Local View: More affordable batteries will mean more affordable electric vehicles – Duluth News Tribune

The weekly visit to the gas station prompts one to think about buying an electric vehicle. Gas prices are outrageous. An electric vehicle like the Tesla model 3 gets 4.4 miles on about 12 cents of electrical power from your local power company. That’s about 37 miles on a dollar of electricity. Where can I buy one of those again?The problem, of course, is that electric vehicles are very expensive today. In 2020, it was estimated that 40% to 50% of the cost of an electric vehicle came from its battery pack. The key to affordable electric vehicles rests in the industry’s ability to build much lower-cost batteries. Today, the majority of a battery’s cost is dominated by expensive metals such as nickel and cobalt. This is driving battery and auto manufacturers to invest in non-nickel and non-cobalt battery technologies.Last July, Tesla owner Elon Musk noted that his…

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