22 Years' Battery Customization
Mar 30, 2021 Pageview：1359
Who has never heard of Tesla? Despite the snickers and side eye Tesla owner gets, Tesla is considered as the dream car of many, especially among the younger generation. It makes sense, considering how Tela is always one step ahead when it comes to futuristic features. Whatever the other cars don’t have, Tesla will have them.
Tesla’s car is unique not only on its futuristic features but almost in every part of the car, including its batteries. One of the most surprising announcements Tesla made a few weeks ago was regarding their batteries, as they’ve made a new patent on their batteries’ chemicals. In this article, we will discuss all about Tesla’s battery chemical and how pivotal they are for Tesla’s system.
How many Tesla battery chemistry patents do you know?
As of now, there is only one Tesla battery chemistry system that is patented by Tesla, and the battery chemistry system is no other than Lithium Difluorophosphate.
The reason why Tesla was willing to go through lengths creating the system is due to the positive effects it gives to the battery. After all, lithium ion is one of the most common rechargeable batteries in this world. It is also the battery Tesla uses for their products.
Second, let’s talk about electrolyte additives. Electrolyte additives are known to give positive impacts on lithium batteries if they are used properly. Unfortunately, scientists and researchers were unable to decipher how the process works, resulting in the stagnation of the research.
Until Tesla stepped in and announced their patented battery system. It is then later revealed that Tesla has researched a lot regarding the phenomena and applied it on their new patented battery system. And the result? It was more than how people expected it to be.
Thanks to the research on electrolyte additives and electrodes by Tesla, the lifespan of their batteries increases significantly. How does it work? First, Tesla revealed that the battery uses fewer electrolyte additives, as the electrolyte additives are used on different storage of energy. Examples of the storage are in the vehicle itself or in the grid storage.
Although the number of electrolyte additives is reduced, that does not mean that the additives are not utilized properly. Instead of using more electrolyte additives, they use two additional additive electrolyte systems. Thanks to the additive electrolyte systems, the performance of the car increases drastically along with the lifespan of the batteries. The two additional systems are also able to enhance the battery’s overall system later on in the future, thanks to the combination of positive electrodes and negative electrodes.
This is just one of the breakthroughs Tesla has made. During the disclosure, there were many ideas presented to the public, making us feel lost at words. One of the most shocking claims is the fact that Tesla’s price can be as long as $25,000 after three years. It is definitely an ambitious goal of Elon Musk.
How much lithium is in a tesla battery?
Unfortunately, not many people know how much lithium is used in Tesla batteries. However, we can use other vehicles as comparison. A single EV, or electric vehicle, uses at least 10 kilograms (or 22 pounds) of lithium. Considering how Tesla’s cars are electric vehicles, it is safe to assume that Tesla cars use lithium of the same amount too.
Unfortunately, Tesla using lithium does not bode well for the industry. As a matter of fact, the entire world is having the risk of running out of lithium by 2025. This is due to the demand industry has in lithium now, as there are more and more electric cars. According to UBS analysts, the price of electric cars will be the same as that of gas-powered cars by 2024. It makes sense, considering how the younger generation are striving toward a healthier and nature-friendly lifestyle. Unfortunately, electric cars, the only plausible solution to solve the excessive pollution caused by gas-fueled cars, are not so friendly toward nature anymore seeing how we are running out of lithium because of it.
Although electric cars are the perfect solution to reduce gas emission, it gives us a new issue we need to face soon, which is the loss of lithium.
Will Tesla batteries use cobalt?
Although Tesla is still using cobalt for their nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode chemistry (for cars produced outside China), they are aiming to create cars free of cobalt. This is due to the history of cobalt, where cobalt mining violated human rights as children are also involved in it. As Tesla embraces Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), they are seeking the alternative of cobalt, whether it’s through new materials or by not using it at all. Moreover, cobalt is one of the expensive elements used for electric cars, making EV manufacturers trying to find ways to find its replacement (including Tesla).
Fortunately, Tesla is already taking steps at the eradication of cobalt on their products. An unnamed source of Reuters stated that Tesla is starting to produce their Model 3s cars in China using lithium-iron phosphate without cobalt. It is still unclear whether the elimination of cobalt will reduce the car’s price or not. However, one thing is for sure - that Elon Musk is planning to keep his words at making his cars cobalt-free.
Tesla is unique in many aspects. It has futuristic features and strives to be as earth-friendly as possible. We can learn from the components of its patented battery system and how it can play a big role at increasing the longevity of electric cars on the street. Unfortunately, Tesla’s solution for its rechargeable batteries come at the cost of lithium. As a matter of fact, the trend heading toward electric cars is the cause of potential loss of lithium, as more and more lithium are being demanded day by day. Unless we find the solution, there is a high chance that we will be depleted of lithium by 2025. If this truly happens, what will happen to the future of batteries?
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