Tesla Begins Production of ‘2170’ Battery Cell at the Gigafactory

On Wednesday, Tesla announced that they began producing lithium-ion battery cells at its Gigafactory. The battery cells will be used in the production of its new Model 3, in addition to its storage products.

In an announcement on the company’s website, Tesla and Panasonic announced the beginning of mass production of lithium-ion battery cells. The high performance cylindrical “2170 cell” was jointly designed and engineered by Tesla and Panasonic to offer the best performance at the lowest production cost. In addition, the battery cells were designed with an optimal form factor for both electric vehicles and energy products.

The cells produced in the first quarter of this year will be used for Tesla’s Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products. However, starting in Q2 2017, the company also confirmed production for the battery cells used in the Model 3 will start.

With the Gigafactory online and ramping up production, our cost of battery cells will significantly decline due to increasing automation and process design to enhance yield, lowered capital investment per Wh of production, the simple optimization of locating most manufacturing processes under one roof, and economies of scale.

The gigafactory will produce 35 GWh/year of lithium-ion battery cells, nearly as much as the rest of the entire world’s battery production combined.