Tesla Inks Deal with Leading Battery Researcher

Jeff Dahn, a professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, has signed a five-year agreement with Tesla Motors Inc. to help the company develop next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

The project, which will include Dahn's 25-person research team, aims to reduce costs by increasing the energy density and recharging cycles of lithium-ion batteries.

Considered a top lithium-ion expert, Dahn's industrial research chair in materials for advanced batteries has been funded since 1996 by 3M and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The new exclusive collaboration with Tesla will start in June 2016 when the 3M-sponsored research ends.

Dahn first met with Tesla executives a year ago after learning about plans for the company's $5 billion battery plant near Reno, Nev. Due to launch next year, the facility eventually will have capacity to produce 50 gigawatt-hours of battery packs a year. Tesla expects volume production and process improvements at the facility to yield a 30% or more reduction in a battery's kWh costs by the end of 2017.

Dahn and his team will focus on improving energy density and battery life, both of which would help drive down costs. The challenge: conventional density-boosting methods, such as increasing voltage, typically reduce a battery's life.

The researchers will evaluate new materials for lithium-ion cells. But they have no plans to work on other emerging chemistries, such as lithium-air or lithium-sulfur. In addition to in-vehicle applications, Tesla will use lithium-ion batteries for energy grid storage applications.