Reducing the battery materials supply risk

“Adjacent” strategies such as improving vehicle efficiency and advancing promising chemistries can mitigate the risks associated with today's favored battery materials.

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) adoption is taking off for a variety of reasons. Battery cost per kWh of energy stored has dropped 10-fold since 2010. Driving range has increased, making range anxiety less of a concern, particularly for households having Level 2 charging and several vehicles. Government regulations in key vehicle markets and automakers rethinking the electrical architecture to support software-defined vehicles also are stimulating an expanding choice of consumer EVs.

With increased EV adoption comes concern for the environmental and human rights impact associated with battery materials mining and processing as well as national-security concerns. Supply volatility, given the huge investments and long-term return, make battery production susceptible to price spikes, as seen in 2022 with lithium and nickel, for example.