Is non-lithium battery tech key to EV-ICE cost parity?

Electrification efforts show no sign of slowing as the industry moves into 2023. Key markets around the world are paving the way for an electric future with both tighter regulations and fresh government funding. But battery prices remain volatile. In 2022, the global average price for lithium-ion battery packs rose 7% to US$151 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to BNEF’s annual battery price survey. The rising costs for lithium, nickel and other metals are contributing factors. BNEF expects prices to hover around US$152/kWh in 2023, not dropping until 2024. For Alsym Energy, 2023 could be the year it’s non-lithium energy storage technology gains significant ground.

The Massachusetts-based company has developed a battery chemistry using readily available, inherently non-flammable and non-toxic materials. One of the main attractions is that it uses no lithium or cobalt, thus avoiding many of the sourcing challenges around those materials. The promise is that these batteries still deliver a comparable performance to lithium-ion but also come in at a lower cost.

“Lithium-ion battery chemistries dominate the high-performance end of the electric vehicle (EV) battery market,” says Mukesh Chatter, Chief Executive, President, and Co-Founder of Alsym Energy. “However, with battery pack prices having increased as much as 47% since 2021, and raw materials prices and supply chain constraints threatening to push battery prices even higher, EVs will remain constrained to the luxury market—heading in the wrong direction from reaching cost parity with their gas-powered counterparts.”