To Supply 4680 Batteries to Tesla
LG Energy Solution will set up a new cylindrical battery production line in Korea to supply more batteries to Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker.
The company announced on June 13 that it will invest a total of 730 billion won in its Ochang plant in Korea to build a new cylindrical battery production line and expand the current one. It will invest 580 billion won in Ochang Plant 2 to build a production facility that can produce 9GWh of cylindrical batteries of a new form factor (4680). In addition, it will invest 150 billion won in Ochang Plant 1 to expand the production line for 2170-type cylindrical batteries by 4GWh. The new and expanded production lines are scheduled to begin mass-production in the second half of next year.
The 4680 battery is 46mm in diameter and 80mm in length. It is a next-generation product with a five times larger capacity and six times larger output compared to the existing 2170 (21mm in diameter and 70mm in length) battery. The new battery boosts the mileage of electric vehicles by 16 percent compared to existing products and reduces the number of batteries installed in electric vehicles, thus cutting costs. Tesla has announced its plans to use 4680 batteries. Industry insiders predicted that the new battery will take cooperation between LG Energy Solution and Tesla to the next level.