BioSolar Focuses on Driving Down Lithium-ion Battery Prices
BioSolar, Inc., a developer of breakthrough energy storage technology and materials, recently further described its plan to help drive down the cost of lithium-ion batteries. The Company’s management believes that use of its silicon-metal (Si-M) anode materials, currently under development, can help reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries. Recent reports indicate that lithium-ion battery costs have continued to fall drastically, while the small-scale battery storage market continues to significantly grow in market potential. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), “lithium-ion battery prices have fallen ‘by almost half just since 2014” with the electric vehicle industry being the key driver. The falling cost of batteries has resulted in electric vehicles reaching $300 per kWh price point which is needed to be considered competitive with natural gas plants. The author of a ThinkProgress article cites that when “battery prices drop another 50 percent, which BNEF thinks will happen within a decade or so, batteries dominate the market.”
“The decline in the cost of batteries has been the result of new innovative manufacturing processes, as well as the scale of economy associated with higher manufacturing volume,” said Dr. David Lee, BioSolar’s Chief Executive Officer. “While these recent milestones and projected advancements are terrific, future projections are more heavily dependent upon innovations in and upgrades to battery materials not commercially available at present time.”
The Company’s Si-M anode material is expected to be substantially less expensive than that of the benchmark silicon-carbon anode material, which is the key cost issue typically associated with battery technology. Material costs represent over 60 percent of the total battery cost in a typical lithium-ion battery. BioSolar believes its strategy of pursuing anode material advancements to support next-generation lithium-ion batteries, can play an important role within the electric vehicle sector, and the broader energy storage technology industry. “By providing key material technologies to reduce lithium-ion battery costs, coupled with the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles, the BioSolar team believes it can serve a tremendous market opportunity,” concluded Dr. Lee.
