Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EDTA Conference
EDTA Conference: Tesla Motors ready to license battery tech to other companies
For the Tesla Roadster, the engineers at Tesla Motors decided to go with a batter pack made up of almost 7,000 lithium-ion cells to power the lightweight sports car. Some people approved (how can you say no to an EV that goes 0-60 in under four seconds?), and some people said the decision was a huge mistake. With about 250 Roadsters already "sold" (the car won't be available until late next year), it's obvious some people are ready to invest in this car and Tesla's Energy Storage System technology. So why should Tesla keep the technology to itself? At the EDTA show today, Kurt Kelty, Director of Energy Storage Technologies for Tesla Motors, said that he has been in talks with other companies to license the batteries to other companies.
Kelty told AutoblogGreen that he couldn't say much about Tesla's battery technology or the discussions, because everyone in the company is keeping things quiet. But he did say that to build a safe and reliable li-ion battery pack is a huge challenge, but Tesla has designed the 56 kWh, 366V li-ion pack with redundant active and passive safety features to prevent propagation of a "thermal runaway event" (often known as catching fire). Even if all active safety mechanisms malfunctioned, the thermal runaway event would be stopped by passive safety features. These features have helped the pack pass all eight UN battery tests. Currently, Tesla has 10-20 vehicles in Europe that are being crash tested with full battery packs.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
George Krpan 10:11PM (11/29/2006)
All the work-arounds to compensate for the artifacts of the deficiencies of the present day lithium ion battery.
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kert 1:52AM (11/30/2006)
Lets just hope that there are enough saner alternatives to choose from for their Sedan. A123Systems, Altair Nano, Valence, get off yer butts and start selling your capabilities to Tesla like theres no tomorrow.
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Tony Belding 8:08AM (11/30/2006)
I have to applaud Tesla for coming up with an engineering solution instead of merely shaking their heads, shrugging and saying "Li-ion cells aren't ready for automotive use, we have to wait for battery technology to advance!" That's what other car companies have said, and now they're lagging behind.
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Tim 10:03AM (11/30/2006)
..."UN battery tests..." What the hell...?
Anyway, GO TESLA!!!!
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jim 12:57PM (11/30/2006)
Licensing the tech is a good idea for the company and for consumers. There is no possible way that Tesla would ever be anything but a niche manufacturer automobiles and eventually other companies will find a way to clone the technology in a manner that avoids patent infringement.
Licensing the tech will provide a steady source of R&D funds for Tesla and will likely result in lowered production costs of the battery packs as other manufacturers seek to gain an advantage in leverging the basic tech.
For the vast majority of us $100K sportscars and $50K sedans are just curiosities, but a $25K EV family hauler can find a home in many driveways.
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Kurt Kelty 8:24PM (12/01/2006)
Just to clarify, we are not planning to license our battery technology to other companies. As I stated in my presentation, we are planning to leverage the know-how that we have developed over the last 3 years to "sell" battery packs to other companies.
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Howard Chu 9:41PM (12/04/2006)
How is Tesla's battery technology different from the battery management system AC Propulsion used in the LiIon t-Zero? Or put another way, since it's obvious you guys aren't talking about the actual technology in public, why aren't you talking about the lineage of your technology...
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robert 8:23AM (7/26/2007)
Tesla has commented on NanoSafe batterys stating they are too expenseive (current rate 2.5 X normal lithium batteries) and they hold 83% charge. Obviously they feel there tech is road worthy as it is and the Feds agree good enough for me. But spare me on they are the future until they make a 20,000$ subcompact that has the same range.
Recently they have licenced their tech out check out thier website or wiki.
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pulematuri 6:57AM (7/20/2008)
Yeah, i looked it up on the net, 70% of the car's price is in it's batteries