Panasonic Aims to Launch “Anode-Free” EV Battery by 2027

Reuters recently reported that Panasonic is developing a new high-capacity automotive battery and intends to commercialise an “anode-free” design within about two years. If successful, the technology could add roughly 145 km of driving range to the Tesla Model Y without enlarging the pack.

 

According to Reuters, Panasonic Energy—the Group’s battery subsidiary—is working to eliminate the conventional anode during manufacturing. Instead, a lithium-metal anode is formed in-situ when the cell is first charged, freeing up space for more active cathode materials (nickel, cobalt, aluminium) and raising capacity within the same volume.

 

Last Thursday, ahead of a briefing by Panasonic Energy CTO Shoichiro Watanabe, an executive told media that the technology should deliver “world-leading” energy density by the end of 2027. A 25 % capacity gain is targeted, which would extend the range of Tesla’s entry-level SUV, the Model Y, by about 90 miles (≈145 km) while keeping the current pack size. Alternatively, the same tech could yield a lighter, potentially cheaper battery that maintains today’s range in a smaller package.

 

“Anode-free” does not mean the cell has no negative electrode; rather, the active anode layer is absent when the cell is assembled. Because these cells skip traditional anode production lines and graphite-processing equipment—using copper foil or lithium metal directly—manufacturing complexity and cost can be reduced.

 

The new design will also lower the proportion of relatively expensive nickel. Panasonic says it is simultaneously pursuing efficiency gains and material savings, but declined to detail projected manufacturing costs.

 

Several global cell makers, including CATL, are developing similar anode-free concepts, yet Panasonic is among the first to publish a commercial timeline. U.S.-based Our Next Energy demonstrated a large-format 240 Ah anode-free prismatic cell with 1,007 Wh L⁻¹ in 2022, but does not plan to deploy it until 2026 in a “dual-chemistry” architecture.

 

As Tesla’s long-term supplier, Panasonic views the technology as a key route to higher energy density within standard pack footprints. Separately, the company will raise the volumetric energy density of its existing lithium-ion EV cells by more than 12 % before FY2025 and by 25 % cumulatively by FY2027, betting on high capacity and proven safety to counter Chinese rivals’ low-cost, fast-charging offerings.