‘Million-mile’ battery nearly ready

A battery pack that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometres (1.24 million miles) is ready to be produced by China-based company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL).
It’s an industry landmark that about doubles the years and is about eight times the distance of a conventional EV battery warranty, which could bring EV costs down and boost their demand.

Tesla and CATL signed a two-year contract in February for battery supply to Tesla’s Shanghai factory from July 2020, with Tesla working towards a “million-mile” battery for its EVs and energy products, an announcement expected at its June ‘Battery Day’.

CATL is adding a production facility in Germany that will also supply batteries for BMW, Volkswagen’s Audi unit, and Porsche, but has no immediate plans for a similar plant in the US, CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun tells Bloomberg.
He says CATL is ready to produce the battery which would cost about 10% more than present EV batteries.
Zeng expects EV demand to pick up early next year after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted vehicle sales this year.
That supports the view EVs will weather the coronavirus-caused economic slowdown better than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.