% of the maximum Tesla Powerwall resource), and evening energy consumption at the level of 3.7 kWh (42.5%) .
The situation in the USA:
Valid in the USA two-zone tariff for electricity bills:
- From 14:00 to 19:00 the cost of 1 kWh of electricity is $0.2032 (10.16 rubles).
From 19:00 to 14:00 the cost drops sharply to $0.0463 (2.31 rubles) per 1 kWh.
With a consumption of 5 kWh in the daytime and 3.7 kWh in the “night” time, the daily costs using a standard power grid will be:
5 kW * h * 10.16 rubles + 3.7 kW * h * 2.31 rubles = 50.82 rubles + 8.54 rubles = 59.36 rubles / day.
59.34 rubles * 365 days = 21,659 rubles per year.
A standard lithium-ion battery loses about 6% (0.6 kW) of its original capacity (i.e. 10 kW) per year. Every year its capacity will decrease and after 3-4 years only one Tesla Powerwall will not be enough. Here are rough calculations of how the battery will behave over time.
Years of operation: The maximum battery life is 15 years.
Maximum capacity: decreases by 6% (0.6 kW) of the original capacity every year.
Electricity cost: calculated from the ratio of day / night rates at the prices indicated above.
Saving: how much Tesla Powerwall saves per year.
Spending on additional energy: we agreed that we consume 8.7 kW per day. The missing electricity (caused by the degradation of the battery) is compensated by the public electricity network.
Over 15 years of use, even without taking into account the waste of additional energy, Tesla Powerwall not paying off. Considering that the cost of a kWh of electricity in Russia is about 60% lower, it is hardly worth talking about the expediency of such an acquisition. Let me remind you that the purchase of the Tesla Powerwall kit cost 250,000 rubles, and this does not include solar panels.
Reflections
Tesla's self-sustaining solution is the right way to look to a future without emissions and ruthless use of natural resources. Alas, for the end consumer, the cost declared on the Tesla Powerwall will not be an economically profitable acquisition. To buy a battery, you will need to add the “price of incense and candles” in the form of solar panels, a converter and an inverter, and the degradation of lithium-ion batteries is simply will not cover the initial costs. But if you are ready to invest in the future, ready to take a step towards the "green planet" and the price of the issue is not decisive - the time for Tesla Powerwall has already come for you.
And do not forget that the disposal of any battery also costs money. Sometimes a lot.
We partially reviewed the configuration of the battery Tesla Model S with a capacity of 85 kWh. Recall that the main element of the battery is a lithium-ion battery cell of the company Panasonic, 3400 mAh, 3.7 V.
Panasonic cell, size 18650
The figure shows a typical cell. In reality, the cells in Tesla are slightly modified.
Cell Data parallel join in groups of 74 pcs. When connected in parallel, the voltage of the group is equal to the voltage of each of the elements (4.2 V), and the capacitance of the group is equal to the sum of the capacitances of the elements (250 Ah).
Further six groups connect in series to the module. In this case, the voltage of the module is summed from the voltages of the groups and equals approximately 25 V (4.2 V * 6 groups). The capacity remains 250 Ah. Finally, modules are connected in series to form a battery. In total, the battery contains 16 modules (total 96 groups). The voltage of all modules is summed up and totals 400 V (16 modules * 25 V).
The load for this battery is an asynchronous electric drive with a maximum power of 310 kW. Since P = U * I, in the nominal mode at a voltage of 400 V, the current I = P / U = 310000/400 = 775 A flows in the circuit. At first glance, it may seem that this is a crazy current for such a “battery”. However, do not forget that with a parallel connection according to the first Kirchhoff law, I = I1 + I2 + ... In, where n is the number of parallel branches. In our case, n=74. Since we consider the internal resistances of the cells within the group to be conditionally equal, then the currents in them will be the same. Accordingly, a current flows directly through the cell In=I/n=775/74=10.5 A.
Is it a lot or a little? Good or bad? In order to answer these questions, let us turn to the discharge characteristic of a lithium-ion battery. American craftsmen, having disassembled the battery, conducted a series of tests. In particular, the figure shows voltage oscillograms during the discharge of a cell taken from a real Tesla Model S, currents: 1A, 3A, 10A.
The spike on the 10A curve is due to manual switching of the load to 3A. The author of the experiment was solving another problem in parallel, we will not dwell on it.
As can be seen from the figure, a discharge with a current of 10 A fully satisfies the requirements for cell voltage. This mode corresponds to the discharge according to the 3C curve. It should be noted that we took the most critical case, when the engine power is maximum. In reality, taking into account the very use of a two-motor drive with an optimal gear ratio, the car will operate with a discharge of 2 ... 4 A (1C). Only at moments of very sharp acceleration, when driving uphill at high speed, the cell current can reach a peak of 12 ... 14 A.
What other benefits does it provide? For this load in the case of direct current, the cross section of the copper conductor can be selected as 2 mm2. Tesla Motors kills two birds with one stone here. All connecting conductors also perform the function of fuses. Accordingly, there is no need to use an expensive protection system, additionally use fuses. The connecting conductors themselves in the event of an overcurrent due to the small cross section melt and prevent an emergency. We wrote more about this.
In the figure, the conductors 507 are the same connectors.
Finally, let's consider the last question that worries the minds of our time, and causes a wave of controversy. Why does Tesla use lithium-ion batteries?
Immediately make a reservation that specifically in this matter I will express my own, subjective opinion. You may not agree with him.)
We will conduct a comparative analysis of different types of batteries.
Obviously, the lithium-ion battery has by far the highest specific performance. The best battery in terms of energy density and mass / size ratio, alas, does not yet exist in mass production. That is why in Tesla it turned out to make such a balanced battery, providing a power reserve of up to 500 km.
The second reason, in my opinion, is marketing. All the same, on average, the resource of such cells is about 500 charge-discharge cycles. And this means that with active use of the car, you will have to replace the battery after a maximum of two years. Although, the company really
To this car in general, of course, recently quite a controversial attitude. Many discuss what he is, others. There are people who consider the Tesla car an excellent element of a PR campaign built on the sale of something that has existed for a long time, but it never occurred to anyone to make a car out of it, and besides, it has few prospects and even exists
But let's leave these disputes "overboard" and look at the main element of this car - batteries. There were people who were not too lazy and did not squeeze a certain amount of money, they took and sawed the battery from the car.
Here's what it looked like
Tesla Motors is the creator of truly revolutionary eco-cars, which are not only mass-produced, but also have unique characteristics that allow their use literally on a daily basis. Today we take a look inside the battery of the Tesla Model S electric car, find out how it works and reveal the magic of this battery's success.
According to the North American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Model S needs a single charge of 85 kWh batteries to cover more than 400 km, which is the most significant indicator among similar cars on the specialized market. To accelerate to 100 km / h, the electric car needs only 4.4 seconds.
The key to the success of this model is the presence of lithium-ion batteries, the main components of which are supplied to Tesla by Panasonic. Tesla batteries are covered in legends. And so one of the owners of such a battery decided to violate its integrity and find out what it is like inside. By the way, the cost of such a battery is 45,000 USD.
The battery is located at the bottom, thanks to which Tesla has a low center of gravity and excellent handling. It is attached to the body by means of brackets.
Tesla battery. Parsing
The battery compartment is formed by 16 blocks, which are connected in parallel and protected from the environment by means of metal plates, as well as a plastic lining that prevents water from entering.
Before completely disassembling it, the electrical voltage was measured, which confirmed the working condition of the battery.
The assembly of batteries is characterized by high density and precision fitting of parts. The entire picking process takes place in a completely sterile room, using robots.
Each block consists of 74 elements, which are very similar in appearance to simple finger batteries (Panasonic lithium-ion cells), divided into 6 groups. At the same time, it is almost impossible to find out the scheme of their placement and operation - this is a big secret, which means that it will be extremely difficult to make a replica of this battery. We are unlikely to see a Chinese analogue of the Tesla Model S battery!
The positive electrode is graphite, and the negative electrode is nickel, cobalt and aluminum oxide. The specified amount of electrical voltage in the capsule is 3.6V.
The most powerful battery available (its volume is 85 kWh) consists of 7104 such batteries. And it weighs about 540 kg, and its parameters are 210 cm long, 150 cm wide and 15 cm thick. The amount of energy generated by just one unit of 16 is equal to the amount produced by a hundred batteries from laptop computers.
When assembling their batteries, Tesla uses elements produced in various countries, such as India, China, Mexico, but the final refinement and packaging are made in the United States. The company provides warranty service for its products for up to 8 years.
Thus, you learned what the Tesla Model S battery consists of and how it works.
More interesting things about Tesla: here you are, and here you are
