Cost comparison of producing high-performance Li-ion batteries in the U.S. and in China

This study compares the costs of manufacturing high-performance 18650-size lithium-ion cells in China and in the United States. The comparison reflects all costs of constructing and staffing a stand-alone manufacturing plant under current industry practice and using modern automated production techniques. Identical materials are used for each of the cells. This study finds that, when produced at large volume using automated equipment, cell materials account for 78–80% of total cell cost; costs for highly trained personnel are similar in China and the United States. Several other major drivers of production costs (such as logistics, land acquisition and energy costs) are higher in China, making total costs for each location roughly comparable. These comparisons suggest that U.S. manufacture of advanced batteries can be cost-competitive, and that Chinese battery manufacturing plants do not offer significant advantages in terms of profitability.

► We modeled the cost of Li-ion cells produced by hand and automated cell assembly.
► Volume cell production with automation equalizes cell cost worldwide.
► Materials costs constitute 80% of cell cost in automated production.