Research by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 87% between 2008 and 2021 (using 2021 constant dollars).
October 4, 2021
minute read time
Research by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 87% between 2008 and 2021 (using 2021 constant dollars). The 2021 estimate is $157/kWh on a usable-energy basis (the equivalent of $143/kWh on a rated-energy basis) for production at scale, i.e.,100,000 units per year. That compares to $1,237/kWh on a usable-energy basis in 2008. The decline in cost is a combination of improvements in battery technologies and chemistries, and an increase in manufacturing volume.
* Data for 2021 are preliminary.
Sources: 2018–2021 – U.S. DOE, Vehicle Technologies Office, using Argonne National Laboratory’s BatPaC: Battery Manufacturing Cost Estimation Tool.
2017 – Steven Boyd, DOE, Vehicle Technologies Office, 2017 Annual Merit Review, Batteries and Electrification R&D Overview, June 18, 2018, PowerPoint presentation, p. 7.
2016 – David Howell, DOE, Vehicle Technologies Office, 2017 Annual Merit Review, Electrochemical Energy Storage R&D Overview, June 20, 2017, PowerPoint presentation, p. 6.
2008–2015 – National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017. Review of the Research Program of the U.S. DRIVE Partnership: Fifth Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, p. 173.