
Panasonic aims to boost energy density in Tesla batteries by 20% - admiralspoo
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-panasonic-tesla-exclusive/exclusive-panasonic-aims-to-boost-energy-density-in-tesla-batteries-by-20-executive-idUSKCN24V1GB
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Animats
_" by 20% in five years"_

20% now would be news. 20% in 5 years is "what's taking you so long"? Since
2000, lithium-battery energy density has doubled each decade. There's a limit,
but another 100% improvement by 2030 is a projection.[1]

[1] [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Projected-Li-ion-
battery...](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Projected-Li-ion-battery-
costs-88-and-micro-battery-energy-density-92-as-functions-of_fig13_315747192)

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credit_guy
The graph you are linking to shows something like 15% in 5 years and 30% in 10
years.

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Animats
More than that, but, yes, less than 100% More like 63% in 10 years.

    
    
        2000 - 125
        2010 - 200
        2020 - 325
        2030 - 425

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credit_guy
We are now in 2020. From 325 to 425 it's about 30%, not 63%. The past
increments are not that relevant for what's being discussed here. Panasonic is
aiming for a 20% increase in 5 years, that's from now to 2025. In that graph
the projected increase is below that, at about 15%, so, yes, the Panasonic
thing is kind of a big deal.

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rcMgD2BwE72F
This improvement is for cells made by Panasonic, for Tesla. The thing is,
Tesla plans to be manufacturing its own cells by then, and they certainly
don't intend to produce less energy-dense batteries than their suppliers.
We'll see on Battery & Powertrain Investors day (Sept. 22).

Elon recently invited OEMs to partner with Tesla for battery supplies. I
wouldn't be surprised that they keep their in-house cells for Tesla vehicles
and stationary storage, and make "their" Panasonic cells available to auto
competitors (this way, they secure the global supply chain, set prices for the
industry, have the option to bundle other products/services, etc.) "Keep your
friends close and your enemies closer."

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woodandsteel
Great but more important is how battery prices keep falling. Power density is
already high enough that long range versions of the Model 3 can go 400 miles,
which, with fast charging available when needed, is enough for the vast
majority of auto owners.

The problem is that the battery pack that takes makes the cars too expensive
to purchase for most people. But in a few more years falling prices will make
ev's similar in sticker prices to comparable ice's. That plus much lower
operating costs will cause ev sales to skyrocket.

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Havoc
Bold claim for something that I'd imagine must be pretty close to diminishing
return on RD

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ncmncm
Three years ago they were promising 3x by 2021. What happened?

