Battery Cost Index

Providing greater transparency into the cost of key Li-ion cell components

Volatile battery raw material prices, varying battery chemistries and differing manufacturing costs result in cell prices that appear opaque and subjective. This makes it difficult for market participants to budget effectively, anticipate price changes, bring transparency to transactions and effectively track cost changes over time.

The Fastmarkets Battery Cost Index is an easy-to-use cost model for total cell costs, including cost breakdown of active anode material (AAM), cathode active material (CAM), separator, electrolyte, other materials, energy, labor and operational costs across multiple chemistries and geographies. The Fastmarkets Battery Cost Index provides historical costs, changes over time and cell cost forecasts.

Key features of the Battery Cost Index

  • Material and production costs for NMC (111, 532, 622, 811) and LFP
  • Geographical cell cost summaries for China, South Korea, Germany and the United States
  • Cell cost forecasts out to 2033
  • Market-leading Fastmarkets price data to provide real-time CAM costs
  • Written commentary on key drivers impacting cost and cost changes
  • Historic monthly cell costs
Artistic vision of a neon lit battery supply

Our battery cost index breaks down the cost, historical and forecast,
for different cell types and chemistries

We buy cathode material; this is a valuable tool to help us to understand how suppliers cost the cathodes, this can help us to have more informed negotiations.
EV battery procurement, OEM
Read the latest battery raw materials insights

Actionable insights and market intel on the battery materials market and how the cost of raw materials is impacting the cost of electric vehicles

Uncertainty over growing bullish sentiment in the cobalt market is among the main conversation topics likely to feature in meetings throughout LME Week, which runs from October 9-13

Investment for new projects outside of China and acceptance that synthetic graphite will continue to play a role in supplying the anode battery sector are key for the development of the nascent European graphite market, according to panelists at Fastmarkets’ European Battery Raw Materials conference in Amsterdam

The relatively high costs for black mass material meant that some recyclers in China and Southeast Asia were turning away from purchases of such powders in favor of other options

France-based metallurgy firm Eramet and utility company Suez announced this week that they will begin the recycling of electric vehicle (EV) batteries at a site in Dunkirk, northern France, beginning in 2025

Silicon production outside China will need to increase significantly if it is to provide sufficient material to produce battery anodes for the energy transition in the rest of the world, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Tuesday September 26

Delegates at Fastmarkets’ European Battery Raw Materials Conference in Amsterdam, held September 18-20, discussed their expectations and the likely developments in the global battery raw materials markets. Here are five key takeaways

China’s lithium prices continued to decrease over the week to Thursday September 21 amid ongoing downward pressure from scarce spot demand and bearish sentiment, as well as weakening Chinese futures

Demand for black mass in key Asian import markets has faced further pressure in the past week amid weakening battery metals prices which are leaving consumers of the shredded battery powder with poor margins, sources said

September and October are usually peak demand months for Chinese markets, leading to them being coined “Golden September” and “Silver October”. However, demand may fail to meet traditional expectations in China’s lithium market this year

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