Storage prices down to $156/kWh, 87% fall since 2010

BNEF’s new report has reported that global battery energy storage prices have fallen to $156/kWh in 2019 — down 87% from $1,100 from 2010. The drop comes from an expansion of battery usage worldwide, primarily in EVs. Costs are likely to fall below to $100/kWh by 2024 as battery manufacturing becomes even more cost-efficient and cells achieve higher energy density. 

Incidentally, Tennessee-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has devised a novel new control system to use li-ion battery packs previously used in EVs for grid balancing and renewable energy storage. 18.7 million EVs are expected to be on the US’ roads by 2030 and ORNL hopes to capitalise on the growing used batteries market. 

EESL to float luxury EV tender, bags order for 2,500 charging stations 

India’s EESL will reportedly launch a tender for up to 200 luxury electric cars in January 2020, and it’s in talks with ride-hailing services Ola and Uber to lease them out. The cars may cost up to Rs. 25 lakh each and while 50 apiece would likely go to the aggregators, the rest may also be put into service with ministries and public sector undertakings. 

EESL has also bagged an order for installing 2,500 EV charging stations across 90 Indian cities. The order was jointly won with REIL (Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd.) and falls under the FAME-II scheme for promoting e-mobility. 

SUVs outselling EVs 37-1 in the UK

New research by the UKERC (UK Energy Research Centre) has revealed that gas-guzzling SUVs have outsold EVs 37-1 in the UK in the last four years. This could effectively neutralise all efforts to lower the automotive sector’s carbon emissions, as SUVs emit up to four times the CO2 emitted by regular passenger cars. Their impact is also likely to last for at least another 10 years, which is the time they’re expected to spend on the country’s roads — and therefore challenge its transition to net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050. 

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