Gary Zhou 
It seems that battery makers are hoping that Tesla will choose them to produce its 4680 tabless battery cells. The Korea Herald has reported that Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution have completed the development of samples of the 4680 battery cells. This is an effort to win Tesla’s heart, or at least win a few contracts from the leader of the global EV market.
An unnamed source that the article noted was a high-ranking industry official with knowledge of the matter who gave some exclusive details to The Korea Herald. “Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution have developed samples of cylindrical 4680 cells and are currently conducting various tests at their facilities to verify their structural integrity. Also, they have provided specifications of their 4680 cells to their vendors,” they said.
Other industry officials said there was room for Samsung SDI to join Tesla’s existing battery cell suppliers, a list that is made up of LG Energy Solution, Panasonic, and CATL. The latter doesn’t manufacture cylindrical battery cells. Currently, Samsung SDI is planning to build its first battery cell in the U.S.
Back in April, Samsung SDI announced that it and Hyundai Motor were co-developing cylindrical cells that were larger than 2170 but smaller than 4680 cells. These new cells are designed exclusively for Hyundai’s future hybrid EVs.
Earlier this year, Samsung SDI won an additional order to supply ESS batteries to Tesla and had already been doing so since Q4 2020. The size of the contract or value wasn’t disclosed, but during the summer of 2020, Tesla deployed ESS with a record capacity of 759 MWh, which was double from the spring of 2020. This made it at least the third time that Samsung SDI supplied its ESS batteries to Tesla. Previously, it supplied 18650 batteries to Tesla in 2015 and 21700 batteries in 2017. Industry insiders speculated that this time around, the batteries supplied to Tesla were 21700 batteries.
