New Battery Pack Design (not Standard Pack) & Architecture Coming in 2024 confirms Rivian CFO

[Twitter Fingers]

Wouldn’t that be Max, Large, and Standard?

Yes, the important point being that all three are considered "new", confirming the Large and Max have been re-designed.

Sponsored

 

[Joel]

I prefer better thermals and sustaining 200 kW for a longer period of time, at least until there are more 800V capable chargers.

There are still quite a few chargers that cannot provide 800V, including most Tesla Superchargers. So if they put in a 800V system, they will need to do something like Tesla (and GM) did and be able to switch the pack from series to parallel, so with half the pack in series it can charge at 800V, and in parallel charge at 400V. Otherwise they have to convert the voltage up to 800V, which is what Lucid does, making the 400V charge speed very, very slow.

I remember seeing a patent from Rivian that enabled the pack to switch between 400v and 800v.

 

[Twitter Fingers]

Interesting. Many "cheapening Sandy Munro" suggestions I'm sure. I wonder how many, if any, will benefit the paying customer? Time will tell, I suppose.

One benefit to the paying customer is that with a 30%+ reduction in material costs overall, Rivian will actually start making some money on these vehicles and won't go out of business, which would leave you with no support and a worthless vehicle!

 

[Throwdown]

My little bird told me 800v plus heat pump for better thermal management.

I'm not hopefulthis soon i mean, but if they do ill trade up for 1, 1000% as soon as I can. I'm sure a lot of other people would as well as new buyers who are waiting for 800v architecture

 

[Millertimr]

My little bird told me 800v plus heat pump for better thermal management.

I'd take this with a grain of salt - Rivian already said no 800v in the R1 line, it is mainly aiming for the R2 line - last question, right here -

 

[Millertimr]

Yeah agree about the non-announcement factor. There will definitely be a lot of moaning, “this is bullsh*t” posts. ?

I’m not sure if this will be mid 2024. 800v architecture would involve a lot more than just a battery pack swap. Could happen by then, but I’d be surprised

Rivian already said - no 800v this generation FYI

 

[Dark-Fx]

I'd take this with a grain of salt - Rivian already said no 800v in the R1 line, it is mainly aiming for the R2 line - last question, right here -

" Our 800V architecture will be introduced in our next-generation vehicle platforms - we do not plan for any R1 vehicles built today with 400V architecture to be upgradable to 800V. "

Doesn't read the same way to me at all. Next generation platforms doesn't mean "Not R1". Not having an upgrade path is not surprising, as it probably means almost every electrical component is different if they are switching architecture styles.

 

[DuoRivians]

Rivian already said - no 800v this generation FYI

This is sort of dated. Peregrine project has been announced where they said it would be the platform for all Rivian vehicles, including R1 and R2. ETA on when Peregrine is fully launched is unknown, however

 

[Dark-Fx]

Peregrine project has been announced

The peregrine is renowned for its speed. It can reach over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.

? ? ?

. ETA on when Peregrine is fully launched is unknown, however

Either this techcrunch article is confusing two different updates, or we should expect to see it next year.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/14/rivian-ceos-plan-to-make-evs-cheaper-starts-with-their-computers/

 

[SeaGeo]

I prefer better thermals and sustaining 200 kW for a longer period of time, at least until there are more 800V capable chargers.

There are still quite a few chargers that cannot provide 800V, including most Tesla Superchargers. So if they put in a 800V system, they will need to do something like Tesla (and GM) did and be able to switch the pack from series to parallel, so with half the pack in series it can charge at 800V, and in parallel charge at 400V. Otherwise they have to convert the voltage up to 800V, which is what Lucid does, making the 400V charge speed very, very slow.

FWIW, Tesla has the only high power DC chargers in the Country that aren't 800v that I am aware of. Any of the 400v chargers tend to be in the 50kw range.

They could also follow the approach Hyundai did with using a motor inverter to convert power at V3 SC.

Either way, I'd be surprised if they switch over to an 800v system right now.

 

[DuoRivians]

? ? ?



Either this techcrunch article is confusing two different updates, or we should expect to see it next year.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/14/rivian-ceos-plan-to-make-evs-cheaper-starts-with-their-computers/

The way I understood it is that Peregrine is a comprehensive upgrade of their electronics. Starts with ecus and wiring. It likely involves multiple rollouts, not everything in Q2/Q3. I’d be thrilled to see an 800v battery as soon as then, but that seems unlikely, given that an 800v architecture would involve a lot more work than just a battery pack change

 

[Davethadog]

Rivian already said - no 800v this generation FYI

The next generation is what is coming up q3 2024.

 

[emoore]

The next generation is what is coming up q3 2024.

That's just a refresh not the next generation R1.

 

[Millertimr]

The next generation is what is coming up q3 2024.

It is just a part refresh which is typical and normal in manufacturing. They are moving more towards lean principles and iterating on a part ot make it more cost effective. Introducing a whole new arcitecture, structure, and parts to a line which are more expensive seems wildly counter intuitive to that. The goal is to make the company profitable and assembly simpler - they have plenty of demand still and they said it would be in the next generation of vehicles aka the new which r2 will utilize and eventually I imagine r1 will move to.

 

[Twitter Fingers]

It is just a part refresh which is typical and normal in manufacturing. They are moving more towards lean principles and iterating on a part ot make it more cost effective. Introducing a whole new arcitecture, structure, and parts to a line which are more expensive seems wildly counter intuitive to that. The goal is to make the company profitable and assembly simpler - they have plenty of demand still and they said it would be in the next generation of vehicles aka the new which r2 will utilize and eventually I imagine r1 will move to.

I think many of the assumptions you are making here are incorrect. Every data point we have aligns with a switch to 800v coming in April, along with the introduction of the in-house quad motor system designed on that architecture, and of course the completely re-designed ECU and wiring system, which I highly doubt they would build around an old architecture. Keep in mind that RJ has stated many times that the changes we will see in R1 in April will be the foundation of what goes into R2. And while this set of changes has been a very large R&D cost, they have guided to a ~35% reduction in the bill of materials once this is all in place.

Sponsored