China's CATL Announces Million Mile Battery

[Coast2Coast]

CATL, China's largest battery maker, has announced it's able to produce and it's ready to take orders on million mile batteries.

Initially, they'll be 10% more expensive than current generation lithium ion batteries, but they'll last ten times longer. Current batteries are generally warrantied for 80K-130K. CATL is one of the battery suppliers to Tesla's Shanghai factory, but CATL is not exclusively supplying Tesla. In other words, any company should be able to buy from CATL.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/...e-battery-china-could-power-your-electric-car



And here's a lengthy but very informative video about everything you wanted to know about lithium ion batteries but we're afraid to ask: https://cleantechnica.com/2020/06/0...r-what-you-should-know-about-batteries-video/

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[ElectricTrucking]

How quick we forget what China has done to the world and their objective is not changing.

 

[Coast2Coast]

There's media speculation CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited) jumped the gun on Tesla in announcing its million mile battery today.

Tesla is likely announcing its own million mile battery on 'Battery Day' which was postponed once because of COVID-19 worries, but which now seems likely to happen soon. Indeed, if Tesla's Battery Day is just around the corner, CATL did jump the gun, thereby announcing its independence of Tesla and highlighting its position as the world's largest battery producer.

The competition among battery suppliers is heating up, and it's a key strategic issue for Rivian in two ways. First, to what extent does Rivian get into the battery business, like Tesla. In recent times, American auto makers eschewed vertical integration strategies and relied on suppliers for most parts, components, sub-assemblies, assemblies and systems. Auto makers became assemblers. But a lot of new technologies are embodied in electrified, autonomous driving, always connected vehicles, so suppliers may not have what auto firms need and want. Rivian may have to do it on its own, and we know Rivian is.

Second, as discussed elsewhere, which battery supplier Rivian teams with is a matter of great strategic importance since all battery suppliers are not equal in terms of the quality, durability, energy density and cost of their batteries. Who you pick to supply has long-term consequences.

Also, can you afford supplier partnerships with more than one supplier is another key issue. A lot more resources are needed to develop good working relationships with more than one supplier, but given how key the battery partnership will be, it behooves Rivian to do so, if possible.

 

[thrill]

I read this as more of a previously hard(ish) to source item is going to become more plentiful, which to me lends more credence to simply inking partnerships, stocking sufficient material to handle reasonably forecastable shortages, and otherwise concentrating on your strengths in production.

 

[Coast2Coast]

Perhaps. I spent time today reading and watching stories, videos and PowerPoint slides on battery raw material mining, intermediate processing, and final production.

Apparently, batteries are not close to being a commodity item. The biggest differences between suppliers are the purity of the chemicals they mix and package, and the proprietary formulas they develop. Even a little bit of impurities affects energy density, battery charging rate, and the life cycle (longevity) of batteries. And the same sort of differences apply to battery chemistries.

If true, battery partner selection becomes pivotal because dropping one partnership to take up with another won't be like buying off-the-shelf items from another vendor. Not only will there be inevitable organizational and managerial issues to overcome in starting a new supplier relationship but also vehicle performance is directly affected by which batteries supply the energy.

We're probably years away from when one company's batteries are as good as anyone else's.

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