According to Chinese official media on Thursday, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has started building a factory in Shanghai to produce its Megapack energy storage batteries.
The first Tesla battery production outside of the US will be the USD 200 million facility in Shanghai’s Lingang pilot free trade zone.
2019 saw the opening of an EV assembly factory by Tesla in Shanghai, which produces vehicles for the European, Asian, and other markets. In the rapidly expanding Chinese electric car market, it is the second-best seller. The market leader is BYD, a Chinese automaker.
According to the article, the factory was supposed to begin mass production in early 2025, with a 10,000 Megapack annual capacity at first.
Each Megapack has the capacity to store more than 3.9 megawatt hours of energy, which is equivalent to the electricity of 3,600 houses on average for an hour, according to Tesla’s website. Their primary purpose is to serve utility corporations and business establishments.
With the rise in solar and wind energy, which can only produce electricity when the weather is right, these storage units have become more and more crucial. They store electricity for usage by homes and businesses later on.
China is a significant market for energy storage since it leads the globe in the installation of solar and wind power capacity.