Friday 27 March 2015

Lithium Batteries Costs Among Market Leaders Are Much Lower Than Previously Reported.

Nature Climate Change

I would like to share this very interesting report about the dramatic decrease in lithium battery costs than previously thought. Industry insiders are already working around $300 per kWh and Tesla Gigafactory will bring us closer to $100 per kWh - the tipping point for the mass market for electric cars.

Backed By Warren Buffett China's BYD Takes Aim At Elon Musk's Tesla Gigafactory In Battery Race.

Our industry is getting hotter by the day. After Apple Electric iCar rumours running wild and getting more and more confirmation, we have Warren Buffett stepping into the Lithium Battery Race. Now we have Tesla with its Gigafactory, LG Chem with its Megafactory in China and Boston Power with stake holding by or strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium in Lithium Battery Race. BYD with Warren Buffett backing is making this investment landscape even more exciting. As Elon Musk has said: "All transportation, apart from rockets, will be electric" Read more."

International Lithium And Ganfeng Lithium: "The End Of The Lithium 'Big 3'.

"Joe Lowry has published a very interesting article about the lithium market, major producers and rising Chinese powerhouses in lithium industry. You can find now more details on International Lithium strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Apple Electric iCar and Warren Buffet BYD move into energy storage to chase Elon Musk with his Tesla Gigafactory bring Lithium back onto the radar screens of investors now. Read more."

International Lithium Corp. and Ganfeng Lithium Commence Work Programs on the Avalonia and Mariana Lithium Projects.

Nature Climate Change:

Rapidly falling costs of battery packs for electric vehicles

To properly evaluate the prospects for commercially competitive battery electric vehicles (BEV) one must have accurate information on current and predicted cost of battery packs. The literature reveals that costs are coming down, but with large uncertainties on past, current and future costs of the dominating Li-ion technology^1, 2, 3. This paper presents an original systematic review, analysing over 80 different estimates reported 2007–2014 to systematically trace the costs of Li-ion battery packs for BEV manufacturers. We show that industry-wide cost estimates declined by approximately 14% annually between 2007 and 2014, from above US$1,000 per kWh to around US$410 per kWh, and that the cost of battery packs used by market-leading BEV manufacturers are even lower, at US$300 per kWh, and has declined by 8% annually. Learning rate, the cost reduction following a cumulative doubling of production, is found to be between 6 and 9%, in line with earlier studies on vehicle battery technology². We reveal that the costs of Li-ion battery packs continue to decline and that the costs among market leaders are much lower than previously reported. This has significant implications for the assumptions used when modelling future energy and transport systems and permits an optimistic outlook for BEVs contributing to low-carbon transport."