Panasonic May Not Source Tesla's Rumored Hybrid Battery

Trip Chowdhry, the Managing Director of Equity Research at Global Equities Research, is convinced that

is building a new hybrid battery pack. Chowdhry came to this conclusion after examining a patent that the company filed in July. In short, the patent describes a system that would use a:

By combining these battery types together in one car, Chowdhry believes that Tesla could offer multiple driving modes. For example, the "extended mode" would switch to the metal-air battery, which has a high energy density but packs a low power density. The result would be a Tesla vehicle that can drive farther but may not offer the same performance (ex: lightning-quick acceleration) as a lithium-ion battery.

Since the lithium-ion battery offers high power density, drivers would be able to switch to the "normal mode" to receive a familiar Tesla driving experience. Chowdhry also theorized that Tesla would offer a "hybrid mode" where both batteries work together. In this mode, the lithium-ion battery would power the drive train, while the metal-air battery would charge the lithium-ion battery. While nothing official has been announced, Chowdhry estimated that the battery could be ready for new Tesla vehicles in 2015. When asked how this might impact

, which has a four-year contract to deliver battery cells for

, Chowdhry said that he does not expect Panasonic to build these batteries. He does not think that

will build the metal-air batteries either. "I don't think Panasonic or even Samsung could be a leader in the metal-air battery [production]," Chowdhry told Benzinga. "I think there could be some other players, [but] we don't know who it is." After metal-air batteries infiltrate the market, Chowdhry said that the need for lithium-ion batteries could be greatly reduced. Instead of commanding 100 percent of the electric car market (as they do today), Chowdhry theorized that lithium-ion batteries will one day account for 60 percent of the market. The remaining 40 percent would go to metal-air batteries. While this could reduce Panasonic's chances of securing another major contract with Tesla, Chowdhry thinks that Panasonic could still provide innovation with new lithium-ion batteries. Disclosure: