The Tesla 4680 battery has once again reached a milestone moment. On September 15th, Tesla announced the official production of its 100 millionth 4680 battery. Tesla CEO Musk also sent a congratulatory message to his battery team.
Three months ago (June 6th), Tesla announced the production of its 50 millionth 4680 battery, doubling its output in just over three months. It is reported that Tesla has achieved large-scale production of 4680 batteries at its Texas Gigafactory and plans to further expand production capacity. The Nevada factory will invest in expansion to produce electric heavy-duty truck Semi and 4680 batteries, with a planned battery capacity of 100GWh.
From a technical perspective, the Tesla 4680 battery adopts a multi technology fusion of large battery cells, full pole ears, and dry batteries. Unlike in the past where power battery packs were composed of many "small battery" units, the larger size of the 4680 battery can reduce the number of battery units used, decrease the number of battery welds and connectors, thereby reducing battery weight, reducing component costs, and achieving overall vehicle lightweighting.
The 46 series cylindrical battery adopts a stepless ear design, which involves significant changes in the cutting and laser welding processes around the battery. The complexity of the process is high, and higher requirements are put forward for the accuracy and efficiency of the equipment. A relevant person from a lithium battery equipment manufacturing enterprise once analyzed the technical bottlenecks in the mass production of the 4680 battery to a reporter from E company.
Nevertheless, large cylindrical batteries represented by 4680 are becoming one of the favored technological routes for car manufacturers and battery manufacturers. Through structural innovation and material system, large cylindrical batteries can achieve more efficient manufacturing, higher performance, and lower cost to meet the needs of electrification. Industry analysis suggests that as companies improve their processes and production lines become operational, the yield rate of 4680 batteries is expected to continue to increase. As the yield rate of large cylindrical batteries increases and costs decrease, other car companies are also expected to introduce large cylindrical batteries.
Musk stated at the end of last year that 2024 would be the year 4680. Several securities firms have also stated in this year's research report that the first wave of installation of large cylindrical batteries will begin from 2024 to 2025.
Recently, there have been occasional reports of accelerated mass production of 4680 batteries. On September 9th, Panasonic Energy, a subsidiary of Panasonic Group, announced that it has completed the preparation work for mass production of 4680 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries for automobiles. Its Wakayama factory located in western Japan will become the parent factory for producing 4680 batteries, and the newly piloted process will be implemented in other factories around the world. By March 2025, the Wakayama factory is expected to have around 400 employees involved in the development and production of the next generation of batteries.
On that day, Panasonic Energy held a ceremony to conclude the preparations for mass production. A company spokesperson pointed out that the company has already sent samples of the 4680 battery to some car manufacturers and plans to start producing this new battery after obtaining approval.
It is reported that the Wakayama factory will serve as a pilot for other Panasonic battery factories worldwide to carry out 4680 battery related production in the future. At present, Panasonic Energy is producing 2170 cylindrical electric vehicle batteries and 1860 cylindrical batteries at its factories in Sumida and Haizuka, Japan, respectively.