The rise of cheap Chinese electric vehicles has put pressure on traditional automakers, who have looked to suppliers like battery materials and chipmakers to cut costs and develop affordable EVs faster, Reuters reported.
"Automakers are really now only turning to affordable vehicles, knowing they've got to or they'll lose out to Chinese manufacturers," said Andy Palmer, chairman of UK company Brill Power, which has built hardware and software to improve EV battery management system performance
Palmer, former Aston Martin CEO, said Brill Power's solutions might increase EV range by 60% and permit smaller batteries. The most expensive part of an EV is its battery.
Because EVs are expensive, fears of declining demand have intensified impetus to lower costs.
That urgency is everywhere. Last month, Renault announced 40% cost savings for its EVs to match fossil-fuel vehicles.
Stellantis and China's CATL are developing a European plant to create cheaper LFP batteries and revealed the 23,300-euro Citroen e-C3 SUV.
Volkswagen and Tesla are creating 25,000-euro EVs.
OneD Battery Sciences CEO Vincent Pluvinage noted that every meeting with European automaker customers began with the same phrase: ''Reducing costs is now more important than anything else.''
OneD adds silicon nanowires to graphite EV battery anode material to increase range and reduce charging time, saving $281—nearly 50%—compared to graphite alone for a 100 kWh battery.
Pluvinage said automakers abhor complex, costly new processes, but OneD created a manufacturing procedure on inexpensive solar panel gear. OneD's first test plant opens early next year.
German city Hodenhagen Veekim's EV motor uses ferrite magnets instead of rare earths, which five automakers and suppliers are testing for economical EV projects.
China controls rare earth mining and processing, so legacy automakers seek to reduce consumption. EV motors can be 20% cheaper with cheaper ferrite and 3D-printed copper wire, according to Veekim CEO Peter Siegle. Over 500 euros can buy a car.
Startups are not the only ones seeking EV cost reductions.
In the UK, BYD's Dolphin hatchback costs 26,000 pounds ($33,000), roughly 30% less than the VW ID.3.
The Inflation Reduction Act subsidies shield U.S. automakers from Chinese EV imports, but they want cheaper EVs.
GM says it saved billions by designing a cheaper LFP battery pack for its redesigned Bolt EV, which will ship in 2025 two years early.
Ford will increase "in-sourcing" of batteries and inverters by 50% to minimise costs.
Michigan-based CEO Mujeeb Ijaz said Our Next Energy (ONE) is developing a "Ares" battery pack with cheaper LFP technology that should give automakers the same electric driving range for half the price and a "Gemini" pack for BMW that offers extended range and should cost $75/kWh compared to $130/kWh today.
Suppliers claimed automakers prefer cheaper items that cut production expenses.
CelLink of San Carlos, California, has created a laminate sheet that robots can install instead of labor-intensive wire harnesses.
Last year, CelLink received $250 million from investors and announced a $362 million U.S. government loan for its Texas factory in May.
According to CEO Kevin Coakley, "We've gotten some form of a purchase order from basically every major automaker that's come through there."
Addionics, an Israeli business, has created porous, three-dimensional copper and aluminium electrode battery materials that appear like sheer silk scarves and utilise 60% less copper.
CEO Moshiel Biton stated the electrodes speed charging and increase EV range by 30%. Automakers prefer estimated $7.50 per kWh savings.
"What we hear from carmakers today is, 'We don't need longer range, we want lower costs,'" said Biton./BGNES
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