Back in 2008, Tesla's choice to utilize round battery cells in the Roadster may have sounded like a garage auto mechanic's hack. Nevertheless, it quickly emerged that the conveniently available cylindrical cells gave the upstart car manufacturer a benefit over various other EV-makers, which utilized proprietary prismatic or pouch cells.
The auto sector facility remained to discover cylindrical cells presume - in 2015, JB Straubel felt forced to explain why Tesla[ was sticking with round cells. Nowadays, nonetheless, couple of would certainly dispute that Tesla's battery technology is superior to that of would-be competitors - simply this month, Cairn Power Research study Advisors called the business's round cells "advanced," as well as approximated they assisted Tesla to accomplish pack-level prices of $158 per kilowatt-hour in 2019, while legacy car manufacturers expenses mored than $200/kWh.

So, when Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reported that Tesla plans to utilize prismatic cells in the Version 3s it's building in China, it was rather a shock - a bit like hearing that Apple plans to create a brand-new OS based on MS-DOS. (A two-year cell supply arrangement between Tesla and also CATL was revealed a couple of weeks ago, but as of this moment, Tesla has not validated that these will be prismatic cells.).

Will changing the cell style require a redesign of the battery pack and also BMS? Noting that the information "will certainly take some time to procedure," CleanTechnica's Chanan Bos reports that the format modification is enabled by putting cells straight right into the battery pack without components. CATL has developed a cell-in-pack innovation, and Tesla[tailgate kit] has reportedly also been working with something of the kind.

This describes the how, but why would Tesla make such a significant modification? Reuters reports that CATL's battery cells will be devoid of cobalt, which is a benefit, yet according to Standard Mineral Intelligence, the major goal is cost reduction: the upgraded pack will certainly save Tesla some 25 percent in production expenses on the base design made-in-China Version 3[online].

Meeting the qualification standards for Chinese EV subsidies may be one more purpose. There may be other advantages also. CATL's cells will use an LFP battery chemistry, and according to InsideEVs, this can deliver cells that are a lot more stable and also much less vulnerable to fires.