Tesla Motors recently became Tesla Energy and are in the process of constructing a huge Gigafactory in Storey County, Nevada. By 2017 it will begin producing batteries for their all-electric vehicles as well as their new Powerwall domestic battery packs, all designed for one purpose: global liberation from the fossil fuel industry.
According to Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, the 400,000 square metre factory was “born out of necessity”, after the company projected battery requirements for 500,000 vehicles alone in the year 2020. When running at full capacity, it is expected that the Gigafactory site will be producing more lithium ion batteries annually than were produced worldwide in 2013.
If that isn’t impressive enough, the entire roof of the structure will be covered in solar panels which, when combined with wind and geothermal energy, will produce all the energy required on site. By reducing waste, containing most of the production under one roof, and employing innovative manufacturing techniques, Tesla hope to reduce the cost of battery packs – and their sleek sports cars – by an estimated 30-70 percent.
So far so green; it still remains to make lithium ion battery technology in itself more environmentally sound. Although Tesla also promises 100 percent on-site recycling, as far as energy storage is concerned, this is still very much the beginning of the story. But it looks like not a bad start. I (gk)
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