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> Isn't lithium mineral the main cost in building these batteries? No, and I have no idea why anyone would think that. Raw material costs are generally not th

> Isn't lithium mineral the main cost in building these batteries? No, and I have no idea why anyone would think that. Raw material costs are generally not that significant, most costs in manufacturing come from labor and capital. The lithium in a $15000 75kWh battery pack costs around $1600 at current prices. There is a lot of room for the price to fall even with rising raw material costs, as manufacturing gets more efficient and capacity is built out. And also, rising raw material prices will cause production to expand, which will eventually push prices back down.

popol12 4y ago
This source tells a different story: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/breaking-down-the-cost-of-an-ev-battery-cell/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/breaking-down-the-cost-of-a... IIUC 50% of the cost of a battery is coming from lithium Manufacturing is only about bout 25%
- Tuna-Fish 4y ago
  That's not what the infograph tells you. It says that 50% of the battery cost comes from cathode materials, which is true for some chemistries, but even in those cases that's not because of lithium, but because of cobalt. Which is precisely why the industry is moving to chemistries that don't use cobalt, pushing the materials price back down.
  - scythe 4y ago
    Also, lithium isn't the cathode, it's the anode. The cathode is primarily nickel (III) oxide, which is unstable and so stabilized with cobalt, aluminum and/or manganese.
    - leplen 4y ago
      Technically most Li ion batteries are created in the discharged state, with the lithium in the battery provided by the cathode at the time of construction, and then moved over to the LiC6 anode via charging.
- VBprogrammer 4y ago
  Electric car production would have ground to a halt over the last 2 years in the face of a 15x increase in raw material costs if it accounted for 50% right? That doesn't seem to have happened.

popol12 4y ago

This source tells a different story: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/breaking-down-the-cost-of-an-ev-battery-cell/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/breaking-down-the-cost-of-a... IIUC 50% of the cost of a battery is coming from lithium Manufacturing is only about bout 25%

Tuna-Fish 4y ago
That's not what the infograph tells you. It says that 50% of the battery cost comes from cathode materials, which is true for some chemistries, but even in those cases that's not because of lithium, but because of cobalt. Which is precisely why the industry is moving to chemistries that don't use cobalt, pushing the materials price back down.
- scythe 4y ago
  Also, lithium isn't the cathode, it's the anode. The cathode is primarily nickel (III) oxide, which is unstable and so stabilized with cobalt, aluminum and/or manganese.
  - leplen 4y ago
    Technically most Li ion batteries are created in the discharged state, with the lithium in the battery provided by the cathode at the time of construction, and then moved over to the LiC6 anode via charging.
VBprogrammer 4y ago
Electric car production would have ground to a halt over the last 2 years in the face of a 15x increase in raw material costs if it accounted for 50% right? That doesn't seem to have happened.