Tesla’s Supplier Claims 1M Mile Battery Life
The Chinese battery supplier to Tesla claims it could build a pack to power a vehicle for more than a million miles and boast a lifespan of 16 years.
This incredible claim reported by the BBC makes the current industry standard warranty for lithium-ion vehicle batteries of 100,000 miles and eight years for 70% performance levels, look a bit pathetic. However, the company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (Catl), does not reveal any details of its claimed breakthrough or in whose vehicles the super batteries will first appear although it has previously announced its existing batteries have been co-developed with Tesla.
The claims were made in an interview to the Bloomberg news agency by Catl’s chairman, Zeng Yuqun. He said: “If someone places an order, we are ready to produce,” adding that the price of such a battery pack would be comfortable more expensive than existing unit albeit only by about 10%.
His company signed a two-year deal to supply batteries for Tesla’s Model 3 cars in February. Its other clients include BMW, Daimler, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Automotive research firm Canalys, points to a steady growth in the European market for BEVs and plug-in hybrids which now represent 7% of all new car sales in the market. However, the firm said that Catl’s claim was “significant but difficult to verify”.
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
Those sound like specs and costs that match up with NMC (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide) battery technology. GM is rolling out a couple electric/hybrid models that use them, and other car companies will soon, too.