Panasonic Corp said on Thursday it aims to develop a new high-capacity battery in about two years to extend the range of electric vehicles, in what would be a breakthrough for the battery supplier to Tesla Inc.
The company said it is working to eliminate anodes from batteries during the manufacturing stage to increase energy density through technology that it expects could deliver "world-leading" capacity by the end of 2027.
Panasonic said that if this improvement is realized, the driving range of Tesla Model Y is expected to increase by nearly 90 miles (about 145 kilometers) with the current battery pack size.
Alternatively, Panasonic can use this technology to create lighter and cheaper batteries by maintaining current driving range and reducing battery pack size.
The design proposed by Panasonic does not have anodes during the manufacturing stage. Instead, the lithium metal anode will form after the battery is first charged. This will make room for more active cathode materials - nickel, cobalt and aluminum - increasing capacity without changing volume.
Panasonic said it also plans to reduce the proportion of nickel in its batteries because nickel is relatively more expensive.
It's unclear whether the technology will help Tesla lower prices, and Panasonic declined to discuss specific details of manufacturing costs.