On September 9, 2020, a GM employee at the GM Chemical and Materials Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan, came up with an example of the company’s next-generation lithium metal battery.
Steve Fact | General Motors | Handout | By Reuters
BEIJING – Rising demand for electric car batteries will push up prices of key materials, analysts said in a March 18 note.
Analysts said this would increase the price of batteries by about 18 per cent, which would affect the overall profits of electric car manufacturers, as batteries account for about 20% to 40% of vehicle costs.
Although the report did not set specific price targets for commodities, analysts’ model Dale predicted a return to historical historical peak prices for electric battery manufacturers, doubling the price of lithium. The price of cobalt will also double, while the price of nickel will increase by 60%.
A new type of battery
The limited availability of nickel suitable for car batteries could also replace another type of battery called lithium iron phosphate (LFP), the report said. Tesla and Chinese start-up Expang are using this type of battery in automakers, which do not use nickel or cobalt but store relatively little.
Analysts said that if nickel prices reach their historic high of $ 50,000 per tonne, it could add 1, 1,250 to 1, 1,500 per electric vehicle, hurting consumer demand for the car.
Ultimately, the growth of the electric car industry and the demand for battery materials depend on how many vehicles people buy. The tipping point for consumers to switch largely from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars is usually expected to come when battery costs are significantly reduced.
That shift could happen in the coming decade. Goldman predicts that in 2030 the cost of batteries will be lower than that of internal combustion engines.
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