There’s a New Contender to Replicate Tesla’s 4680 Battery

Save the date: Next week, BloombergNEF releases its much-anticipated annual outlook on electric vehicles, batteries, and the new mobility. To discuss it, join BNEF's Colin McKerracher and me for Live Chat With The Electric. McKerracher, BNEF's head of advanced transport, oversees the outlook, and you can ask your own questions of him. June 2 at 11 am ET. Register here. 

One of the main dramas in the current global electric vehicle race surrounds Tesla’s much-touted 4680, a large new battery meant to sharply cut the cost of its fleet, including the Model Y crossover and the coming Cybertruck and Semi. No one outside Tesla is sure how to make the 4680 at scale. But, with Tesla’s encouragement, others are rushing to try. 

The latest is Britishvolt, a U.K. state-backed EV startup, which on Wednesday acquired Germany’s EAS Batteries in a $38.5 million cash-and-stock deal explicitly described as an effort to develop a battery similar to the 4680.