Manufacturing cost comparison of tabless vs. standard electrodes for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries

The introduction of the tabless electrode design for lithium-ion battery cells by Tesla in 2020 and its successful industrialisation for the 2022 Model Y marked a significant breakthrough in the realm of cylindrical cell designs for batteries. This innovative approach allowed for larger cell designs while maintaining optimal thermal performance through active cooling on the system level. While prior research has focused on the advantages of this tabless design in terms of thermal management, this work explores a distinct benefit during the electrode manufacturing process. Traditionally, cylindrical battery cells utilize an electrode coating method that leaves gaps on the electrode surface to accommodate tab welding. Consequently, the coating machine operates in an intermittent coating mode, leading to a substantial reduction in achievable coating speed. In contrast, the tabless electrode design enables the continuous deposition of the active material by the coating machine. This advancement results in a remarkable increase in the coating speed, exceeding 60 %, which more than compensates for the additional costs associated with laser cutting the edge of the tabless electrode. This paper demonstrates how the adoption of tabless electrodes in the manufacturing process leads to a considerable cost reduction, from 2.029 to 1.698 €/kWh, while maintaining all other factors constant. Although this cost reduction may appear modest concerning the total cell costs, the cumulative savings at the giga-factory scale become significant, making this advancement economically viable and impactful.