Battery price decline comes with a warning

The latest data on lithium-ion battery prices shows the continued downward march that will help make electric cars and energy storage more competitive, but reveals storm clouds too.

Driving the news: Average battery pack prices fell another 6% from last year to $132 per kilowatt-hour, per the research firm BloombergNEF. That's an 89% decline since 2010 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Yes, but: "[T]he impact of rising commodity prices and increased costs for key materials such as electrolytes has put pressure on the industry in the second half of the year," the firm warns, citing higher costs for materials including lithium.

• The short analysis warns that average prices could rise in 2022. "This would impact EV affordability or manufacturers’ margins and could hurt the economics of energy storage projects," BloombergNEF's release states.

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