Tesla to shift all standard range cars to LFP battery

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla will switch all of its standard range vehicles to lithium iron phosphate-based (LFP) batteries that it uses in Chinese models amid rising material costs.

Tesla is going from using a combination of nickel-cobalt-aluminum and nickel-manganese-cobalt cathodes in its standard range cars. A standard range Model 3 can travel 262 miles on a charge compared with 353 miles for a long-range model.

The automaker partnered with Chinese manufacture BYD to launch an LFP-powered car in China in May 2020.

LFP-based lithium-ion batteries differ from chemistries that use nickel and cobalt in that they are lower cost but less energy dense. Tesla chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn said that its "primary exposure right now is around nickel and aluminum, nickel on the cell, aluminum on non-cell."

The switch comes as lithium-ion battery chemical prices are on the rise. Argus' minimum 22pc nickel sulphate assessment rose by 31pc in the last six months to $4,450-4,650/metric tonne today. Meanwhile, prices for minimum 20.5pc cobalt sulphate increased by 23pc in that same time to $5.59-5.77/lb.

Tesla is also working to lower its reliance on cobalt through its 4680 batteries that it first announced in September 2020. The battery aims to reduce cobalt use in part through higher nickel and manganese content. Tesla expects to start delivering cars with a 4680 battery starting next year.

Other automakers are making similar plans to invest in their own battery chemistries to reduce reliance on cobalt.

Part of Ford's plan to invest $30bn by 2025 in EV manufacturing is to develop the IonBoost range of batteries that will us LFP batteries in its commercial vehicles. General Motors is using a nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum chemistry for its Ultium battery that substitutes cobalt for nickel and aluminum content and is investing $27bn by 2021 into EV and battery production.

By Andrew Saucer