Panasonic has finalized preparations to begin manufacturing 4680-format lithium-ion battery cells at a Japanese factory, Reuters reported Monday.
The company is reportedly sending sample cells produced at the factory in Japan's western prefecture of Wakayama to automaker customers for approval, with production to start once that approval is received.
Comparing 4680 vs. 2170 - Panasonic
Panasonic supplies batteries to Tesla, which has been one of the principal advocate for 4680 cells, so named because they measure 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 inches tall, compared to 21 millimeters and 70 millimeters, respectively, for Panasonic's current 2170 cylindrical cells.
The bigger cells have been championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk since 2020 as the key to unlocking cheaper electric cars, as well as a critical component to ore power-intensive applications like the Tesla Semi and Cybertruck. Tesla has begun manufacturing its own 4680 cells, but has had difficulty ramping up volume. Musk in July reportedly told the Tesla battery team that the issues needed to be fixed or the large-format cells would be abandoned.
Future Tesla cell will make energy, power gains
Panasonic anticipated difficulties with the new cell format, cautioning in 2021 that mass producing Tesla 4680 cells would require "new techniques" and expressing skepticism that potential issues with overheating could be overcome. Nonetheless, the start of production is only somewhat delayed from the target Panasonic announced in 2022. At that time, the company said mass production would start during the fiscal year ending in March 2024.
Other battery suppliers have shown interest in large-format cells, but none has been able to scale them up faster than Panasonic and Tesla. CATL has gone a completely different route with its cell-to-pack tech, which eliminates the modules used in most current battery-pack designs. In 2022, CATL said the then-current version of cell-to-pack could deliver 13% more power than Tesla's 4680 cells, given the same volume. But cell-to-pack has also been slow to ramp up.
