Prices for Lithium Ion Batteries will fall by one-third by 2017

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Prices for Lithium Ion Batteries will fall by one-third by 2017

Greentech Lead America: As manufacturing efficiencies
improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will
fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017.

The market for Li-ion batteries for transportation will
grow from $2 billion annually in 2011 to more than $14.6 billion by 2017.

For auto manufacturers, the growth will be driven by the
continual advancement in the capabilities of the vehicles’ batteries, which
will be led by lithium ion (Li-ion) chemistries. The convergence of the
automotive industry toward battery power and the engineering of economical
Li-ion batteries will reshape the automotive industry as it moves toward
electrification.

The market for Li-ion batteries will be driven primarily
by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles
(BEVs), which require much larger battery packs than hybrids.

“Battery chemistries that prioritize energy capacity
over power density can satisfy both the PHEV and EV battery segments, enabling
vendors to offer products to multiple vendors for multiple models. Reducing the
installed price of EV batteries to $523 per kilowatt hour in 2017 will be a
critical step towards making PEVs cost-competitive with petroleum-powered
vehicles,” said research director John Gartner.

Though most plug-in electric vehicles today have a range
of between 40 and 100 miles, concerns over range and the availability of
charging infrastructure remain among the biggest impediments to the adoption of
Li-ion batteries.

Challenges such as achieving higher energy density,
better safety, and greater discharge/charge rates linger despite advances in
battery technology. Although a number of Li-ion chemistries are available, none
of them can claim to be the ideal solution. Manufacturers must make tradeoffs
in choosing a particular type of Li-ion battery over others, according to a
recent report from Pike Research.

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