Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory growth: Batteries for 1.5M EVs yearly

Tesla has confirmed a $3.6 billion growth of its Nevada battery “Gigafactory” that the corporate claims will provide over a million EVs yearly.

The funding will add 3,000 new jobs and two new factories on the Sparks, Nevada, website, Tesla stated in what reads as a press launch—with a couple of extra particulars confirmed as a part of Tesla’s quarterly monetary name Wednesday.

One manufacturing facility would be the first high-volume plant devoted to producing batteries for the Tesla Semi, whereas the opposite will produce 4680-format battery cells, sufficient to produce 1.5 million light-duty automobiles yearly.

If Tesla can obtain that manufacturing capability for its $3.6 billion funding, will nearly definitely be essentially the most environment friendly battery plant undertaking ever, when it comes to cash spent in comparison with manufacturing facility output.

“If you look at the size of Giga Nevada that is allocated to make 100 gigawatt hours, it’s a small fraction of the size that currently makes 35,” stated Musk, who remarked that the corporate is now making use of its superior manufacturing toolbox to battery cell making.

“The goals we outlaid at Battery Day on reducing the investment required to deploy cell manufacturing, that’s been a key focus of ours and the team has done a good job of hitting the marks on that focus,” added CFO Zachary Kirkhorn.

Tesla introduced the Gigafactory in 2014, with plans to provide 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) yearly by 2020, sufficient for 500,000 automobiles. The corporate stated it is invested $6.2 billion to construct the present 5.4-million sq. foot manufacturing facility. A enormous preliminary funding from Panasonic helped get the undertaking began, and the Japanese battery provider has remained concerned as a technical accomplice.

Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada [CREDIT – YouTube user California Phantom]

To this point, Tesla says the Nevada Gigafactory has produced 7.3 billion battery cells (equal to 37 GWh yearly), 1.5 million battery packs, 3.6 million drive models, and a million energy-storage modules for a complete capability of 14 GWh.  Tesla additionally launched onsite battery recycling on the Gigafactory in 2019.

In the meantime, Panasonic chosen Kansas Metropolis final summer season for what it has claimed would be the largest battery plant on the planet—if you happen to take into account each bit of the breathtakingly massive Nevada Gigafactory individually, maybe. Panasonic later clarified that the “world’s largest” declare for this manufacturing facility—it is first battery plant within the U.S. exterior of its Tesla partnership—referred to anticipated financial funding.

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With extra reporting from Bengt Halvorson