According to Bloomberg NEF the price level of lithium-ion battery packs has dropped by around 14% from 2022 to 2023. The figure represents an average across multiple battery end-uses, including different types of electric vehicles, buses, and stationary storage projects.
Evelina Stoikou, energy storage senior associate at BNEF and lead author of the report, said: “It is another year where battery prices closely followed raw material prices. In the many years that we’ve been doing this survey, falling prices have been driven by scale learnings and technological innovation, but that dynamic has changed. The drop in prices this year was attributed to significant growth in production capacity across the value chain in combination with weaker-than-expected demand.”
For battery electric vehicle (BEV) packs, prices were $128/kWh on a volume-weighted average basis in 2023. At the cell level, average prices for BEVs were just $89/kWh. This indicates that on average, cells account for 78% of the total pack price.
On a regional basis, battery pack prices were lowest in China, at $126/kWh. Packs in the US and Europe were 11% and 20% higher, respectively. Higher prices reflect the relative immaturity of these markets, higher production costs, lower volumes, and the diverse range of applications. The Chinese market is also the subject of fierce competition, as many domestic battery manufacturers have increased their production capacity, and the industry has switched to low cost LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cathode chemistry. LFP was in average 32 % cheaper than NMC (Nickel Manganese Oxide) cells in 2023.
Lithium prices reached their peak at the end of 2022 after a 65 % increase in lithium-ion battery production. This is also confirmed by other experts, e.g. S&P Global. The spot prices of lithium hydroxide are likely to decrease further, with around 40 % until 2028 according to OCE of Australia.
