Tesla Gives the EV Battery Industry a Jolt

摘要

One-upmanship is commonplace in the new age of energy innovation, as manufacturers continually try to outdo their competitors with the next big thing. Electric vehicles (EVs) are no exception. In February, Tesla-the Palo Alto, Calif., company that manufactures the car of the same name-announced plans to build the world's first Gigafactory. The facility is expected to transform the process of making batteries. Tesla projects it will lower the per-kilowatt cost of building a lithium-ion battery pack by more than 30 percent. Speed will be another byproduct. Tesla boldly expects to produce more batteries at the new facility by the year 2020 than were manufactured worldwide last year.