Tesla to Open US Battery Plant With Equipment From China’s CATL

출처 : Bloomberg (2024.2.1)

Tesla Inc. will expand battery production in Nevada, opening a small facility using idle equipment from China’s CATL(Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd)., according to people familiar with the matter.

The automaker plans to buy machinery from CATL, as the battery maker is known, and install it in the city of Sparks, said the people, who asked not to be identified. Tesla will have full control of the facility and cover 100% of the costs, and CATL personnel won’t be involved beyond helping set up the equipment, they said.

The plant, which will make cells for Tesla’s large-battery Megapack product, is part of a broader effort to onshore the supply chain for lithium-iron-phosphate cells in America, according to one of the people. Tesla also sees the equipment-purchase arrangement as a cost-effective way to set up new facilities, the person said. Alongside the plans for the new facility, Tesla has said it intends to double capacity this year at an existing battery factory in Lathrop, California.

Initially, the plant will have a limited output — around 10GWH — the people said, and be expanded if the project goes smoothly and the supply chain can be established. The facility likely won’t be operational until 2025. It could eventually account for about 20% of Tesla’s battery production in the region, including the Lathrop location.