Tesla aims to make more Li-ion batteries per year than global production in 2013

Tesla has released details on its Gigafactory showing that by 2020 the factory should produce more lithium-ion batteries annually than all other battery manufacturers worldwide did in 2013. Tesla has amassed $1.8 billion for construction.

The purpose of the huge production is to accelerate the fall in the price of batteries. That goal is in turn related to the manufacturer’s aim to produce an electric car for a wide audience within three years. “By the end of the first year of mass production of that car, we expect the Gigafactory to have reduced the cost per kWh of our batteries by more than 30 percent,” Tesla said.

Tesla has received $1.8 billion from investors for the construction of the factory, which will be located in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada or Texas. The car manufacturer previously announced that it is a ‘green’ facility that will make extensive use of solar panels and recycling technology. Construction should start this year and the first equipment should be installed in 2016, after which production could start in 2017.