Tesla To Equip Model Y With BYD's Blade Battery

Since last year, there have been rumors that Tesla will use BYD's blade battery, but it has been just a rumor, not confirmed. And in June this year, BYD Group Executive Vice President Lian Yubo said in a media interview, "BYD respects Tesla, also admires Tesla, and Elon Musk is also a friend, BYD will soon supply batteries for Tesla". These words are undoubtedly let the rumors sit, but for Tesla in the end how long will officially equipped with BYD's blade battery has not been the exact information, until recently, about Tesla equipped with BYD blade battery this matter finally has more information.

What is the blade battery

Blade battery is BYD's battery products released in March 2020, the battery uses lithium iron phosphate technology, in the formation of the group can skip the module, significantly improve the volume utilization rate, while as lithium iron phosphate battery, its cost and safety advantages are also one point obvious, can pass the needle prick test, so that no fire, no explosion.

Blade battery pack is very different from the traditional Li-ion battery pack, the traditional Li-ion battery pack is produced in the form of coiled cells, while the blade battery pack is produced in the form of laminated sheets as shown above. To give a less appropriate example, it is like putting items in a box of the same size, one puts a box of ping pong balls, while the other puts a box of regular rulers, the stacking process is better than the winding process in terms of space utilization.

Specifically, the blade battery is still essentially lithium iron phosphate, because the material has not changed or lithium iron phosphate, only the battery structure design innovation. Blade battery, refers to the cell like a blade flat and long, and the shape of chewing gum is extremely similar. Blade battery although no significant innovation in materials, positive materials used lithium iron phosphate, negative materials for artificial graphite. But the blade battery is the world's first in terms of structure and engineering technology. BYD's blade battery is a long cell solution (based on a square aluminum case to do the battery), based on BYD's original cell size, by thinning the thickness of the cell and increasing the length of the cell, the cell will be flattened and thinned design.

TOPCARS has learned that a number of sources have reported that BYD-supplied blade batteries have been delivered to Tesla's super factory in Berlin, Germany, and that Tesla vehicles equipped with BYD blade batteries are expected to roll off the assembly line within a month at the earliest.

For this news BYD and Tesla have not yet made a formal response, but a number of people familiar with the matter who do not want to be named confirmed the authenticity of the news. A BYD source revealed that BYD supplies blade batteries to Tesla and shipped to Europe. At the same time, the first batch of Tesla vehicles equipped with BYD blade batteries can be rolled out of the Berlin factory within a month at the earliest.

It is worth noting that Tesla Berlin Super Factory mainly produces Model Y, and BYD blade battery stationed in the German Berlin factory means that it will first be equipped on Model Y.

In fact, when the information that BYD will supply the blade battery to Tesla first came out, there was a lot of speculation about whether the blade battery will be stationed in Tesla's Shanghai super factory, but according to TOPCARS, Tesla's Shanghai super factory mainly produces Model 3 and Model Y with CATL's lithium iron phosphate battery, and CATL's lithium iron phosphate battery has a larger difference in shape and If the Shanghai factory wants to carry the blade battery, it needs to modify the factory's battery pack production line, which is undoubtedly more than worth the loss. And BYD blade battery into BYD's Berlin plant in Germany, is a very reasonable information.

Berlin Super Factory can reach 500,000 units at full capacity, but according to the Travel Bureau, in June, the Berlin factory Model Y's weekly output was only 1,000 units, with a monthly capacity of more than 4,000 units, which is still a long way from being fully released. Therefore, compared to the Shanghai plant, the Berlin plant has enough time to transform the battery pack production line, which will not yet affect its own production capacity.

Why would Tesla choose BYD's blade battery? Now BYD's sales are as good as ever, its Han and Seal models even on Tesla's sales have also caused some impact, it can be said that BYD is Tesla's biggest competitor in China, as a competitor, Tesla also cooperates with it, Tesla is really so generous? In addition, Ningde Time has been cooperating with Tesla for some time, why Tesla does not continue to purchase Ningde Time's lithium iron phosphate batteries?

According to the first quarter earnings data released by Tesla, Tesla produced 305,407 vehicles in the first quarter. Among them, the total production of Model 3 and Model Y was 290,189 units, and the total production of Model S and Model X was 14,218 units. Tesla also specifically stated in its earnings data that "production of nickel- and cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate batteries was nearly half of total production in the first quarter."

Tesla currently has a total of three battery suppliers, respectively, Panasonic, LG Chem and CATL, and the first two are for Tesla to provide ternary lithium batteries, while the latter Ningde Time is for Tesla to provide lithium iron phosphate batteries.

In today's Tesla equipped with lithium iron phosphate models have accounted for half of Tesla's sales, Tesla naturally will not put the eggs in the same basket, so as not to be held back by CATL, so the purchase of BYD's blade battery can allow Tesla to have a higher risk resistance.

In addition, Tesla and BYD two although currently in a competitive relationship, but the current new energy vehicle market this piece of cake is very large, far from tit-for-tat time, now all new energy car companies have a common goal, that is, to kill the fuel car. Therefore, Tesla's use of blade batteries in the current will only be a win-win behavior.