Tesla manages to squeeze a lot more energy in a single Megapack

Tesla has updated the Megapack and managed to squeeze a lot more energy in a single battery system for large-scale energy storage projects.

Back in 2019, Tesla launched the Megapack; it was Tesla’s third stationary energy storage product after the Powerwall and Powerpack.

A single Megapack unit is a container-sized “3 MWh battery system” with integrated modules, inverters, and thermal systems. With the bigger size and integrated power electronics, Tesla claims that the Megapack is 60% more energy-dense than its Powerpack. It also comes on-site, ready to install and can ship in containers.

When going into the configurator, Tesla was actually saying that the energy capacity is 2.6 MWh in a single Megapack.

New Tesla Megapack

Tesla has recently updated its Megapack configurator (hat tip to u/space_s3x) to now list 3.9 MWh capacity. That’s about 50% more energy capacity in a single Megapack, but the battery system is now 6-ft longer and 60% heavier at 83,996 lbs.

It would indicate that while the energy capacity has increased, the energy density of the Megapack went down.

2-hour duration

1. Power & Energy: 1,927 kW / 3,854 kWh per Megapack
2. Round Trip Efficiency: 92.0%

4-hour duration

1. Power & Energy: 970 kW / 3,878 kWh per Megapack
2. Round Trip Efficiency: 93.5%

Specifications

1. Interconnection: 480V AC 3 phase
2. Dimensions: W 359 in, D 65 in, H 110
3. Weight: 83,996 lbs max
4. Ratings and Certifications: IP66, UL 1973 / 9540 / 9540A / 1741

Tesla Battery Pack price

Earlier this year, Tesla updated Megapack pricing., which changes depending on how many Megapacks you order, but for a single-pack project, Tesla was charging $1,537,910.

Now with the updated bigger Megapack, Tesla has increased the price to $2,414,070 for a project with a single Megapack.

On a per kWh basis, Tesla went from $591 to $622 with the bigger Megapack that has more energy capacity.

The price goes down considerably for a bigger project. For example, a 10-Megapack project costs $19,235,700. With 38.5 MWh of capacity, the price per kWh goes down to $500.

The price goes down to $475 per kWh for even larger 100+ Megapack projects, which are actually becoming quite common.

Electrek’s Take

If you allow me to speculate for a second, I think what we have here is Tesla using LFP cells in the Megapack – the fact that the energy density went down is a good indicator.

Also a good indicator is the fact that Tesla recently managed to significantly increase Megapack production to 42 per week at Gigafactory Nevada on top of ramping up Megafactory, where it plans to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks per week.

Tesla recently confirmed that it has all the battery cells it needs for both its energy business and its electric vehicles for the first time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Tesla has managed to secure LFP cells for its energy storage devices, including Megapacks.

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