Gigafactory 1

Gigafactory 1
Location of Gigafactory 1
Location Nevada, USA
Coordinates 39°32′31″N 119°26′24″W / 39.542°N 119.440°W / 39.542; -119.440Coordinates: 39°32′31″N 119°26′24″W / 39.542°N 119.440°W / 39.542; -119.440
Industry Energy storage
Products Lithium-ion batteries
Owner(s) Tesla Motors

The Tesla Gigafactory 1 is a lithium-ion battery factory which is under construction (and in production) primarily for Tesla Motors at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County, Nevada, US.[1][2][3] The factory became operational in the first quarter of 2016.[4] Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval estimated that Nevada would enjoy $100 billion in economic benefit over two decades from the construction of this factory.[5] It is the world's largest building by physical area and the second-largest building by usable space, smaller than only the Boeing Everett Factory.[6]

Rationale and construction

Steve Jurvetson on a tour of Tesla Gigafactory 1.
Elon Musk on a March 2015 tour of the construction of Gigafactory 1.

Tesla expects that Gigafactory 1 will reduce the production cost for their electric vehicle battery and Powerwall and Powerpack packs by 30%. Its projected capacity for 2020 is 35 gigawatt-hours per year of cells as well as 50 GWh/yr of battery packs.[7] To achieve this the factory would employ approximately 6,500 people and supply 500,000 Tesla cars per year.[8][9][10]

In July 2014, it was announced that Panasonic had reached a basic agreement with Tesla Motors to invest in the factory.[11][12] Panasonic will lead the battery cell production portion of the manufacturing, and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has indicated that the total Panasonic investment would be US$1.5–2 billion.[13] In early 2016 Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga confirmed a planned total investment of c. $1.6 billion by the company to construct the factory to full capacity.[14]

Factory location

Several sites were initially considered, including California,[15][16] Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. On September 3, 2014, the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Center in Storey County near Reno, Nevada was selected as the location of the Gigafactory with $1.25 billion of incentive grants from the State of Nevada in the form of tax breaks and perks over a period of 20 years.[5][17][18][19][20][21]

Grading had already begun prior to the September announcement during the summer of 2014, with vertical construction reported in January of 2015.[22] Tesla and its partners intend to complete the facility before 2020.[10]

Future expansion

Prior to the building of more gigafactories (see below), Tesla may expand and potentially double the size of Gigafactory 1. In June 2015, Tesla announced it exercised its option to buy 1,864 acres (754 hectares) of land adjacent to the original 1,000-acre (400 ha) Gigafactory site. Tesla Motors spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson. "The purchase gives us the opportunity for future growth." In Tesla's dealings with the state of Nevada expanding the size was always an option should the company choose to do so, said Steve Hill, director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "Tesla had said that the factory will be up to 10 million square feet [1 million square meters] in one or two stories," Hill said. "On the earnings call (in May 2015), Elon said they aren't yet committing to this but that they are considering increasing the size of the gigafactory here by 50 to 100 percent." [23]

Operations

The gigafactory is operated by a management team under executive Jens Peter Clausen, formerly a LEGO executive, who is VP of Gigafactory at Tesla.[24]

"In October 2015, the company moved the Tesla Powerwall production line from its Fremont factory to the Gigafactory 1." Cell production is slated to begin in 2016.[24] The factory is planned to produce more lithium ion batteries in a year than were produced in the entire world in 2013.

On March 18, 2016 a small group of local journalists were allowed to visit the Gigafactory under strict conditions and found that 14% of the final systems were completed. In the finished part since the third quarter of 2015, the Tesla Power Wall has been produced.[25] [26]

Future Gigafactories

On April 30, 2015, Elon Musk announced that the factory heretofore known simply as the Gigafactory was now to be known as Gigafactory 1 as Tesla plans to build more such factories in the future. At the same event, Musk also said that he believed that other companies would build their own similar "Gigafactories".[1] After receiving $800M of orders ($179M PowerWall, $625M PowerPack) within 1 week of unveiling, Musk estimated that the Gigafactory 1 is not enough to supply demand.[27]

Tesla's activities and interest in Japan indicates that a Gigafactory, perhaps Gigafactory 2, could be built in that country. As of March 2015, Japan was the second-biggest source of Tesla components after North America.[28]

Controversy

In October 2015, there was an altercation between Tesla security staff and two journalists from the Reno Gazette-Journal, resulting in injuries and police arrest of a photographer for battery with a deadly weapon.[29][30]

A walkout of 100 union workers occurred in February 2016, apparently over allegations of hiring too many non-Nevada residents to work on the construction of the Gigafactory. "The dispute isn’t over hiring non-union workers [according to the president of the local union] the goal is to get more Nevada workers on the site."[31][32]

The Gigafactory's battery packs

Cylindrical cell (18650) prior to assembly. Several thousand of them form the Tesla Model S battery.

The basis of the energy storage system of Tesla products are lithium-ion cells in the 18650 form factor. These cylindrical cells have a diameter of 18 mm and are 65 mm in length, a size used for the batteries of billions of laptops. Round cells are generally less expensive (costing 190–200 dollars per kWh as of 2014) than large format cells whose active layers are stacked or folded (approximately 240–250 dollars per kWh).[33]

Tesla closes each of the 18650 cylindrical cells in a steel housing, which dissipates the heat development from charging and discharging. The small cells have a relatively large surface area which allows the delivery of emerging heat to the environment making the cells isothermal. The size also allows precise control of charging and discharging of the overall package and avoids overloading, which increases the life of the individual cells.

The Tesla Roadster battery pack had 69 cells wired in parallel to form a block. Nine blocks were connected in series, and 11 of these units (in series) formed the pack case, resulting in a pack of 6,831 cells (69P99S) surrounded by a sturdy steel casing. The battery pack weighed about 408 kg, stored 56 kWh of electric power, and provided up to 215 kW. For effective heat transfer, coolant was pumped through the set. In the cooling system, control sensors allow optimum control, including reversing the system to heat the cells in cold weather. [34]

References

  1. 1 2 "Elon Musk Debuts the Tesla Powerwall". YouTube. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Tahoe Reno Industrial Center". Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ (4 September 2015) Matthew L. Wald. Nevada a Winner in Tesla’s Battery Contest. NY Times. Retrieved on 15 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Tesla Unveils Model 3". Tesla. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 Ohnsman, Alan (September 5, 2014). "Nevada Lures Tesla Plant With $1.3 Billion in Tax Breaks". Bloomberg.
  6. ↑ Tesla's Model 3 Gigafactory Will Have the "Largest footprint of any building" in the World Inverse Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Panasonic to pour billions of yen in Tesla's gigafactory as initial investment". ZDNet. October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Planned 2020 Gigafactory Production Exceeds 2013 Global Production" (PDF). February 26, 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  9. ↑ Cuthbertson, Anthony (March 20, 2014). "Tesla to Create World's Largest Lithium-ion Battery Factory". IBT. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  10. 1 2 "Gigafactory | Blog | Tesla Motors". teslamotors.com. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  11. ↑ "Panasonic, Tesla agree to partnership for US car battery plant". Nikkei Inc. July 29, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  12. ↑ John Kell (July 31, 2014). "Tesla, Panasonic team up to build Gigafactory". Fortune.
  13. ↑ Trudell, Craig (March 27, 2015). "Tesla Pushes Japanese Suppliers as It Seeks Battery Partners". Bloomberg.
  14. ↑ Ramsey, Mike (7 Jan 2016), "Panasonic Will Bet Big on Gigafactory", www.wsj.com
  15. ↑ “California's ‘Improbable’ Bid To Land Tesla's Gigafactory”, Forbes, May 26, 2014
  16. ↑ “California makes big plans to land Tesla battery ‘gigafactory’”, San Jose Mercury-News, June 6, 2014
  17. ↑ "Reports: Tesla Selects Nevada as Giga Battery Factory Site". Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  18. ↑ Jerry Hirsch (30 May 2015). "Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  19. ↑ Jerry Hirsch (30 May 2015). "Three companies, $4.9 billion in government support". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  20. ↑ Jerry Hirsch (2 June 2015). "Elon Musk: 'If I cared about subsidies, I would have entered the oil and gas industry'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "Musk defends receiving $4.9 billion in government support for Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX". RT English. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Photos: Structure taking shape on Tesla property. Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  23. ↑ Hidalgo, Jason (23 July 2015). "Going big: Will Tesla double size of gigafactory plant?". rgj.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  24. 1 2 Lambert, Fred (2016-03-09). "Will human hands ever touch Tesla Gigafactory battery cells?". electrek. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  25. ↑ "Erste Einblicke innerhalb der Tesla Gigafactory im Video festgehalten". teslamag.de (in German). 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  26. ↑ "Tesla officials show off progress at Gigafactory in Northern Nevada". reviewjournal.com. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  27. ↑ Randall, Tom (8 May 2015). "Tesla's Battery Grabbed $800 Million in Its First Week". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  28. ↑ Edelstein, Stephen (30 March 2015). "Tesla pushes investors for a gigafactory in Japan". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Tesla says Reno journalist drove into security guards on Gigafactory grounds". Ars Technica.
  30. ↑ "Reno Gazette-Journal says Tesla Gigafactory guards accosted journalists". Ars Technica.
  31. ↑ Kirsten Korosec (February 29, 2016). "Protest at Tesla Gigafactory Is Just the Beginning, Union Boss Says - Fortune". Fortune. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  32. ↑ William Fierman (February 29, 2016). "Tesla Gigafactory walkout - Business Insider". Business Insider. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  33. ↑ Andreas Karius: Studie: Tesla-Gigafactory bedroht andere Batteriehersteller. in automobil-produktion.de Volume 3. March 2014
  34. ↑ http://www.teslamotors.com/de_DE/roadster/technology/battery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tesla Gigafactory 1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.