What is the likely trend of Li- Battery prices in the near future? Is China going to be the market spoiler due to near total control in the Li and cobalt deposits.

It is difficult to predict the the Lithium prices over a 5 years horizon. Some analysts say that the prices may harden over 5 to 7 years , primarily due to China controlling the raw material prices and the world demand surging. However we can quite definitely forecast the 2 to 3 years price trends based on the capacities being built across the world and R&D costs getting amortised.

Currently the Lithium battery packs with basic BMS and with the popular chemistry like NMC, LMO etc are hovering at around 225 ~250 USD/kWhr. These prices are expected to be in the range of 160 to 180 USD/kWhr by 2020.

The cost components of the inputs that go into making a lithium batteries are likely to undergo the following changes