Korean battery makers may increase prices by 40% in the next two years

According to foreign media reports, market research firm SNE Research said on April 13 that South Korean battery makers may increase prices by 30% to 40% to offset the impact of high commodity costs, and they are working with electric car makers. Negotiating new long-term contracts.

“We recently held a meeting with Korean battery makers that led us to adjust our price forecasts for EV batteries,” SNE executive vice president James Oh said at a seminar. In 2024 or 2025, battery prices are very likely to rise.”

Oh told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the meeting that while South Korean battery makers did not say how much they might raise prices, those that use lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese could raise prices for battery packs by 40 percent by 2025.

Image credit: Bloomberg

According to SNE Research, the average price of lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles in 2021 will be between $147 and $153 per kilowatt-hour. The price of batteries accounts for 30%-40% of the price of electric vehicles.

Jay Kim, vice president of LG New Energy, also said at the meeting that rising lithium prices have also affected solid-state batteries that use sulfided electrolytes. "Compared with other types of solid-state batteries, sulfide electrolyte solid-state batteries are very expensive and require a large amount of lithium. The price of sulfide electrolytes may double from last year." Kim also revealed that LG's laboratories in Korea and the United States are working on Commercialization of sulfide electrolyte solid-state batteries by 2030.

Image source: LG New Energy

Oh also revealed, "Global automakers consider prismatic batteries to be safer, so they are urging Korean battery partners to replace current production pouch batteries with prismatic batteries." Oh said Volkswagen Group is one of them, and its partner SK On Plans for prismatic batteries may be announced soon.

Samsung SDI is the only battery manufacturer in Korea with the technology to manufacture prismatic batteries. Lee Tae Kyung, vice president of Samsung SDI, said at the meeting that day, "Soft pack batteries are more likely to swell than square batteries, so be careful when handling them."