Tesla Files Patent for New Battery Chemistry

Tesla Motors has long been focused on creating cheaper and longer-lasting batteries. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, previously announced that the company is working on a new vehicle battery that lasts 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) over the lifespan of the battery.

In the months following Musk’s announcement, battery researchers at the Jeff Dahn Research Group at Dalhousie University published a paper describing a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery that “should be able to power an electric vehicle for over 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles)”.

As reported by Wired, shortly after the paper was published, Tesla Motors Canada ULC filed a patent application that describes a Li-ion battery similar to the battery described in the paper. Jeff Dahn is listed as an inventor.

It remains to be seen whether this new Li-ion battery technology will enable the Tesla fleet to last 1 million miles.

Authors: Jaclyn Tilak and Megan Brooks