EV battery prices will continue to fall, despite upward movement in battery material prices

After a year of drastic fall in the price of lithium-ion battery and its key constituent metals, the material prices are expected to see an upward correction in the years to come. This will be offset by cost reductions achieved through manufacturing process improvements and efficiency gains, which will keep price fluctuation minimal through the decade.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery prices have decreased around 90% over a past decade. In the past one year itself, prices have fallen nearly 25%. What’s causing the prices to fall so dramatically? This was primarily due to the fall in prices of critical battery metals: Lithium, cobalt and nickel. For example, the price of cobalt has fallen from roughly $70,000 per metric ton in 2022 to about $30,000 in 2024.