Overview

• Panasonic outlined an anode-free design that forms a lithium metal anode on first charge, freeing space for more active cathode material within the same cell volume.
• At current pack size, Panasonic estimates the gain could add roughly 90 miles (about 145 km) of range to a Tesla Model Y.
• The approach could alternatively enable smaller, lighter battery packs that maintain today’s range and may be cheaper to produce.
• Panasonic said it aims to reduce the proportion of nickel in the chemistry to curb reliance on a relatively costly input.
• The company declined to share production cost details or a commercialization timeline, and noted similar lithium-metal efforts are underway across the industry.