(Source: Reuters)
"Tesla is in talks with CATL to use cobalt-free batteries in China Gigafactory. As promised in 2018, Elon Musk is planning to cut down the use of cobalt in battery manufacturing for electric vehicles (EV). Tesla intends to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries instead of nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) for its upcoming production line." – Soumen Mandal
Challenges and Advantages:
- Safety and battery density will be major concerns for using LFP batteries.
- The usage of cobalt-free batteries will help to reduce the price of battery packs, which will subsequently reduce the price of EVs.
- The decision will keep Tesla one step ahead in the battery technology compared to Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai, and others.