Tesla Model 3 for China on NCM elements instead of (near?) NCA [unofficial]

Korean portal The Elec has announced that LG Chem will be the supplier of Tesla Model 3 cells sold in China. The company reportedly convinced Tesla to switch from its previously used NCA (Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum) cells to NCM 811 (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese | 8: 1: 1) cells.

According to Elec's website, the US manufacturer will use the latest NCM 811 lithium-ion cells and will thus get “better ranges on a single charge” (!). At the same time, LG Chem speculated that it would be able to produce NCMA (Nickel-Cadmium-Manganese-Aluminum) cells and that they could start switching to electric vehicles in 2022 (source).

As a side note: it is worth paying attention to the time lag between the announcement of production capacity and the use of this type of element in a production car.

> Tesla's lab boasts cells that can withstand millions of kilometers [Electrek]

So far, Tesla has used NCA cells in cars and NCM (various types) for energy storage. If the Californian manufacturer were really convinced by LG Chem - which sounds pretty amazing in itself, but it's possible - we'd be dealing with the worldwide dominance of the NCM type in electric vehicles. The information about cells with a mixed composition of the NCMA is also interesting.

South Korean company LG Chem manufactures its cells in Nanjing, China and supplies them to Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.

> Bloomberg: Tesla in China will use Panasonic and LG Chem cells

Editor's note www.elektrowoz.pl: in the literature, the terms NCM and NMC are used interchangeably. In such situations, it is worth paying attention to the proportions of the individual ingredients.

Opening photo: sample of a production line with cylindrical cells (c) Harmotronics / YouTube

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