Electric Vehicle Industry Struggles to Quickly Reduce Costs

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Electric Vehicle Industry Struggles to Quickly Reduce Costs

"In these early days of the electric vehicle market, companies producing cars, batteries and charging equipment are struggling to work down the cost curves. The big question is how fast costs can come down and where there’s an inflection point—which could blow open the EV market to everyday consumers. Recent news suggests that process will require time and patience.

Costs for Batteries

According to Lux Research, scaling up the production of lithium-ion automotive batteries will drive down costs only slightly by 2020. Lux Research predicts that lithium-ion electric vehicle battery pack cost will fall to $397 per kWh in 2020—well short of the $150 per kWh target set by the US Advanced Battery Consortium.

Lux Research lists three conclusions:

Materials improvement and scale are insufficient to cut costs.
Cathodes remain the biggest target. Cathode capacity and voltage improvement hold much more value than anode innovation.
Looking past lithium-ion remains a focus. Technologies such as Li-air, Mg-ion, Li-S and solid-state batteries push past the limitations of lithium-ion batteries and achieve higher energy densities and specific energies.

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Citing lack of DOE funds, Coda Automotive will abandon its plan to construct a lithium-ion battery production facility in Columbus, Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Coda Automotive is scrapping its plan to construct a lithium-ion battery production facility in Columbus, Ohio. First announced in May 2010, Coda promised that its lithium-ion battery site would employ up to 1,300 workers by 2015.

Coda's decision to scrap its planned Ohio site comes as the automaker waits to hear about a $500 million loan application to the US Department of Energy. As the Columbus Dispatch reports, “Since Coda applied for the loan, the DOE has come under fire for its loan to Solyndra. Amid this criticism, the agency has made almost no new loans, and some lawmakers have called for changes to the programs."

Executives at Coda remain hopeful in regards to receiving DOE loans, but they have developed a business plan that's not reliant on an Ohio battery production facility.

Costs for Quick Charging

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ABB's slim and slick Quick Charging product.

ABB, a Swiss engineering firm, recently launched its Terra Smart Connect, a low-cost DC quick charger that promises to significantly reduce the cost of electric vehicle chargers in Europe. Terra Smart Connect fully charges an electric car in 30 to 120 minutes. It uses a CHAdeMO connection and cranks up to 20 kW at a current of 50 amps. ABB will release two version of the Terra Smart Connect: a standard version with the 20-kW DC quick charger and a fleet version, which incorporate two additional AC connections, allowing three vehicles to charge simultaneously.

Terra Smart Connect will be available by mid-2012 at a starting price of €9,988—around US $13,300 at current exchange rates. ABB says the unit is easy to install due to its ultra-thin design and simple mounting system. More importantly, ABB says the Terra Smart Connect's "breakthrough price" will provide a "strong boost to the development of electric mobility."

It's hard to connect any three random dots and make conclusions about future costs or market viability for EVs by any set date. Costs for battery and vehicle production are very proprietary. Considering that small outfits compete against major players like Nissan (which can reach scale at a faster clip), the economics can vary widely and change quickly."

Em: http://www.plugincars.com/lux-research- ... 19913.html