The Minerals Manhattan Podcast
The Manhattan Project helped the US defeat the Nazis. Project Apollo put a person on the moon and hastened the defeat of the Soviet Union. Western supply chains are more vulnerable to China every day. It raises the question: Does the US want to stay a Superpower? Welcome to the Minerals Manhattan Podcast.
The Minerals Manhattan Podcast
Why does Tesla Battery Day Matter? ft. Sam Jaffe
Tesla has announced that Battery Day 2020 will happen September 22, and rumors of a "million mile battery" have dominated headlines.
But what exactly does a"million mile" battery mean? The Minerals Manhattan Project catches up with Sam Jaffe, Managing Partner of Cairn ERA to understand what Tesla's announcements mean for the battery industry.
Tesla's announcements matter for the entire battery ecosystem, who will be judged against where Tesla is.
Sam breaks down what $ per kwh means as a metric for battery costs, and why the magic US $100/kwh as a parity point with ICE vehicles is an oversimplification.
We discuss vertical integration vs. specialization, with Sam predicting that EV companies will not become fully integrated battery makers.
Sam shares what he sees as the most important technology developments within the battery (thicker electrodes), and what pack design is doing to improve energy density (cell-to-pack). We get into cathode chemistries and costs of raw materials, including the LFP vs high nickel debate.
If you want more Sam, you can follow him on twitter or check out his website:
@SamJaffe