Images Show Work On Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory Battery Plant Might Have Started

According to images shared by Jurgen, who goes by the handle @GF4Tesla on Twitter, Tesla has begun earthwork on a large swath of land adjacent to the current Giga Berlin structures. The image comes from a screenshot Jurgen took from a drone flyover he did on February 26.
Jurgen has been flying drones over Giga Berlin since the inception of the project.

The area being prepped for construction is located in the southeast of the Giga Berlin compound and is considerable in size. According to Jurgen, the plot of land currently undergoing earthwork spans 22,000 square meters (236,000 square feet). As of writing, Tesla hasn’t officially shared what the company’s plans for the site is however, there are few things that point to this being the location for Giga Berlin’s battery plant.

#GigaBerlin Earthworks in the southeast part of the GigaBerlin for a large storage hall, about 22,000 ²m, have begun. Screenshots from my flyover from Feb. 26/ 2021. pic.twitter.com/ONcyuqZ1qI— @GF4Tesla build #GigaBerlin. (@Gf4Tesla) February 27, 2021

One, Tesla is planning to begin vehicle manufacturing at Giga Berlin in the middle of 2021. However, we haven’t yet seen any work on the battery plant that will supply the factory. Two, back in January, Tesla got permission to begin earthwork for the battery plant from Germany’s Economy Minister. Third, Tesla has already gotten a 1 billion Euro subsidy from the EU to aid in the construction of the battery plant at Giga Berlin.

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As part of Giga Berlin, Tesla plans to build the biggest battery production facility in the world. Even in the initial phase of the project, Tesla plans to build a capacity of 100 GWh of battery cell production per year. This will be more than twice as big as the current production capacity of the largest battery cell manufacturing facility in the world - Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory.

According to Elon Musk, the final battery production capacity for Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory might even be as much as 250 GWh per year. If Tesla indeed reaches this capacity, it should be enough to power more than a million vehicles per year.

Unlike Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, the EV maker plans to produce the newest 4680 cells in the Berlin plant. These cells as compared with Tesla’s 2170 batteries have considerably higher energy density and cost significantly less to produce.

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Initially, Tesla plans to put the new battery cells made in the Berlin gigafactory in the Model Y. And according to Tesla, the first Model Y is expected to roll off the assembly line in the second half of 2021.

The Berlin-made Model Y is expected to be a significant improvement to the current version. In addition to having the new 4680 cells, the vehicle is also expected to have other breakthroughs such as a structural battery, a new type of paint system, and range that could be over 470 miles per charge.

So what do you think? Is the extensive earthwork being done at Giga Berlin in preparation for what will be the world’s largest battery plant? Or do you think Tesla has other plans for the piece of land? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

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Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.