Photo/Pudong Fabu

The official WeChat account of the Shanghai Lingang Area Management Committee announced on May 13th that the construction permit for Tesla’s Shanghai energy storage gigafactory has been issued.

This marks Tesla’s first energy storage gigafactory outside the United States, which is located near Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory.

According to Xinhua News the Tesla Shanghai energy storage gigafactory project has utilized the new “Project Service Package”, which provides a mature mechanism for "instant" responses, saving the need to separately approach different departments when problems arise.

As planned, the Tesla Shanghai energy storage gigafactory is expected to begin mass production in the first quarter of 2025. Initially, the factory aims to produce 10,000 commercial energy storage batteries annually, with an energy storage capacity of nearly 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Each commercial energy storage battery can store over 3 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy, suitable for various applications such as renewable energy systems and peak demand management.

Data from the High-Tech Industry Research Institute (GGII) shows that in 2022, China’s energy storage lithium battery shipments amounted to 130 GWh. This means that the production capacity of Tesla’s gigafactory is equivalent to one-third of China’s energy storage lithium battery shipments for that year.

The Tesla energy storage gigafactory is not only a significant optimization of the company’s global production layout but will also contribute to the development of Shanghai’s new energy storage industry and its green, low-carbon transformation. The project covers an area of approximately 200,000 square meters, with a total investment of about 1.45 billion yuan.

The Shanghai Lingang Area Management Committee’s official WeChat account indicates that Tesla’s Shanghai energy storage gigafactory will subsequently produce large-scale commercial energy storage batteries (Megapacks), which will help grid operators and utility companies store and distribute renewable energy more efficiently. Over 200 Megapacks can form an energy storage power plant, capable of storing 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.