https://archive.md/jZByR
"Lithium, the common ingredient in almost all electric-car batteries, has
become so precious that it is often called white gold. But something surprising
has happened recently: The metal’s price has fallen, helping to make electric
vehicles more affordable.
Since January, the price of lithium has dropped nearly 20 percent, according to
Benchmark Minerals, even as sales of electric vehicles have soared. Cobalt,
another important battery material, has fallen by more than half. Copper,
essential to electric motors and batteries, has slipped about 18 percent, even
though U.S. mines and copper-rich countries like Peru are struggling to
increase production.
The sharp moves have confounded many analysts who predicted that prices would
stay high, or even climb, slowing the transition to cleaner forms of
transportation, an essential component of efforts to limit climate change.
Instead, the drop in commodity prices has made it easier for carmakers to cut
prices for electric vehicles. This month, Tesla lowered the prices of its two
most expensive cars, the Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle, by
thousands of dollars.
That followed cuts in January by Tesla to its more affordable Model 3 and Model
Y, and by Ford Motor to its Mustang Mach-E. The average price of an electric
vehicle in the United States fell $1,000 in February compared with January,
according to Kelley Blue Book.
“For electric vehicles, the major roadblock is cost,” said Kang Sun, the chief
executive of Amprius Technologies, a young battery maker that this month
announced plans for a factory in Colorado. The falling price of lithium, he
said, “is going to promote E.V. sales.”
Dr. Sun thinks prices could fall much further because demand for the metal has
not risen as fast as some in the industry expected."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-nuclear-ocean-chile-climate-change-solution/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
