So, while waiting for more updates from Riore and kmcmahan, Ive been going down a rabbit hole with youtube videos about buying cells from China/alibaba/aliexpress, for diy solar projects.
This guy first took the plunge 2 years ago, and tried 3 different suppliers; TLDR: one was a liar/unreliable, one was ok but expensive, and final one is now his go to supplier:
This year, he is still dealing with his favourite supplier, Jenny Wu of Docan Technology:
What i've learned from these vidoes is that in 2 years, LifePo4 3.2V 300+-Ah cell prices have gone from $150+- to $70+- per cell.
I emailed Jenny Wu but unfortunately her company does not supply the equivalent Nissan Leaf cells =(
Ray has heaps of videos about building DIY solar storage if you are also interested in that.
Next up is this guy, from a year ago, talking about Alibaba Grade A vs certified EV/ESS Grade batteries
Lesson here is that if it is legit certified automotive cells, it will come with a lot of paper work and serial numbers for each cell, and certs, as per China's regulations for automotive certified cells. He claims all the super cheap ones from Alibaba are most likely not automotive standard, so watch out if you see any offers that are much cheaper than what most suppliers are offering (like what Ray discovered in the first video above)
This guy from 2 years ago, says the same thing. You can get Automotive grade batteries from sellers, but if you just want cheap ones for home solar storage, you can negotiate/shop around to get the cheap ones for home storage (caveat, more work required to balance cells, etc). He also talks about why some cells have terminals with welded studs vs without, and about getting cells directly from EVE vs from resellers.
Interesting video about compression of cells too.
And back to Nissan Leaf compatible batteries, Starmax just released this video talking about new unused CATL modules, but were manufactured from 2022. She misquotes the numbers in the video, but this is corrected in the video title and text overlays. Heaps of other videos on their site, but I havent come across any other youtubers that reviewed Starmax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8JqbqyQSLU
Finally, this mad lad with his own custom solution for his Leaf battery upgrade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9eSIXPUUD0