Costs of lithium-ion batteries for vehicles

Abstract

One of the most promising battery types under development for use in both pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles is the lithium-ion battery. These batteries are well on their way to meeting the challenging technical goals that have been set for vehicle batteries. However, they are still far from achieving the current cost goals. The Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory undertook a project for the US Department of Energy to estimate the costs of lithium-ion batteries and to project how these costs might change over time, with the aid of research and development. Cost reductions could be expected as the result of material substitution, economies of scale in production, design improvements, and/or development of new material supplies. The most significant contributions to costs are found to be associated with battery materials. For the pure electric vehicle, the battery cost exceeds the cost goal of the US Advanced Battery Consortium by about $3,500, which is certainly enough to significantly affect the marketability of the vehicle. For the hybrid, however, the total cost of the battery is much smaller, exceeding the cost goal of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles by only about $800, perhaps not enough to deter a potential buyer from purchasing the power-assist hybrid.