Tesla Motors plans to lower the costs of its electric cars' batteries through a new research partnership with an expert in the field.
The deal will involve cooperation with Jeff Dahn, a professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scota who is well known for his innovating work with lithium-ion batteries, according to The Wall Street Journal. His accomplishments include being leading researcher on these batteries' capabilities and having patented a nickel-cobalt-manganese chemistry for battery cathodes, which is now commonly used by automakers.
Dahn will begin his partnership with Tesla once he is done with his current project with 3M.
The news follows six weeks after such a partnership was reported, to which both Tesla and Dahn declined to comment at the time, Quartz reported. It wasn't until Tuesday that the deal was confirmed, as Tesla chief technology officer JB Straubel announced the partnership at Dalhousie University.
Straubel said in an interview that in order for Tesla to meets its goal of selling 1 million cars by 2020, battery costs will need to be cut in half. The lithium-ion batteries for the electric car maker's Model S sedan currently cost between $20,000 and $25,000 to make, which is considered to be the lowest cost of a battery of that size.
"At this point we don't believe that range is the thing slowing EV growth. It's cost," Straubel said, WSJ reported. "If we had twice the range, it would be more range than people needed. We are definitely on a road map to achieve half the cost."
Dahn will be tasked with providing batteries with more voltage in a way that won't damage their longevity, as well as bringing down the cost of materials. He said in a joint interview with Straubel that he was "very excited" about working with Tesla. What got him interested in the partnership was Tesla's work on its gigafactory in Nevada, which is expected to produce 50 gigawatt hours of battery packs per year.
"Once I heard of that I went to Tesla and wanted to know if they would be interested in sponsoring our work," Dahn said.
Tesla also plans to reduce battery costs with the help of in-house suppliers and by processing lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel, which is estimated to make up 60 percent of battery costs, WSJ reported.
"We are making steady progress on all that. Want to be cautious and take our time and make sure we have partners that have the right road map," Straubel said. "I am happy with where those internal discussions are at."
While financial terms of the partnership have yet to be revealed, Tesla said it will reward Dahn for his work by sponsoring his research efforts.
