Tesla said to be in talks to use CATL’s cobalt-free batteries in China-made cars
- That move would mark the first time for Tesla to adopt so-called lithium iron phosphate batteries on its electric cars
- Chief executive Elon Musk promised in 2018 to cut Tesla’s use of cobalt to ‘almost nothing’
Tesla is in advanced talks to use batteries from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) that contain no cobalt – one of the most expensive metals in electric vehicle (EV) batteries – in cars built at its China plant, people familiar with the matter said.
That move would mark the first time for Tesla to include so-called lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in its line-up, as the US electric carmaker seeks to lower production costs amid faltering overall EV sales in China.
Tesla has been talking to the Chinese manufacturer for more than a year to supply LFP batteries that will be cheaper than its existing batteries by a “double-digit per cent”, said a person directly involved in the matter, who was not authorised to speak with media and so declined to be identified.
Tesla and CATL declined to comment.
EV manufacturers typically use nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries on passenger cars because of their higher energy density, which is critical in determining how far these vehicles can drive on a single charge.
To boost the density and safety of its LFP batteries, CATL has been working on its so-called cell-to-pack technology, the people told Reuters.