A Company Seen as the Next Tesla

The R1T all-electric pickup truck from Rivian

Rivian, an American electric vehicle (EV) startup, announced on April 13 that it will use Samsung SDI's cylindrical batteries for its electric pickup truck R1T and sports utility vehicle (SUV) R1S, which are scheduled to hit the market in 2021.

Rivian is called the next Tesla thanks to its technological prowess. It was founded in 2009 by an engineer-turned-CEO who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Based on its technological prowess in EVs, Rivian has received a total of US$8 billion in investment from global companies.

Rivian introduced the R1T and the R1S at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2018. Although it planned to start volume production of the two models at the end of 2020, it postponed their release due to COVID-19. The price is US$75,000 for the R1T and US$77,500 for the R1S. The two models can run up to 300 miles (480 kilometers) on one single charge. Amazon ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian by 2024.

Samsung SDI's 21700 battery is 21 mm in diameter and 70 mm in height, larger than the 18650 model (18mm in diameter and 65mm in height) which was released in 2018. Its energy density is also higher than that of the 18650 model.

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