ELIMINATING NATURAL One unique aspect of Gigafactory 1 is that there is no natural gas GAS LINES: MAXIMIZING line within the factory. Tesla made this decision at the design stage HEAT RECOVERY because we wanted a sustainably-powered facility with no on-site combustion of fossil fuels. While challenging to achieve from a design perspective due to manufacturing processes that require high levels of energy or heat (like high-temperature ovens), Tesla engineered thermal systems to maximize heat recovery resulting in significant energy efficiency gains compared to standard industrial designs. This included using heat pumps to upgrade low-temperature waste heat from manufacturing, thus reducing the energy used to heat the facility by over 80% compared to traditional electric heaters and is expected to save over 16K MWh in the winter season. The facility also has a heat exchanger system to recover more than 60% of the heat from the exhaust of industrial ovens. BRINGING THE OUTSIDE Several battery manufacturing areas throughout the facility require very IN: OUR NATURAL low levels of humidity during production (<300 ppmm), and creating AIR SYSTEM dry air for these areas can be costly and require a lot of energy. Because Gigafactory 1 is located in the high desert of Nevada, Tesla was able to turn to nature itself and pull in outside air that starts with much less moisture. Tesla also configured its compressors and dehumidifier to take the heat rejected by the compressor to supply over 50% of the heat required to be dehumidified. The facility’s unique system dramatically reduces the energy and cost required to produce dry air compared to manufacturing facilities located in more humid regions. THE PERFECT SYSTEM: Tesla designed the Gigafactory 1 roof with a white reflective surface and DESIGNING FOR SOLAR no obstructions, so that it is a perfect fit for solar panels. Designed to be a net-zero energy facility upon completion, Gigafactory 1 will be powered primarily by solar from the rooftop solar installation that is currently underway. 28