EV Battery overview <To learn about batteries, no stock rec…

Consumers tend to worry that an EV with a range of 80 to 250 miles on a single charge would be inconvenient for long trips due to the time it takes to recharge the battery. Commercial batteries need to ensure there is quick recharge and less time between charges

The lithium-ion battery is important because it makes EVs expensive than ICEs. Battery costs per kilowatt-hour (kWh) declined from roughly $1,000 per kWh in 2010 to $227 in 2016

Lithium-ion batteries made up 70 percent of the rechargeable battery market in 2016
BNEF projects that global production capacity for lithium-ion batteries will increase from 103 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the first quarter of 2017 to 273 GWh by 2021.

The battery manufacturing supply chain has three main parts:

cell manufacturing,

module manufacturing, and

pack assembly.

The smallest, but most important, component of the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs is the

electrochemical cell,

which consists of three major parts: a cathode and an anode separated physically but connected electrically by an electrolyte.

A battery’s discharge results from the diffusion of lithium ions from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte.

$TSLA Tesla produces its own modules and packs at both its “Gigafactory,” which opened in Nevada in 2017, and at its vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Tesla’s battery packs use cells from Gigafactory, while cells for the Model S & X are produced by Panasonic

The anode is typically made of graphite, while the electrolyte typically consists of organic carbonate solvents with dissolved lithium salts.

The anode is physically and electronically isolated from the cathode by a separator, often a thin porous plastic film through which the liquid electrolyte permeates.

The cathode has the most variation in its different form. 20 percent of the total cost of a finished lithium-ion battery pack comes from the cell stage of production.

Cells are assembled only as an intermediate good as part of the larger battery assembly process, for insertion into both EV batteries and batteries for other uses. Cells make up 75 percent of the cost of a battery pack, on average.

Multiple cells in a case with terminals attached form a module.

EV battery packs are the final stage of EV battery production. Battery packs consist of battery modules, electrical connections, and cooling equipment. 14 percent of the total cost of a finished lithium-ion battery pack comes from the pack stage of production.

Battery manufacturers design EV battery packs for specific vehicle models and tend to assemble them near the vehicle assembly plant.
Graphite is used in the anode of many EVs.

LG Chem batteries were a common brand of batteries among vehicles sold in the US. LG Chem assembles packs in Michigan and South Korea for Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler using Korean or U.S.-made cells, depending on the model.

Today battery packs cost $10–$12K depending on their capacity. Low battery prices are the key to unlock more affordable, higher volume electric cars.
$TSLA is aiming to reduce the cost of future packs to less than $6,000, which would put the cell cost at well under $100/kWh.

Other Battery manufacturers that supply to EV customers include CATL, Toshiba, Samsung SDI, BYD

In my next thread I will outline the new challengers, $QS, $THCB (Microvast), A123 Systems.

The current leaders are:
CATL $CATL
BYD $BYDDF
Guoxuan
Lishen Battery
AVIC Lithium Battery