Panasonic is preparing to mass produce large-format 4680 battery cells for Tesla

Key points

• Panasonic has debuted its 4680 cylindrical battery that was previewed at Tesla’s Battery Day event last year.

• The battery will purportedly store five times as much energy and cost half as much to build as the 2170 lithium-ion cells Tesla currently uses in the Model 3 and Y, which are also provided by Panasonic.

• A prototype version of the 4680 cell and said that it aims for test production as early as March

Panasonic is preparing to mass produce large-format 4680 battery cells for Tesla, and facing new manufacturing challenges as part of that process, the head of the company's new consolidated battery division in a recent interview by Kazuo Tadanobu, the CEO of Panasonic new energy company. The 4680 cells are pivotal to Tesla’s plans to become a legitimate mass manufacturer of quality electric vehicles.

“In terms of product development, the technological goals have largely been achieved. The new batteries have roughly five times the capacity of the 2170s currently in use. But mass-producing them requires new techniques”, Kazuo Tadanobu, recently announced.

Panasonic last month revealed a prototype version of the 4680 cell and said that it aims for test production as early as March, with potential production later in the year.

Tesla still plans to use the 4680 cells starting with Model Y crossovers assembled in Texas, with the format also bound for the Cybertruck, Semi, and others. Insiders say, on a purely volume basis, the 4680 is 5.5 times larger than the 2170 cells currently used in the Model 3 and Y battery packs and 8.0 times larger than the 18650 cells used in the Model S and X (the 18650 is slightly larger than a typical AA battery).

Tadanobu said Panasonic is working on 4680 cells "at Tesla's request," and said the automaker is the company's main priority. But Panasonic won't rule out working with other automakers.

Look out for more details on the 4680 battery over the next few months.