Electric vehicles - global lithium-ion battery pack costs 2011-2030

Li-ion battery pack costs dropped to some 137 U.S. dollars per kilowatt hour in 2020 and are expected to drop further in the coming years. Lithium-ion batteries are one of the most efficient energy storage devices worldwide. Over recent years, high scale production and capital investment into the battery production process made lithium-ion battery packs cheaper and more efficient. This demonstrates a staggering demand for energy storage worldwide and could be attributed to the fact that the world is moving towards a renewable energy-based economy where electric vehicles play an increasingly large role.

Electric vehicle sales

Individuals, organizations, and governments aim to reduce their environmental footprint, as the awareness about the consequences of climate change becomes more widespread. To contribute to a greener society, they promote the growth of the electric vehicle market to make transportation more sustainable and less polluting. The projected market demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles is expected to reach over 1,500 gigawatt-hours by 2030. When it comes to the sales volume of electric vehicles, the trend is staggeringly positive. For instance, global plug-in electric light vehicle (PEV) sales have progressively increased since 2015, and are estimated to have exceeded three million units sold in 2020. As a leading electric vehicle brand, Tesla reported having sold almost 500,000 such vehicles in 2020.

Environmental impact

Incorrect disposal of Li-ion batteries can have a devastating environmental impact on the environment, sparking the need for recycling. The global market for lithium-ion battery recycling is expected to reach over 18 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. This figure compares to around 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.