New Tabless Battery Patents Get Better Visualizations

Tesla has published the “Tabless energy storage devices and methods of manufacturing thereof” patent, which covers their new tabless cell design that was unveiled in September 2021.

There has been quite a bit of talk about the new design and how efficient it is, but with the official publishing of the patent, we finally get very detailed visuals and descriptions of how it works.

The figures posted with the patent show the major difference between the designs of the previous tabbed cells and the new tabless ones. We’re shown how the “flags” are rolled, then levered together to form the contacts instead of running them along tabs to the positive and negative terminals of the cell can.

The new visuals go a long way to show exactly why these batteries are more efficient in terms of cost and power transmission. We’re able to see visually how the flags on a tabless battery are interlocked like shingles as they’re rolled around the cathode and anode, making for less distance for electrons to travel than the longer tabs from previous, jelly-rolled battery designs.

Again, while the tabless design isn’t new information, the publication of the patent lets us see those extra details, and the real reason Tesla is so confident it can produce EVs with cells that go further for less.