Electric car company Tesla has invested $1 million in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, kicking off a five-year partnership that will focus on battery manufacturing research.
Some commentators have said the investment is a fulfillment by Tesla of the condition that it would invest in educational research in Nevada if permitted to build its ‘Gigafactory’ there.
The spend is hardly a big deal to the company, which won nearly $1.3 billion in tax incentives in a bid by lawmakers to attract it to the state in the first place.
The research will focus on two main projects already in progress: how to improve the manufacturing process in the factory, and how to improve the process of recycling metal for lithium-ion batteries.
The partnership was made official at a signing with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, the University’s Science and Engineering researchers and Tesla officials.
Tesla’s factory is said to be on schedule, and is expected to begin producing cells in early 2016.
