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This week’s transportation decarbonization news was headlined by several stories on the outlook of the electric vehicle battery industry.
Goldman Sachs Research projects EV battery prices to continue to drop steadily in the coming years, falling by nearly 50% by 2026 relative to 2023 costs, bringing EVs to near cost parity with internal combustion engine vehicles. The researchers cited improving battery energy density and declining battery metal costs as the key drivers of the trend.
“We believe 2026 is when a consumer-led adoption phase will largely begin,” said one Goldman Sachs researcher.
As auto manufacturers race to commercialize solid-state battery technology — which offers the potential of increased vehicle range, greater safety, and shorter charging times — not all experts are convinced solid-state batteries will have a major impact in the next few years, CNBC reports.
Challenges with solid-state battery technology in recent years have pushed back the expected commercialization timeline, while the cost of lithium-ion batteries has continued to fall. Semi-solid-state batteries may offer more promise in the near-term and have been rolled out commercially on some vehicles in China.
In Nevada, a startup backed by Stellantis and FedEx is betting big on lithium-sulfur batteries — it recently announced its plan to invest more than $1 billion to build the world’s first gigafactory for lithium-sulfur batteries, which it hopes to bring online in 2027. The company said lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential to be 40% lighter than conventional lithium-ion batteries due to greater energy density.
GM announced its plans to invest nearly $1 billion in a Nevada lithium mine as the company looks to lock in its supply of the mineral in anticipation of ramping up EV production. GM has agreed to purchase all the materials from the mine’s first production phase and has a 20-year offtake agreement to purchase up to 38% of the materials from its expanded second phase.
As battery supply chains expand, manufactures are not doing enough to protect against human rights abuses, according to a new report from Amnesty International. The nonprofit called for greater transparency, and said more protections must be in place to prevent dangerous working conditions and the displacement of Indigenous people.
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