North America Will Get Tens of Billions Worth of EV Battery Plants in the Following Years

[Elderberry]

AutoEvolution by Cristian Agatie 3/28/2022

Once the traditional carmakers have joined the EV revolution, many believed they would blow Tesla out of the water with their capacities. But the problem is more complicated than it seems, and for EV production to work, there needs to be a flourishing battery production in place first. Luckily, there’s another revolution in the making, and this is for the North American battery production facilities.

Elon Musk once warned traditional carmakers that to be successful in the EV business, they need to secure the battery supply “all the way to the mine.” Indeed, that’s what Tesla did, buying mineral mines and controlling the whole production chain, from mining to battery production to cars rolling off the production lines. It’s what made Tesla’s business so successful and also so hard to compete with.

But this doesn’t mean the established auto industry will not start to gain steam with EV production rather sooner than later. If we consider the enormous investments the traditional carmakers have announced in the past year alone, we see the second EV revolution has just started. According to Automotive News, we’re talking about $13.5 billion in investments in battery factories across North America, but this might only be the tip of the iceberg. Just look at Stellantis’s recent announcement of a massive $4.1 billion battery plant in Ontario.

More: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/north-america-will-get-tens-of-billions-worth-of-ev-battery-plants-in-the-following-years-185077.html

[Kamaji]

The industry will have to settle on some sort of common, modular battery design.  A separate proprietary design for each make and model is just going to make the entire system unworkable. 

It’s like with gasoline.  Each manufacturer could design its engines so they only worked on a proprietary blend of gasoline, but then the business of fueling ICE cars would be inefficient and wouldn’t work well.

[Elderberry]

Panasonic exec talks about developing new 4680 battery cells for Tesla

https://evannex.com/blogs/news/panasonic-exec-talks-about-developing-new-4680-battery-cells-for-tesla

Tesla showed off its new 4680 cell—a tabless battery cell with a new chemistry that promises to boost efficiency and reduce costs—at 2020’s Battery Day, and Panasonic and other battery suppliers have been working to develop the new cells since then.

The larger volume of the 4680 cell could reduce pack-level costs for a given capacity, but its size also makes it more susceptible to particle contamination, which can cause battery fires.

Tadanobu says Panasonic’s attention to safety will help it maintain a competitive edge, even once Tesla, and possibly other battery-makers, begin producing 4680 cells. Panasonic’s ability to “use craftsmanship to maintain safety even while raising the performance of a battery” gives it an advantage, he said, adding that Panasonic has led development of the cells, and doesn’t want to lose its status as the top producer.

Tadanobu told Bloomberg that the new cells have the potential to change the world of transport. They will have a “considerable impact” in helping reduce the cost of EVs. “Electrifying vehicles is the most impactful revolution that’s happening within our society.”

More at link.

[DB]

Were's the electricity to charge these going to come from???

[Elderberry]

[berdie]

Were's the electricity to charge these going to come from???

My heavenly days....from the plug on the wall of course! /s

[Fishrrman]

Sounds to me like somebody's dreamin' ...

[rustynail]

Where will the plants get the raw materials 'in the following years'?