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Electrical automobile gross sales hit a pace bump final yr, main some observers to surmise that the dream of zero emission mobility was sputtering out. Nonetheless, many automakers didn’t get the memo. One instance is Hyundai, which has simply unveiled a brand new lithium-iron-phosphate EV battery undertaking in partnership with Kia, aimed toward shepherding a brand new era of reasonably priced electrical automobiles into {the marketplace}.
The Price Of An EV Battery Is Coming Down Quick, However Not Quick Sufficient
To be clear, the price of an EV battery has been dropping like a rock because the early 2000s. The latest calculation from the Car Applied sciences Workplace over on the US Division of Power places the drop at 90% for light-duty automobiles within the 15-year interval from 2008 to 2023, based mostly on 2023 fixed {dollars}.
“The 2023 estimate is $139/kWh on a usable-energy basis for production at scale of at least 100,000 units per year. That compares to $1,415/kWh in 2008,” the VTO defined in a report dated August 4 of this yr. “The decline in cost is due to improvements in battery technologies and chemistries, as well as improvements in manufacturing and increases in production volume,” they famous.
That’s mighty spectacular, however the determine of $139 per kilowatt-hour nonetheless falls far in need of the $100 goalpost for batteries set by the VTO. It’s additionally fairly a protracted distance from VTO’s final objective, which is to cut back the price of an EV battery right down to $80/kWh whereas additionally rising vary to 300 miles and slicing the charging time down to fifteen minutes or much less.
A New (Previous) Recipe For A Low-Price EV Battery, LFP Version
As indicated by the VTO, automakers have been developing with cost-cutting formulation to switch standard lithium-ion EV batteries. Right here within the US they’re additionally getting a contemporary burst of economic help within the type of a $2.8 billion carve-out for EV battery tasks within the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, aimed toward bringing down the general price of electrical automobiles.
One merchandise on the menu is a lithium-iron-phosphate formulation, which EV battery stakeholders have been eyeing because the early 2000s. As defined by the Nationwide Science Basis again in 2009, LFP know-how surfaced across the flip of the twenty first century and shortly gained foreign money within the fields of rechargeable energy instruments and medical gadgets, together with plug-in hybrid EVs. “LFP batteries are safer, less expensive and more environmentally friendly than most other rechargeable batteries,” the NSF noticed.
A lot for the excellent news. Engineering an LFP battery for a 100% electrical automobile has been a problem. An achingly gradual fee of discharge was one preliminary disadvantage, and it was an enormous one. Gradual discharge principally means an electrical automotive that received’t speed up.
Power density was one other vital hurdle for LFP know-how. The decrease the power density, the larger the battery, and that usually interprets into extra weight, which impacts tire put on and tear in addition to battery vary.
Nonetheless, the attraction of changing the nickel, cobalt, and different costly supplies utilized in standard EV batteries was sturdy sufficient to maintain LFP on the R&D radar. One other spark of motivation was added after President Joe Biden took workplace in 2021 with a producing agenda specializing in shoring up the nation’s home provide chains.
Ford, for one, has seen sufficient enchancment to take the LFP plunge. When Ford introduced a re-alignment of its electrical automobile plans in August, the corporate famous that may produce an LFP EV battery at its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan by 2026, making it the primary US automaker to determine its personal LFP manufacturing line.
For the report, Ford additionally famous that tax advantages below the 2022 Inflation Discount Act had been instrumental in planning for the LFP undertaking (see extra LFP battery background right here).
Hyundai Hatches A 4-Yr LFP EV Battery Plan
That brings us to the massive information from Hyundai. In a transfer that validates Ford’s religion in LFP know-how, Hyundai has partnered up with sister agency Kia to develop a brand new system for manufacturing LFP batteries, aimed toward decreasing prices.
The partnership, which additionally contains Hyundai Metal and the cathode supplies agency EcoPro BM, goals to remove the precursor step generally utilized in EV battery manufacturing. In an LFP battery, for instance, the cathode (the optimistic electrode) is initially fashioned with precursor supplies, and the lithium is added in one other sequence.
The Hyundai enterprise goals to mix every thing in a single course of. “The direct synthesis process simultaneously adds phosphate, iron (Fe) powder and lithium without creating a separate precursor. This eliminates the precursor production step, reducing hazardous substance emissions during manufacturing and lowering production costs,” Hyundai explains.
That sounds easy sufficient, however the satan is within the particulars, which explains why R&D program for Hyundai’s new EV battery falls below a four-year timeline.
“The direct synthesis process is environmentally friendly and cost-competitive compared to conventional processes. However, to increase production efficiency, ensuring impurity-free and uniformly sized raw materials is crucial,” Hyundai notes. The plan is to supply high-grade iron powder from recycled metal below the Hyundai Metal umbrella. EcoPro BM is tasked with synthesizing cathode materials from the powder.
Why Wait For The LFP Battery Of The Future?
LFP has been operating second-best to standard lithium-ion battery formulation by way of efficiency, however Hyundai and its companions purpose to place that to a cease. Apart from decreasing the price of an EV battery, Hyundai is relying on the brand new LFP manufacturing course of to yield a high-performing battery that may cost and discharge shortly, even at low temperatures.
To the extent {that a} vital drop in prices will translate into vigorous progress for EV gross sales a couple of years from now, that’s a great factor. Automakers like Hyundai can even want an affordability hedge as soon as the EV market matures to the purpose the place tax credit evaporate.
In the meantime, tens of millions of drivers — and fleet managers — have already seen sufficient affordability within the EV area, and Hyundai is decided to maintain the momentum going.
Earlier this month Hyundai unveiled a refreshed model of its 2025 IONIQ 5 EV alongside a “rugged” off-road iteration known as the IONIQ 5 XRT. In accord with the onshoring focus of the Biden administration, the brand new fashions shall be made within the USA on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America campus in Georgia.
Hyundai additionally expects that automobiles produced on the Metaplant shall be eligible for a $3,750 federal tax credit score on gross sales, with further tax credit to comply with. The automaker notes that it already passes alongside the complete $7,500 tax credit score on lease provides.
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Picture (cropped): Hyundai is planning the subsequent step in electrical automobile affordability with a brand new lithium-iron-phosphate EV battery enterprise in partnership with Kia, Hyundai Metal, and the supplies agency EcoPro BM (courtesy of Hyundai).
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