Tesla may have paid $ 3 to buy patents to make cleaner EV batteries

When Tesla held his Introducing Drums Day Last September, the company detailed various manufacturing changes that could cut the cost of manufacturing EV batteries in half over the next two years. As an example, Drew Baglino, senior vice president of Tesla’s powertrain and energy engineering, said the company could cut cathode production costs by more than 75% by reusing the water needed. in the manufacture of the component. Months later, we now have a better idea of ​​how Tesla was able to obtain the technology for these production techniques.

Public records Found by TechCrunch show that a small Canadian start-up called Spingpower International has sold several patent applications to Tesla. The automaker bought them just over two weeks before battery day. Like the manufacturing process that Baglino talked about last year, one of them describes a process for recirculating chemical solutions used by factories to manufacture cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. Additional evidence found by TechCrunch suggests that Tesla may have bought the startup, not just its patents. On Linkedin, many Springpower employees, some of whom appearing on the company’s patent applications, say they now work for the automaker. Tesla, however, did not announced recent acquisitions – and the company does not have a public relations department.

Whether Tesla owns Spingpower or not, no matter how much money is invested in the business, the money is likely to be well spent. On Battery Day, Elon Musk said the developments detailed by the company could allow it to start selling a $ 25,000 electric car within three years. It also appears that Tesla got them cheaply, along with one of the documents. TechCrunch found showing that the automaker paid $ 3 to purchase Spingpower’s patent applications. Keep in mind that Tesla may have paid a lot more to acquire the startup, with companies like Ford. invest millions to build battery development facilities.