TeslaCellCapacity2170's 16.75Wh,18650's 12.1Wh + no pack htr

Tesla Model 3: Exclusive first look at Tesla’s new battery pack architecture

We already know about the new battery cell format, which is arguably the main change. The cells in Model 3 are a different size than in Model S and Model X, which have cells known as “18650” (18mm in diameter and 65mm long), while Model 3 has larger cells called “2170” (21mm in diameter and 70mm long)”.

The bigger cells enabled Tesla to optimize volumetric energy density. Now Electrek obtained more details on the battery pack architecture built around those new cells.

The standard 50 kWh Model 3 battery pack is made of 2,976 of those cells in groups of 31 cells per “brick”. The bricks go into 4 separate modules (2 modules of 23 bricks and 2 modules of 25 bricks).

That pack is going into production later this year. Currently, Tesla is producing a 74 kWh ‘long range’ battery pack, which consists of 4416 cells in groups of 46 cells per brick and the same brick distribution in the 4 modules.

Click to expand...

Tesla’s new 100 kWh pack which use 18650's, which is the top-of-the-line for Model S and Model X, has 16 modules with 516 cells for a total of 8,256 cells per pack. You can learn more about the Model S and Model X pack architecture here:
Teardown of new 100 kWh Tesla battery pack reveals new cooling system and 102 kWh capacity.

Click to expand...

The automaker also incorporated some other ingenious designs to save weight and cost.

For example, it got rid of the external battery pack heater and instead, it heats the pack only using heat provided by the powertrain even when the car is parked.

Battery cells need to operate at a temperate core temperature in order to keep their optimal performance, which means that they need to be cooled in warm conditions and heated in cold weather.

Waste heat from the powertrain can be used when the car is moving, but Tesla designed a thermal controller for Model 3 that can also use heat from the powertrain even when the vehicle is parked, like at a Supercharger for example, which is important since the charge rate drops if the battery pack is too cold.

Even when parked, Tesla’s software can send a request to the powertrain inverter to start powering up and pass the appropriate currents to the motor in order to produce enough heat to warm the cells – all while not producing any torque so the Model 3 doesn’t move.

Tesla apparently judged the system efficient enough to not include an external battery pack heater in the Model 3 and replaced it virtually entirely through software.

Click to expand...

MitchJi said:

50kWh / 2,976 = 16.801 Ah
74kWh / 4,416 = 16.757 Ah

Click to expand...

madin88 said:

MitchJi said:

50kWh / 2,976 = 16.801 Ah
74kWh / 4,416 = 16.757 Ah

Click to expand...

it should be Wh / cell

16,8Wh / 3,6V = 4,66Ah per cell

Click to expand...