Conservative media keep questioning the economics of the Powerwall battery, but Tesla has confirmed nearly 38,000 pre-orders, showing much stronger interest than originally expected. Now, Daimler is joining the home energy alternatives with a new series of Mercedes-Benz batteries in Germany.
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk could barely contain his joy when he announced that his new Powerwall battery already had around 38,000 pre-orders (an average of 1.5 batteries per order), plus 2,500 more (10 batteries per order in this case) of the business-oriented Powerpack model. Of course, such volume will make the wait longer, a detail Musk had to admit almost immediately. In other words, the Powerwall is sold out until mid-2016, and according to Musk himself, the number of batteries the company must build would "easily" exceed the maximum capacity of the Gigafactory 1 being built in Nevada. Bloomberg calculated the total value of the orders at $800 million, and with those numbers, it's no surprise that other companies want to jump on the bandwagon. The new player in the field is none other than Daimler, which announced a new series of Mercedes-Benz batteries for homes and companies.
The home model has a capacity of 2.5 kWh, with an operating voltage range between 36 and 54.6 volts, and support for 4,000 charge and discharge cycles. It uses lithium-ion technology, and if we trust the official specs, it can be fully discharged without issues. Another interesting detail: up to eight of these modules can be connected at once, raising total capacity to 20 kWh. Each module weighs 28 kilograms, and users can mount it on a wall or leave it on the floor. The business version raises capacity to 1,190 kWh, with an expected service life of ten years. In both cases, Mercedes-Benz offers a 24-month warranty, with several extension options.
Now, where will these batteries come from? If memory serves, Daimler has two factories through its subsidiary Accumotive, and there's an agreement with LG to expand capacity even further. Unfortunately, battery prices haven't been published, but based on capacity, I imagine they shouldn't be more expensive than Tesla's batteries. Personally, I welcome the competition. Increasing production is a sure way to lower costs, something we all want deep down.
