Tesla has officially launched its Megafactory project in Shanghai, China.

The Megafactory in Lathrop, California, was Tesla’s first dedicated factory to produce Megapacks, which were previously produced at Gigafactory Nevada.

It is still ramping up to its full capacity of 40 GWh worth of Megapacks, a battery pack for utility-scale energy storage projects, but it has already helped Tesla break new records of energy storage deployment almost every quarter.

Earlier this year, Tesla announced a plan to replicate the Megafactory in China through a deal with Shanghai’s Lingang authorities.

Today, the Tesla Megafactory project in China officially launched with a signing ceremony for the land acquisition, according to a new Xinhua report:

A signing ceremony for land acquisition of the project was held on Friday morning in Shanghai, marking the official opening of what the company said a “milestone project.”

When first announcing the factory, Tesla aimed at starting construction during the second half of 2023 and production in Q2 2024.

The new timeline announced with the signing ceremony is stating that construction is going to start soon for a production start toward the end of the year.

Like the factory in California, the Megafactory in Shanghai aims to produce about 10,000 Megapacks per year or about 40 GWh worth.

The new production hub is also going to help Tesla slash its logistical costs by shipping its many Megapack projects in Asia-Pacific from there rather than the US.

CEO Elon Musk has previously predicted that Tesla’s energy storage business, which is currently a small fraction of its overall business, could become as big as its automotive business.

by electrek