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Battery expert Jeff Dahn inside the frunk of a red Model S Battery expert Jeff Dahn inside the frunk of a red Model S

Energy

Tesla donates $3.1M of $6M grant to Jeff Dahn’s Dalhousie University battery team

Battery expert Jeff Dahn inside the frunk of a red Model S [Source: dal.ca]

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A team of battery researchers at Canada’s Dalhousie University are the recipients of a $6 million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The NSERC will give the team, headed by Dr. Jeff Dahn, $2.9 million in funding. Tesla, who has worked very closely with Dahn’s team, will also contribute an additional $3.1 million to help develop advanced batteries from electric cars and grid energy storage.

Dahn and Tesla have worked together since 2016 when the two signed a five-year partnership to improve energy density and the life cycle of lithium-ion batteries. Tesla and Dahn signed another five-year contract earlier this year. Dahn has worked with batteries for around 40 years and has published over 700 papers related to battery technology.

Dahn has even been listed as an author on several Tesla battery patents, including one for an electrolyte solution that could be added to lithium-ion cells to extend longevity and increase performance.

Tesla renews contract with Jeff Dahn’s battery team at Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University expanded its team in January upon the five-year extension with Tesla. The institution added Dr. Chongyin Yang as the Tesla Canada Chair and Dr. Michael Metzger as the Herzberg-Dahn Chair to supplement Dahn’s experience and ensure that Dalhousie remains a global force in battery tech advancements.

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The $6 million in funding will be used for several new projects that include:

  • Lowering the costs of batteries for electric vehicles and electrical energy storage applications
  • Increasing the lifetime of batteries for electric vehicles and electrical energy storage applications
  • Increasing the energy density of batteries for electric vehicles and electrical energy storage applications
  • Maintaining and improving the safety of batteries for electric vehicles and electrical energy storage applications
  • Increasing the content of sustainable materials in the batteries

If Dahn’s team of researchers at Dalhousie University can achieve these goals, it would not only revolutionize EV and energy storage batteries but would also make renewable energy and Earth-friendly transportation more accessible and affordable.

Dahn spoke highly of the funding and was very appreciative of the grant that will catalyze the opportunity for more battery research. “I am very grateful for this funding from NSERC and Tesla,” Dahn said. “This will allow Chongyin, Michael, and me to solve many remaining puzzles that will help improve battery lifetime and lower cost.  The students trained in this program are finding, and will continue to find, immediate employment in the advanced battery sector locally and around the world.  Tesla is a wonderful partner and a world leader in electric vehicle, solar, and electrical energy storage products.  We share their commitment to help combat climate change through electrified transportation and renewable energy generation and storage.”

Tesla and Dahn are contractually tied until 2026.

“With a distinguished career in innovative thinking, fundamental science, and strong industry partnerships, Dr. Jeff Dahn exemplifies research excellence,” Dr. Alice Aiken, Vice President of Research and Innovation at Dalhousie, said. “And we are incredibly fortunate to have two world-class scientists like Dr. Chongyin Yang and Dr. Michael Metzger join Dalhousie University and the exclusive partnership with Tesla.”

Tesla also showed its excitement for the Dalhousie team. “We are thrilled for our work with Dalhousie, Dr. Jeff Dahn, Dr. Chongyin Yang and Dr. Michael Metzger,” Tesla said in a statement. “We are excited and look forward to their important contributions in battery technology to help achieve our mission.”

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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Energy

Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure

Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.

Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.

Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage

It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.

LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.

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The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.

For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.

During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”

It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.

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Energy

Tesla Shanghai Megafactory produces 1,000th Megapack for export to Europe

The Shanghai Megafactory was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the Megapack. 

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla Energy has announced a fresh milestone for its newest Megapack factory. As per the electric vehicle maker, the Shanghai Megafactory has successfully produced its 1,000th Megapack battery. 

The facility was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the grid-scale battery system. 

New Tesla Megapack Milestone

As per Tesla Asia in a post on its official accounts on social media platform X, the 1,000th Megapack unit that was produced at the Shanghai Megafactory would be exported to Europe. As noted in a CNEV Post report, Tesla’s energy products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions globally. This allows Tesla Energy to compete in energy markets that are both emerging and mature.

To commemorate the 1,000th Megapack produced at the Shanghai Megafactory, the Tesla China team posted with the grid-scale battery with celebratory balloons that spelled “Megapack 1000.” The milestone was celebrated by Tesla enthusiasts on social media, especially since the Shanghai Megafactory only started its operations earlier this year.

Quick Megafactory Ramp

The Shanghai Megafactory, similar to Tesla’s other key facilities in China, was constructed quickly. The facility started its construction on May 23, 2024, and it was hailed as Tesla’s first entry storage project outside the United States. Less than a year later, on February 11, 2025, the Shanghai Megafactory officially started producing Megapack batteries. And by March 21, 2025, Tesla China noted that it had shipped the first batch of Megapack batteries from the Shanghai plant to foreign markets.

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While the Shanghai Megafactory is still not at the same level of output as Tesla’s Lathrop Megafactory, which produces about 10,000 Megapacks per year, its ramp seems to be quite steady and quick. It would then not be surprising if Tesla China announces the Shanghai Megafactory’s 2,000th Megapack milestone in the coming months.

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Energy

Tesla launches first Virtual Power Plant in UK – get paid to use solar

Tesla has launched its first-ever Virtual Power Plant program in the United Kingdom.

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Credit: Tesla Energy | X

Tesla has launched its first-ever Virtual Power Plant program in the United Kingdom. This feature enables users of solar panels and energy storage systems to sell their excess energy back to the grid.

Tesla is utilizing Octopus Energy, a British renewable energy company that operates in multiple markets, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, as the provider for the VPP launch in the region.

The company states that those who enroll in the program can earn up to £300 per month.

Tesla has operated several VPP programs worldwide, most notably in California, Texas, Connecticut, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. This is not the first time Tesla has operated a VPP outside the United States, as there are programs in Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

This is its first in the UK:

Tesla is not the only company that is working with Octopus Energy in the UK for the VPP, as it joins SolarEdge, GivEnergy, and Enphase as other companies that utilize the Octopus platform for their project operations.

It has been six years since Tesla launched its first VPP, as it started its first in Australia back in 2019. In 2024, Tesla paid out over $10 million to those participating in the program.

Tesla VPP program in California hits new capacity milestone

Participating in the VPP program that Tesla offers not only provides enrolled individuals with the opportunity to earn money, but it also contributes to grid stabilization by supporting local energy grids.

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