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@tslaqpodcast @amithbn @montanaskeptic1 @phoennix10 Years ago, cylindricals enjoyed a significant cost advantage due to the market pressures imposed by the laptop industry. For a start-up company like Tesla 15 years ago, they were the only viable option. But there challenges when your design uses thousands of cells.
2/ Some of the down sides: 1) Connecting each cell requires 4 welds in the battery pack. It would be hard to get 30,000-weld design approved in a DFM review. 2) There are too many cells to monitor them individually. They must be monitored in “matched cell” groups.
3/ 3) You are limited to certain cylindrical form factors. You must design your battery pack around the constraints of the cylindrical dimensions.
4/ Prismatic or pouch designs can be produced in any rectangular form factor. They can be much larger than cylindricals, requiring far fewer cells. For example, the I-Pace uses 432 pouch cells compared to 7,000 cells in a Tesla.
5/ It not only makes manufacturing more efficient, it makes cell monitoring much easier. Cost discrepancy is quickly becoming a non-factor as battery manufacturers tool up to address the emerging market.
