tesla unveils powerwall battery for homes, powerpacks for businesses and cities - lithium ion rechargeable battery
Tesla has released a rechargeable lithium battery
Ion battery products can use the stored solar energy to power homes, businesses and communities on Thursday night.
Speaking at the Tesla plant near Los Angeles, CEO Elon Musk said the $3,500 home device, called Powerwall, could be installed on a garage wall or outside the house.
A larger product, called Powerpack, can store more energy for the enterprise.
Powerwall has a capacity of 10 KW, but can stack 9 in total, with a capacity of 90 KW.
Musk said that the capacity of the Powerpack is 100kWh, which can be "infinitely expanded" to power larger facilities and even the whole city.
In addition to storing solar energy, the battery can also draw energy from the grid when it is powered off.
Peak time when the rate is low and store it for later use.
Musk later revealed that during the event, Tesla's facilities were out of the grid and were using powerpack as energy.
"The whole night was powered by batteries," he said . "
"Not only that, the solar panels on the roof of the building charge the batteries.
"Musk first talked about the huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions and how carbon dioxide emissions will increase in the next few years.
"I think we should act collectively on this, not try to win the Darwin Award," he said . " He is referring to a simulated "award" for death or extinction due to extreme stupidity.
The answer, he said, is the sun.
"You don't need to do anything, it just works," Musk said . ".
"It comes out every day, generating the power of absurdity.
"The problem with solar energy is that when the sun does not shine, it stores energy for use, which requires a battery.
"The problem with the existing batteries is that they are terrible," he said . ".
"They are really terrible.
They are expensive.
They are unreliable.
They are smelly, ugly and bad in every way.
Tesla's goal for energy products is to change that.
They work with existing solar systems that can be integrated with existing energy networks and can even be used to get consumers completely out of the grid.
Musk said the larger Tesla power supply could be used in remote areas and in developing countries without transmission lines.
Musk has talked many times about changing the world with solar and battery, but added that he does not expect Tesla to do so alone.
Like other patents of the company, Tesla Energy patents will be open source, allowing others-
Even competitors-to use them.
Tesla is entering a promising market, but the competition will be fierce.
Samsung, the tech giant, has sold a solar storage device called ESS that can power homes or commercial spaces. Last year, a Swiss battery startup called Alevo raised $1 billion.