According to Nikhil Bhandari, co-head of Goldman Sachs Research's Asia-Pacific Natural Resources and Clean Energy Research, two key factors are accelerating the decline in EV battery costs: technological advancements and the falling prices of essential battery metals like lithium and cobalt.
LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - A jump in demand for traditional lead-acid car batteries and lingering freight problems have created shortages that have been felt most acutely in the huge U.S. automotive sector and driven up lead prices globally.
This year, especially, was huge for the battery industry, with prices dropping 20% to $115 per kilowatt-hour. Factors like lower component prices, cell overproduction and burgeoning chemistries like lithium-iron-phosphate drove the price drop this year, as per the report. Here's more from BloombergNEF:
While several studies have previously forecast battery prices to plummet over time, a new report from research firm BloombergNEF states that prices might be falling faster than expected, accelerating the industry's quest for EVs to cost as much as gas cars on average by 2026.
Why did battery prices fall in 2019?
The global economic slowdown due to the Covid19 pandemic, for example, may have led to the expectation of decreasing demand for battery raw materials. As a result, prices fell in 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
Which battery raw materials have experienced significant price fluctuations over the past 5 years?
Battery raw materials like lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3), lithium hydroxide (LiOH), nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) have experienced significant price fluctuations over the past five years. Figures 1 and 2 show the development of material spot prices between 2018 and 2023.
Benchmark lead hit its highest since July 2018 at $2,344 a tonne on June 30. Wood Mackenzie expects demand for lead for replacement car batteries to rise 5.9% from 2020 to 6.5 million tonnes this year, back to pre-pandemic levels, Ahmed said.