Tesla plans LFP battery supply chain in Nevada gigafactory

Tesla is bringing its supply chain for lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) to the US, media reports suggest.

The electric vehicle maker is looking to expand its battery facility in Sparks, Nevada for the purpose, with plans to buy idle equipment to make batteries from Chinese battery maker CATL. Reports suggest the plant will have an initial capacity of about 10 gigawatt hours.

Tesla's move is seen as a response to US regulation that seeks to restrict dependence on China for battery raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium.

China houses the world's largest manufacturers of LFP batteries, including battery-to-EV behemoth BYD, the only EV company that can match Tesla for size, and CATL, the world's largest battery maker. Both supply batteries to Tesla.

Tesla's Nevada gigafactory has Panasonic as a partner. The Japanese electronics company invested in the production equipment used to manufacture battery cells ultimately supplied to Tesla.