Tesla Powerpack 2 Update: Double Energy Density Commercial Batteries

Tesla is holding its SolarCity/Powerwall launch on Friday, but late Thursday, the company announced updates to its commercial energy product — the Powerpack.

Tesla has been shipping its Powerpack 2 commercial energy system since September and now the company has a new energy module and power electronics for the product. The updated Powerpack 2 will provide double the energy of the earlier model and seamless integration into multiple levels of the power grid.

It will also supply a new inverter, designed and manufactured in-house at the company's Gigafactory, which Tesla claims is the lowest-cost, highest-efficiency and highest-energy density utility-scale inverter in the market. The system has been designed as an alternative to existing substations and plants. It will also provide utilities and grid operators with high fidelity control, which will help increase grid performance.

The company says the system will be deployed at Mira Loma substation in south California and at the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaii, and projects for the facilities are already underway at the Gigafactory. When deployed, these would be the two largest lithium-ion battery storage installations in the world.