ENVIRONMENTAL CENTS: EV Batteries, Chargers Moving Forward
The recent oil shock is again motivating people to embrace EVs. They're only getting better - and less expensive.
By Bruce Saller
COLUMNIST
There have been some significant advancements in Electric Vehicle and charger technology recently.
Tesla has deployed several of their V4 Superchargers which provide up to 500 thousand watts (KW) of power. Since most EVs average around 3 miles/KW, this equates to 25 miles of range per minute of charge. The Chinese company BYD has been installing 1000 KW chargers in China, and plans to start installing them in Europe this spring. These will add 50 miles of range per minute, which is about the same as re-fueling a gas-powered car.
Battery costs continue to decline with the average price of a Lithium-ion battery dropping to $108 per KWH in 2025 from $118 in 2024. (The price was $475 just 10 years ago.) Several US car manufacturers have switched to the Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) chemistry which eliminates the fire hazard of traditional Lithium-Ion batteries and is cheaper to manufacture. The average cost of an LFP battery was $81/KWH in 2025. The Rivian R1S and R1T, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the Chevy Bolt currently use the LFP battery, and several more models will switch to LFPs in 2027.
Solid-state battery development continues to move forward. Prototype battery packs have achieved twice the energy density of Lithium-ion batteries, which will allow cars to travel 800 miles on a single charge. Several companies have plans to produce EVs with solid state batteries in 2027. (Verge Motorcycles is currently selling a solid state motorcycle in the US with a range of 370 miles.) Solid state batteries should charge faster, be cheaper to manufacture, and have a smaller environmental impact than Lithium batteries. We’ll see in a couple of years if they live up to expectations.
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