Auto industry must halve EV battery weight over next decade, Stellantis CEO says

Acea SpA

03/04/2024 16:13

MILAN, April 3 (Reuters) - The automotive industry will
have to reduce the weight of EV batteries by 50% in the next 10
years to make electrification environmentally meaningful, the
head of Stellantis  STLAM.MI  said on Wednesday.
    Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during the automaker's
Freedom of Mobility Forum that making a battery pack for an
electric vehicle (EV) with a "decent range" of 400 kilometres
(250 miles) now took on average 1,000 pounds, or around 500
kilograms, of additional raw materials compared to a traditional
car.
    "From an environmental standpoint ... I don't think it makes
sense," Tavares said.
    The Stellantis CEO said the auto industry, based on new
science, needed to achieve a "breakthrough" in terms of cells'
power density.
    "I think that's on the way. I think over the next decade
we'll be able to reduce the battery pack weight by 50%, hence
reducing by 50% the use of additional raw materials against a
conventional vehicle," he said.
    He added this would also help solve the problem of lithium
scarcity, a key element in most of today's batteries.
    Stellantis' Freedom of Mobility Forum - which on Wednesday
held its second annual session - was set up by the group after
it decided to leave European auto lobby group ACEA at the end of
2022. It is designed to promote discussions with stakeholders
over covering the problems and trends of mobility and their
implications for global warming.
    During the forum Tavares also said he did not see hydrogen
as a viable alternative technology for present mass mobility due
to its "sky high" costs, even assuming that energy used to
produce hydrogen was clean.
    "I'm afraid that for the time being affordability is going
to be a major showstopper for hydrogen," Tavares said. "For the
near future, it's (possibly) going to be a solution for fleets
of big corporations, but certainly not for normal citizens." 
    

 (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by David Evans)
 ((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))