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https://theconversation.com/a-battery-price-war-is-kicking-off-that-could-soon-make-electric-cars-cheaper-heres-how-225165>
"The main cost of an electric vehicle (EV) is its battery. The high cost of
energy-dense batteries has meant EVs have long been more expensive than their
fossil fuel equivalents.
But this could change faster than we thought. The world’s largest maker of
batteries for electric cars, China’s CATL, claims it will slash the cost of its
batteries by up to 50% this year, as a price war kicks off with the second
largest maker in China, BYD subsidiary FinDreams.
What’s behind this? After the electric vehicle industry experienced a huge
surge in 2022, it has hit headwinds. It ramped up faster than demand,
triggering efforts to cut costs.
But the promised price cuts are also a sign of progress. Researchers have made
great strides in finding new battery chemistries. CATL and BYD now make EV
batteries without any cobalt, an expensive, scarce metal linked to child labor
and dangerous mining practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Economies of scale and new supplies of lithium make it possible to sell
batteries more cheaply. And the world’s largest carmaker, Toyota, is pinning
its hopes on solid-state batteries in the hope these energy-dense, all but
fireproof batteries will make possible EVs with a range of more than 1,200km
per charge."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
