Tesla & EV Batteries Explained In This Exclusive, Expert Interview

Our good friend and colleague Sean Mitchell has made it abundantly clear as of late that he's laser-focused on Tesla batteries, EV batteries, and battery tech in general. This is because Tesla has shown a huge battery edge and many other players are starting to come to market with new electric vehicles. Needless to say, he secures an exclusive interview with a leading battery expert to glean an immense amount of details worth sharing.

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There is arguably nothing more integral to the advent of EVs than the battery tech itself. While those who follow electric cars religiously may have a solid grasp of the technology, specific details surrounding it, and its future, many people don't have much of a clue about batteries. This is not much different from the multitude of drivers out there who don't really understand or care to comprehend details surrounding ICE vehicles.

At any rate, we will make you aware up front that while Mitchell does a stellar job of keeping most of his video shares short, sweet, and void of unnecessary banter, this interview is a beast. We encourage you to set aside some time, get out the popcorn, and kick back for this one.

However, fortunately, Mitchell has taken the time to list each interview question/topic in the video description, which we've included below. So, if you have a limited amount of time, you can scroll through the video to focus in on those areas that interest you most.

Video Description Sean Mitchell (AllThingsEV.info) on YouTube:

How Tesla batteries work with Ravindra Kempaiah

Conversation outline:

3:18 How did you first become interested in batteries?

7:56 How did Li-ion become the defacto batteries for vehicles?

13:34 How do batteries go from raw material to battery cells?

20:00 How can energy density be improved?

25:52 What is the electrical process of a battery when it is used to drive a vehicle?

36:07 Where is the bottleneck for energy density?

43:05 What are the raw materials in an 18650 cell?

44:20 Is cobalt really needed?

51:28 How are cylindrical, prismatic, and pouch style battery cells different?

59:48 What does energy density look like in 5-8 year?

1:01:51 What is the process of manufacturing a battery cell?

1:05:06 How will Maxwell Technologies improve the battery cell production process for Tesla?

1:12:38 What is drying and coating?

1:13:39 What is calendaring?

1:14:48 What makes Maxwell’s Dry Battery Electrode so special?

1:21:30 How are Li-ion batteries recycled?

1:30:52 How do extreme temperatures and voltage impact battery longevity?