Comments on: Tesla Gigafactory For Electric Car Batteries

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:51:00 +0000

Envia is partially owned by GM (not a controlling interest).

A GM executive let slip some months ago that GM was track testing a “200 mile range” EV battery.

Yes, there are many web sites with nothing to back them up, but it appears that some of the battery sites are producing product, or close to it. How good a product they will have is yet to be determined.

Aquion, EOS, Envia, Ambri, and a few others seem to have something other than CGI and a spiel like that spinning cone solar panel thing.

By: Jouni Valkonen

Jouni Valkonen — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 07:56:00 +0000

The point of vaporware is to have fancy website that can be used for selling vapor to the venture capitalists. We do not have any ideas how far away Envia is from commercial product and it Envia battery may be economically unfeasible altogether.

By: Jouni Valkonen

Jouni Valkonen — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 07:49:00 +0000

Economies of scale are especially important in battery production. Tesla has suggested that the gigafactory will do everything from the raw materials under the same roof. This offers very significant potential for cost improvements as today battery production is very complex chain of subcontractors. My guess is that if Tesla gigafactory happens by 2016, they can push the cost of batteries to $125 per kWh even if we do not assume new improved battery chemistry.

By: Marion Meads

Marion Meads — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:48:00 +0000

I was not the one claiming, I am just presenting what Envia has advertised in their website. I will of course apply the same terms with Tesla’s vaporware gigafactory. Let us just talk about batteries for now as is the topic. Let’s hold our applause as who will be the first to really deliver the $125/kWh batteries by end of 2015. I hope it is Tesla.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:37:00 +0000

When we actually see Envia batteries operating electric cars we will be able to make the sort of claims you are now making. (Or disprove them.)
Envia has yet to make its appearance on the world’s stage. Let’s withhold our applause to see if they show up for the show.

By: Marion Meads

Marion Meads — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 22:45:00 +0000

I sure hope that Elon Musk’s gigafactory would be able to outdo what Envia is already doing. Envia will supply the next generation of ultracheapo high density fire safe battery for GM’s next generation EV and plug-ins, perhaps placing a vehicle with a 300 mile range that costs only $20K. I am hopeful that Tesla would be able to best that one, and everyone would be a winner.

http://enviasystems.com/innovation/

By: Marion Meads

Marion Meads — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 22:33:00 +0000

Some battery chemistries are more flammable than others, and some battery packing are more prone to fires and explosion than others. Tesla should advertise that they have addressed these overhyped issues, otherwise it would be a blackeye to EV revolution.

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:01:00 +0000

Economies of scale are hugely important as drivers of cost reductions. The first-tier Chinese PV manufacturers make panels in plants of over 1GW annual capacity. Example: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/11/jiangsu-shunfengs-acquisition-suntech-top-540-million-dollars/ If they are working 5000 hours each year, that makes one 200W panel every four seconds. Imagine the next step up to one per second.