Can Tesla shift the balance of EV battery and cell supply chains away from China?
By Illya Verpraet2020-10-12T13:12:00
At Tesla’s recent Battery Day presentation, the company promised to shake up its battery supply chains by moving into cell production and even the mining of raw material, but how realistic are these targets?
Arguably the biggest announcement was that Tesla wants to take control of the complete cathode supply chain, producing the cells in-house and mining the lithium itself from clay deposits in Nevada. Tesla is also making plans for a cobalt-free cathode, aiming to replace it with either iron, a mix of nickel and manganese, or pure nickel, depending on the application.
There is even some speculation that Tesla could invest directly or even take control of a major battery supplier.
However, while Tesla is known for surprising the industry with new technology, it can also be a bit optimistic with its predictions. Vivas Kumar, an ex-Tesla employee who is now principal consultant at electric vehicle and battery consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, commented that Tesla was unlikely to reach all of these goals in the next two or three years.