(Yicai) March 21 -- Tesla’s energy storage gigafactory in Shanghai exported a batch of its Megapack batteries to Australia today, marking the plant’s first outbound shipments since production began last month.

The US electric car giant claims that a single Megapack can store about 3,900 kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the battery capacity of 62 Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel-drive vehicles.

The new plant is Tesla’s second gigafactory in Shanghai, with the first dedicated to electric vehicle production. The launch ceremony was held on Feb. 11, when the factory’s first Megapack rolled off the production line.

The Paper reported that the Megapack energy storage systems produced in Shanghai will be supplied to domestic and Asia-Pacific markets in the future.

It is also Tesla’s first energy storage gigafactory outside of the United States, with the first one having opened in Lathrop, California in 2022. The company is aiming for total annual output of 80 gigawatt hours in Shanghai, including 10,000 Megapacks, which will have energy storage capacity of nearly 40 GWh.

Tesla’s car business is facing headwinds, with sales nearly halving in Europe in January, but energy storage is becoming a strong growth engine for the company, with profit soaring 131 percent to USD2.6 billion last year on a 67 percent jump in income to USD10.1 billion. 

The supply of Tesla's Megapacks and its Powerwall home batteries is constrained by production capacity, amid ongoing expansion into new markets and continuous growth in demand for energy storage products, Michael Snyder, vice president of energy and charging, has said previously.

This situation was expected to improve following the completion of the Shanghai energy storage plant in the first quarter of this year, Snyder said.

Snyder said the Shanghai factory will rapidly ramp up capacity, while also beginning research and development of next-generation products. Tesla is aiming for 50 percent year-on-year growth in its energy storage product installations in 2025, he noted.

Editor: Tom Litting