Priorities
Batteries and Vehicles
Policies to encourage the manufacture of batteries and vehicles at scale are critical to bringing prices down.
No obstacle to GEV adoption has been as formidable as the development of battery technology. In short, batteries have never been able to compete with the tremendous energy density of petroleum fuels. The last several years, however, have seen enormous strides in battery technology, substantially lowering costs and increasing range potential. This progress has enabled the design and manufacture of grid-enabled vehicles that can compete with the performance and convenience of gasoline-powered cars.
The largest obstacle to widespread consumer adoption of electric vehicles will be cost. The greatest reduction in battery prices will come when manufacturers reach scale in production volumes, which for individual facilities is estimated at roughly 100,000 units per year. The scale that can be achieved in the automotive supply base will, in turn, depend on the demand created by each automaker’s electric vehicle development strategy.
Policies to encourage the manufacture of batteries and vehicles at scale are critical to bringing prices down. In order to speed this process, the Coalition recommends:
- Establishing tax credits for installing automotive grade batteries in stationary applications to help drive scale
- Establishing loan guarantees for retooling automotive assembly lines