Global battery prices for electric vehicles and storage are expected to rise slightly this year, to an average of $135/kWh, due to supply chain issues and the rising cost of metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel, according to a July 5 report from BloombergNEF.
The higher prices could slow the adoption of EVs globally, said Kwasi Ampofo, BNEF head of metals and mining and a co-author of the report. “Our EV adoption model relies heavily on electric vehicles becoming cheaper than internal combustion engines,” Ampofo said. The firm now expects price parity between the two types of vehicles to be reached in 2026, rather than 2023.