We happen to be in the midst of a year-long acceleration when it comes to the decline of battery cell prices, which happens to be a trend that is indeed reminiscent of the recent solar cell price reductions.
Since what was experienced last summer, lithium battery cell pricing has slashed by almost 50%, as per Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.- CATL, which is the world’s largest battery manufacturer. In early summer last year, publicly available prices happened to range from CNY 0.8 ($0.11)/Wh to CNY 0.9/Wh, or almost $110/kWh to $130/kWh.
Pricing in the first part primarily fell by about one-third by the end of summer 2023. As per the reports by CnEVPost, large EV battery buyers are acquiring cells at CNY 0.4/Wh, thereby representing a price dip between 50% to 56%. Cao Li, the Leapmotor CEO, said that the company anticipates further reductions, with prices potentially dipping to CNY 0.32/Wh this summer, for a dip of 60% to 64% in a single year.
EnergyTrend remarked that the energy storage battery cells happen to be priced similarly to electric vehicle battery cells.
CnEVPost also goes on to report that the battery cells that are being sold come equipped with advanced technologies, such as faster charge rates, much higher cycle life, enhanced temperature management attributes as well as higher energy density packaging.
One of the Goldman Sachs reports from February 2024 goes on to attribute the rapid price dips partly to a narrow slowdown in electric vehicle adoption, thereby leading to lower commodity prices. The finance group went on to revise its projection of growth for worldwide battery demand to 29% for 2024, which happens to be down from the previous estimate of 35%, in which 31% growth was expected in 2023.