Tesla is planning to expand manufacturing capacity at its Freemont, California, facility to develop more ‘effective’ lithium-ion batteries and more efficient manufacturing technology.
Plans given to Freemont government back-up rumours of the US firm’s Roadrunner project that will support manufacturing, R&D operations— including cathode making— and the final step in cell manufacturing.
Tesla has previously installed a small-scale battery manufacturing facility at the site, but full-scale operations haven’t happened since 2017 when Solarcity used the plant.
Details of the project were laid out in a report titled ‘Tesla 47700 Kato Road and 1055 Page Avenue Improvements Project’.
To accommodate new battery manufacturing equipment and R&D space for the Roadrunner project Tesla proposes to construct an additional floor area of around 21,485 square feet on the second floor and to add an additional third floor of around 8,260 square-feet.