figure 1: disassembly of electric vehicle battery cost-欧洲杯足球官网

so, what constitutes the cost of a single battery?

according to the data of bloomberg new energy finance, the positive electrode cost accounts for more than half of the total cost of each battery, which is 51%.
why are positive electrodes so expensive?
when the battery discharges, electrons and positively charged molecules (i.e. lithium ions) flow from the negative pole to the positive pole, and the positive pole stores electrons and positively charged molecules until the battery is recharged. this means that the positive pole can effectively determine the performance, range and thermal safety of batteries and even electric vehicles, making them one of the most important components.
lithium batteries are also often named after positive materials, such as ternary lithium batteries, which use ternary materials as positive electrodes.
the positive electrode consists of various metals (refined form), depending on the chemical properties of the battery, usually lithium and nickel. common cathode materials can be divided into lithium cobalate (lco), lithium manganate (lmo), lithium iron phosphate (lfp) and ternary materials (ncm). there is a large demand for battery metal that constitutes positive materials. with the promotion of electric vehicle sales, automobile manufacturers such as tesla are scrambling to ensure supply. in fact, the battery metal in the positive material and other parts of the battery account for about 40% of the total cost of the battery.
components other than the positive pole account for 49% of the battery cost.
among them, the battery manufacturing process includes electrode preparation (mixing, coating, drying, solvent recovery, rolling, cutting, electrode vacuum drying), battery components (lamination or winding, welding, housing, sealing, liquid injection, etc.), and electrochemical activation of the battery (pre charging, formation, aging, etc.), which accounts for 24% of the total cost. at present, the world's largest battery manufacturer is located in asia, with china's ningde times taking the lead; 80% of global battery manufacturing takes place in china.
the negative pole is another important part of the battery, accounting for 12% of the total cost - about a quarter of the positive pole cost. the cathode of lithium ion batteries is usually made of natural or synthetic graphite, which is often cheaper than other battery products.
in addition, separator, electrolyte and battery shell accounted for 7%, 4% and 3% of the total cost respectively.
although the cost of batteries has been declining for 30 years, the recent surge in the price of lithium and other key battery metals has cast a shadow over their future.