As you can see in the infographic, the most expensive component of the battery is the cathode. This is the positively charged electrode, and when the battery is discharged, both electrons and positively-charged molecules flow from the anode to the cathode, which stores them until the battery is charged again.
The majority of the most expensive battery metals are used to build the cathode. The cathode is arguably the most important part of the battery, determining performance, longevity, and range. Copper is the only non-cathode material on the list.
The battery pack takes the crown as the most expensive component in an electric car, potentially accounting for up to 40% of the total vehicle cost. This vital component stores energy and drives the electric motor. It consists of hundreds of individual battery cells, configured in series or parallel to achieve the necessary voltage and capacity.
The battery pack is by far the most expensive component, so price increases of other components are only critical for vendors of those components, not for vendors of entire powertrains or vehicles. The pie-chart below illustrates how the value of a battery pack dominates over other components.
The battery metals that make up the cathode are in high demand, with automakers like Tesla rushing to secure supplies as EV sales charge ahead. In fact, the commodities in the cathode, along with those in other parts of the cell, account for roughly 40% of the overall cell cost.
In this article, we’ll delve into the key areas that contribute to the elevated price tag of electric cars. The battery pack takes the crown as the most expensive component in an electric car, potentially accounting for up to 40% of the total vehicle cost. This vital component stores energy and drives the electric motor.