Building vehicle battery laced with cutting-edge technology is part of the blueprint intended for the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin and this was confirmed by a senior official in Germany. The new batteries are smaller but jammed with "higher energy density" that is designed to deliver greater range for all Tesla car models.
Brandenburg's Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach confirmed that the planned battery will be using a "completely new technology" that will allow Tesla vehicles to travel at a longer distance on a single charge.
The revelation, according to Teslarati, is per the automaker's core goal of installing batteries on Tesla vehicles that can deliver increased range from the past and existing model. It is assumed that the new batteries will be first used on the Tesla Model Y crossover, which the company said will be equipped with a battery pack that can run beyond 250 miles when fully charged.
Steinbach claimed that the battery production facility of Giga Berlin will likely be included in the second phase of the factory's construction. There is no specific timeline, however, when this area of Giga Berlin will be completed and become operational.
It can be said though that if the new batteries are designed for the Model Y rollout then they will be produced ahead of the crossover's targeted market debut, which Tesla has yet to reveal. But the company has already indicated that the Model Y will be mass-produced beginning in July 2021.
The best bet for the Giga Berlin construction to be completed should be between December this year and the first few months of 2021. The factory's capability of building the new batteries are expected to come online at around the same time.
According to Electrek, the information shared by the Brandenburg aligns with the estimation by Tesla that Giga Berlin will be completed around March next year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he is upbeat that assembly of the Model Y will commence as planned by the middle part of 2021.
Musk likewise confirmed that Giga Berlin will have its battery cell production site when completed and stressed that the materials to be used will be sourced locally. This likely is in line with the company's "Roadrunner Project" that aims to produce in-house battery cells with "a million-mile range."
"We can't say too much about this, except that there will be local cell production, and that will serve the needs of the Berlin factory," the company chief was reported as saying.
However, Steinbach said more details on the new battery technology will be made public in September, which will coincide with Tesla's planned "Battery Day" that will be staged in the United States.
