Published: March 20, 2024 5.06am GMT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main cost of an electric vehicle (EV) is its battery. The high cost of energy-dense batteries has meant EVs have long been more expensive than their fossil fuel equivalents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this could change faster than we thought. The world\u2019s largest maker of batteries for electric cars, China\u2019s CATL, claims it will slash the cost of its batteries by up to 50% this year, as a\u00a0price war kicks off<\/a>\u00a0with the second largest maker in China, BYD subsidiary FinDreams. What\u2019s behind this? After the electric vehicle industry experienced a\u00a0huge surge<\/a>\u00a0in 2022, it has hit headwinds. It\u00a0ramped up faster<\/a>\u00a0than demand, triggering efforts to cut costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the promised price cuts are also a sign of progress. Researchers have made great strides in finding new battery chemistries<\/a>. CATL and BYD now make EV batteries without any cobalt, an expensive, scarce metal linked to child labor and dangerous mining practices<\/a> in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economies of scale and new supplies of lithium make it possible to sell batteries more cheaply. And the world\u2019s largest carmaker, Toyota, is pinning its hopes on solid-state batteries in the hope these energy-dense, all but fireproof batteries will make possible EVs with a range of more than 1,200km per charge. Link is given below for complete article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n