Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

Longer range BEVs may come sooner than expected

Justin Doom - BLOOMBERG - April 16, 2012

Ford CEO says they are even lower than that --Ed.

The average price of lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles fell 14 percent in the past year as production capacity exceeded demand, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.

Batteries cost $689 a kilowatt-hour in the first quarter of 2012, compared with $800 a year earlier, the London-based research company said today in a statement.

Prices for batteries have dropped 30 percent since 2009, making electric vehicles less expensive.

The industry has capacity to produce about 10 gigawatt- hours of battery packs more than it needs now, enough for 400,000 all-electric vehicles, and that surplus may reach 17 gigawatt-hours by the end of 2013. Battery prices may drop to about $150 a kilowatt-hour by 2030, New Energy Finance said.

About 43,000 electric vehicles were sold in 2011.... [Read More]

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

Just lowering price isn't going to change the range much due to the energy density problem. It could help move a few cars, but given the current pricing, I don't think so.

I'll settle for a 10% annual improvement in $kWh/kg.

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

It's like the cordless drill all over again. They've gone from 1/2 a week's pay to $30. The future is electric.

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

Lol, I remember that!

I think doubling the present range to a true 150 miles will make the BEV a true alternative.. you could drive to work almost 4 days in a row before having to recharge... hypermilers could get 260 miles on one tank.

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

I suppose it depends upon your commute. At 30mi RT with low speeds I might be able to squeeze out 4 days of commutes in a Leaf if the weather is cooperative. Normally the furthest I drive is to the in-laws' cabin up north ~152mi away. Something with a range of 150mi at 65mph would get me there with a nice buffer at my typical highway speeds.

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

even lower prices forecasted:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012...-20120420.html

Updated Roland Berger Li-ion study forecasts auto Li-ion battery market of more than US$9B by 2015; massive overcapacity and market consolidation

" Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has updated its global Li-ion automotive battery study (earlier post). In light of recently presented or announced vehicle models with electric, hybrid or plug-in-hybrid drives (xEV), Roland Berger experts expect the global LiB market to grow from US$1.5 billion to US$9-10 billion by 2015, despite scaled-back forecasts for previously announced models. Further growth to more than US$50 billion is forecast in the 2020 high growth scenario.

More than one hundred companies worldwide are currently active in the market for automotive Li-ion batteries. Production capacity in this market will probably be twice as large as demand in 2015, according to the consultancy.

For 2015, Roland Berger envisages OEMs facing prices in the €180-200/kWh (US$237-264/kWh) range for high-energy packs on large orders. This will results in the current margins of approx. 5 to 10% also dropping in the medium term, according to Bernhart."

note: high energy packs are used in plug-ins, high power packs are more suited to conventional hybrids

Re: Battery Prices for Electric Vehicles Fall 14%
 

I would charge every night, no matter how many days I could go. If you need to make an emergency trip, run errands, or just run into lousy weather, you want max range available. It isn't like making a special trip to the gas station -- the charger is right there in the garage!

Greg