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raw material prices increase role of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell price","low-raw-material-prices-increase-role-of-operational-costs-and-other-inputs-to-battery-cell-price-benchmark-data","article/low-raw-material-prices-increase-role-of-operational-costs-and-other-inputs-to-battery-cell-price-benchmark-data",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":563,"content":573,"excerpt":669,"featured":51,"reporter":670,"_editable":674,"component":675,"seo_title":553,"categories":676,"visibility":680,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":681,"featured_image":685,"seo_description":669,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":688,"formattedArticleDate":689},"407d0754-9500-4a5c-b695-997155bc49e0","2024-01-31 00:00",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",[564],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":567},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":568,"image":569,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":570},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":574,"content":575},"doc",[576,583,598,607,612,617,622,627,632,637,644,649,654,659,664],{"type":577,"attrs":578,"content":579},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[580],{"text":581,"type":582},"Falling cathode and anode raw material prices in 2023 have magnified the contributions of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell prices, Benchmark analysis shows.","text",{"type":577,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586,588,596],{"text":587,"type":582},"Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 622 battery cell prices fell from $145.2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) at the start of the year to $90.1/kWh by December 2023, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":589,"type":582,"marks":590},"Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",[591],{"type":592,"attrs":593},"link",{"href":594,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":595},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/reports/","url",{"text":597,"type":582},".",{"type":577,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"type":602,"attrs":603},"image",{"id":49,"alt":604,"src":605,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":606},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/44d50c9442/bm-cell-price-change-jan-dec-2023.png",{},{"type":577,"attrs":608,"content":609},{"textAlign":49},[610],{"text":611,"type":582},"Over the same period, cathode and anode raw materials’ share of NCM 622 battery cell prices fell from 71% to 54% largely driven by lower lithium prices. This changing price dynamic has increased the contribution of production costs and peripheral battery materials used in cell assembly—such as separator and electrolyte materials—rising from 18% at the start of 2023 to 31% of costs by the end of the year. ",{"type":577,"attrs":613,"content":614},{"textAlign":49},[615],{"text":616,"type":582},"“After two years in which raw material pricing dominated the battery cell pricing narrative, we could be re-entering an era where operational costs have a large part to play,” said Evan Hartley, a senior analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":577,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":582},"This means looking to factors like labour and energy costs to understand cell price.",{"type":577,"attrs":623,"content":624},{"textAlign":49},[625],{"text":626,"type":582},"In the US, higher wages have already raised operating costs. Strike action by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the US won a 25% wage increase for workers, according to Reuters. The raise was matched by Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda, though their employees are not members of the UAW. ",{"type":577,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":582},"However, the overall cost of labour has only increased 10% in the US over the past two years, according to Benchmark data. The cost of power has seen a more modest increase, rising by 5% since 2021. In the EU, labour and power costs have risen by 9% and 137% respectively. ",{"type":577,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":582},"Over time, cell manufacturers will look to employ more automation and efficient technology to reduce operational costs, potentially reversing the inflationary trends present today.",{"type":638,"attrs":639,"content":641},"heading",{"level":640,"textAlign":49},4,[642],{"text":643,"type":582},"Echoes from the past ",{"type":577,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":582},"Prior to the rise of gigawatt hour production in the mid-to-late 2010s, battery cell prices were largely determined by processing and manufacturing costs. ",{"type":577,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":582},"The economies of scale achieved through gigafactory production helped drive down cell prices but increased the share of the cost of raw materials used in the cathode and anode. As battery and automakers expanded production, they were in turn exposed to greater raw material price volatility risks.",{"type":577,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":582},"The raw material price rises seen between 2021 and 2022 illustrated how these risks could develop over a relatively short period of time. However, since then, consistently falling prices have eased the burden on cell makers. ",{"type":577,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":582},"“It is not looking likely that these material prices will pick back up in the next quarter or beyond,” said Hartley. ",{"type":577,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":582},"However, with cathode and anode raw materials still contributing to more than half of NCM 622 cell prices and deficits set to emerge later this decade, the battery industry remains exposed to longer-term raw material price risk.","Falling cathode and anode raw material prices in 2023 have magnified the contributions of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell prices, Benchmark analysis shows. Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 622 battery cell prices fell from $145.2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) at the start of the year to $90.1/kWh by December 2023, according to Benchmark’s […]",[671],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":672},{"job_title":568,"image":673,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},{"filename":570},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"407d0754-9500-4a5c-b695-997155bc49e0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[677],{"slug":678,"name":679},"batteries","Batteries","private",{"id":49,"alt":682,"name":604,"focus":604,"title":682,"source":604,"filename":605,"copyright":604,"fieldtype":683,"meta_data":684,"is_external_url":51},"Two donut charts showing how different raw materials and costs of production made up the cost of a n NCM622 battery in January and December 2023.","asset",{"alt":682,"title":682,"source":604,"copyright":604},{"id":49,"alt":604,"name":604,"focus":604,"title":604,"source":604,"filename":686,"copyright":604,"fieldtype":683,"meta_data":687,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae20cac3ca/bm-lithium-ion-battery-adobe-stock-image.jpeg",{"alt":604,"title":604,"source":604,"copyright":604},"Jan 31, 2024","31st January 2024",[],[],1789141526151]