Tesla established its advanced battery research group in Canada in partnership with Dalhousie University in 2016, and six years later, they're releasing some of their findings.

Dalhousie's Jeff Dahn, has been working with lithium-ion battery cells since shortly after their invention and is credited for his work in increasing battery cell life cycle to the extent that it led to their commercialization. He's currently working at the university's battery lab in conjunction with Tesla's research group.

What is Tesla’s new battery tech?

Several members of the group were named as authors on a new research paper published in the

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

that describes a nickel-based battery that could be an alternative to lithium iron phosphate batteries, having more longevity while keeping the higher energy density of nickel-based cells.

In short, it's a battery that lasts longer and stores more energy, which in practice would give electric vehicles more driving range with fewer batteries needed.

The research group showed that the new nickel-based battery cell could retain much of their capacity over numerous cycles—and possibly up to 100 years if under controlled temperature at 25C.

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What would that mean for the automotive industry?

As mentioned above, it would likely mean lighter vehicles with longer ranges and better battery life. Lightening the cells while improving their efficiency is something that's on just about every electric vehicle maker's wishlist when it comes to ease their customers' range anxiety while driving down costs of their vehicles.

Could a 100-year battery happen?

Tesla seems to think it could; the automaker just extended its contract with the research group at Dalhousie University through 2026, which indicates an interest in continuing their work. If the company didn't see this going anywhere, it likely wouldn't make business sense for Tesla to continue throwing money at something that would net minimal gains.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has long had ambitions for batteries that last longer and hold more energy; at Tesla's "Battery Day" in 2020, Musk told investors that a million-mile battery was a possibility—but not for another decade, at least.

In this case, a million mile battery wouldn't be one with a million miles of range, but could be used over and over again. Theoretically, a vehicle owner could take their battery with them to be installed in their next vehicle, meaning batteries would stay with their original owners for their functional life cycle.

But the tech that would enable these batteries is pretty far off. Nissan, for example, projects that their Leaf has a battery life of more than 20 years, but that's a long wait to see if that pans out.

Tesla is going all-in on new battery technology and is not only developing and manufacturing its own batteries but has also hinted at inching its way further up the

supply chain

to secure the minerals required for battery production.

At this rate and with a 100-year battery being within the realm of scientific possibility, it wouldn't be surprising if the first company to bring an electric car to mainstream mass production somehow found a way to make it happen.

MORE:

Tesla Saw Record Profits So Far in 2022 but Continues To Raise Prices

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