points by ksec 18 hours ago | 0 comments
Am I correct to assume all these grid batteries are all made in China as well?
[–] ardme 17 hours ago
[–] slfnflctd 15 hours ago
My understanding is that a large portion of Tesla's batteries are still manufactured by Panasonic, and most of the rest by other third parties. Some of this is in the US, but the production does not belong to Tesla.
[–] aesch 11 hours ago
Panasonic (as well as CATL and LG) manufactures the physical lithium-ion battery cells while Tesla assembles them into a complete battery pack. When we talk about car batteries I think people are mostly referring to the battery pack which contains a lot of IP separate from the battery cell. So the supply chain is a bit more complicated its most accurate to say that while Tesla performs some of the manufacturing itself in the US it is not fully vertically integrated.
[–] ZeroGravitas 18 hours ago
Grid batteries was one of the few areas that escaped Trump's gutting of the IRA and was included in other Infrastructure bills.
And a side effect of the EV market getting hobbled also redirected battery factory capacity from that market.
I'm not sure what's online yet but there is a pipeline.
edit an estimate from earlier this year:
> By the end of 2025, 20 gigawatt-hours of dedicated storage cell lines had opened, and the industry is on pace to hit 96 gigawatt-hours by the end of this year.
[–] Gravityloss 18 hours ago
China, the electrostate
[–] slfnflctd 15 hours ago
"All along the Eastern shore
Put your circuits in the sea
This is what the world is for
Making electricity"
There are big factories in both Michigan and Kentucky Ford operates it just took over from Blueoval SK.
They retooled Ford plants are now making grid batteries instead of car batteries is my understanding.
Tesla also has battery factories in the USA as well as a lithium refinery.
Batteries are complex but less complex than semiconductors. They are rapidly dropping in cost too.