Samsung trial production of 4080 cylindrical batteries Tesla will use?

A few days ago, some media reported that Samsung SDI has begun to trial production of 4080 cylindrical batteries, which have a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 80 mm. Samsung plans to get orders for such batteries from the biggest players in the market, including Tesla and Lucid Electric.

It is reported that the Samsung 4080 battery has entered the final confirmation stage of specifications and will soon be put into mass production at overseas factories in Malaysia and Hungary. This battery is not inferior to Tesla's Model 4680 battery in performance, with significantly improved energy density and easier production.

Last February, Samsung SDI and Lucid signed a supply agreement, but this agreement is for the 21700 type of battery, which is also the type of battery that Samsung currently mainly produces. It is expected that due to the successful development and mass production of batteries such as the 4080, in the future the company will be able to compete with Panasonic in the production of the 4680 battery, which will be used in Tesla electric vehicles.

Tesla has previously said that compared with the current battery, the energy density of the 4680 battery has increased by 5 times, the endurance of the car has increased by 16%, and the power has increased by 6 times, but the current commercial time of the 4680 battery has been postponed to 2023.

Samsung ranks sixth in the world

According to the current data from January to November 2021, Samsung SDI ranks sixth in the world, with a total installed capacity of 7GWh and a market share of 4.5%. The total installed capacity of LG, a Korean battery company, is 27.1GWh, with a market share of 20.5%. Chinese battery giant CATL has maintained its dominance in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market.

From the domestic data point of view, from January to December 2021, the top ten domestic power battery companies in terms of installed capacity are Ningde Times, BYD, China Innovation Aviation (formerly AVIC Lithium Battery), Guoxuan Hi-Tech, LG New Energy, Hive Energy, Tafil New Energy, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Fu Energy Technology, and Sunwoda.

Specifically, CATL ranked first with a loading volume of 14.58GWh, accounting for 55.6% of the total installed vehicles in December. In 2021, the annual power battery loading volume of the Ningde era is 80.51GWh, accounting for 52.1% of the market; it alone carries half of the domestic power battery.

As can be seen from the data ranking, the main market of Samsung SDI is not in China, and the business is mainly concentrated in Europe, so it seems that Samsung ranks sixth in the world or cannot be ignored.

If you look at Tesla's current sales expectations, once it becomes a supplier of Tesla, then its overall installed capacity will also jump again.