Tesla boosts size and rating of Megapack battery module by 50 per cent

EV and battery storage giant Tesla has quietly increased the size of its Megapack battery modules by around 50%, indicating what many believe to be a long-awaited switch to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

The company has made no official announcement that it is increasing the size of its Megapack batteries, or the chemistry switch, but keen-eyed Tesla-watchers noticed this week that the order page for Tesla’s Megapack had updated figures.

This indicated a single Megapack was 50% more powerful than it was just two months ago, with energy storage capacity of 3.9MWh per single Megapack and a power rating of 1.9MW.

According to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the last capture for the Megapack’s order page indicated a single Megapack offered energy storage capacity of 2.5MWh and power of 1.3MW.

Tesla has been hinting that it would be making the switch from traditional lithium-ion battery packs to lithium iron phosphate for a while now, but it would seem that this latest update to the Megapack indicates that the change has now been made.

LFP battery packs are heavier than a lithium ion pack with the same energy density due to the fact that more LFP cells are needed to get the same storage capacities, so it makes sense that the increase in storage capacity and an increase in weight indicates the swap to LFP.

Tesla Megapacks have been installed at Australian battery installations, including the biggest in the country – the 300MW/450MWh Victoria Big Battery, and at the Wallgrove battery in NSW and soon at the Bouldercombe battery in Queensland now under construction.

Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.

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