Tesla to produce its own batteries

US-based Tesla appears to be gearing up to produce its own EV batteries. South Korean battery equipment maker Daebo Magnetic will most likely be filling the orders for the electro magnetic filters (EMF) needed for production.

Industry sources told The Elec on Oct. 21 that Daebo seems ready to sign a contract for the order. The filters may be entering the Tesla Gigafactory – the carmaker’s lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle subassembly factory near Reno, Nevada, by the end of this year.

This is the first time that a battery equipment maker’s name was revealed in connection with the US EV carmaker.

Daebo is expected to produce wet-type EMF filters, which are used to eliminate foreign substances ahead of the battery assembly process. Daebo is known globally as the only supplier capable of such technology.

Adding to speculation that Tesla is indeed going to be making its own batteries, it was reported recently that the company has acquired a battery manufacturing and engineering company based in Canada called Hibar Systems.

The primary supplier of batteries for Tesla so far had been Japan’s Panasonic, which set up a joint battery manufacturing company with Toyota in January this year. Tesla has also been supplied by LG Chem from South Korea.

Making its own batteries indicate that Tesla is moving to end the contract with Panasonic, according to those close to the matter. Industry leader Volkswagen Group is also looking to breed its own battery making technology to improve its bottom line; batteries take up 30% of EV costs. So far, most carmakers are being supplied by battery makers in South Korea, Japan and China.

Daebo Magnetic was listed on the Korean stock market in November last year. Its revenues for the year was 20.6 billion won, with an operating profit of 4.2 billion won.

The Elec is South Korea's No.1 tech news platform.