Tesla seeks sustainable nickel miners for EV battery production
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is pushing miners to produce
more nickel as an ingredient of lithium-ion batteries used in its electronic
vehicles (EVs) with the incentive of a “giant” contract.
Musk said in a second-quarter earnings call that a “giant
contract for a long period of time” would be provided to a miner able to
extract zinc in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
The high cost of EV batteries remains one of the main
roadblocks in Tesla’s growth, according to Musk.
“The real limitation on Tesla growth is cell production at
an affordable price. That’s the real limit,” he said.
Tesla is set to increase its business with its battery
partners, including Panasonic in Japan and Contemporary Amperex Technology
(CATL) in China.
The car maker’s batteries are made from nickel, cobalt and
aluminium, but the company has been distancing itself from using cobalt since
January last year due to unethical mining practices in Africa along with cost
concerns.
However, Tesla signed a deal with Glencore to receive cobalt
from its mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and manufacture
batteries at its Berlin “Gigafactory” in June.
Nickel’s use in battery cells allows them to be energy
dense, resulting in lighter and more compact batteries with a higher capacity.
Musk said Tesla would make further announcements about the
company’s batteries at its “Battery Day” event in September.
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