Cheap batteries have been the key factor for the mass adoption of electric cars for a while now. Until recently, battery costs were on a steady downward curve as technology improved and efficiency increased. But then the pandemic came and wrought havoc on every single industry and supply chain. Lithium prices are running to record highs at the moment, with the London Metal Exchange reporting the price for a kilogram of lithium hydroxide—one of three forms of lithium traded on global markets—at $27 last Friday. The other forms of battery-grade lithium are also soaring, as seen in these charts from Fastmarkets. And this trend is threatening the EV revolution. That revolution was to be driven by the longer ranges carmakers offer for their electric cars but mostly by these cars becoming more affordable thanks to cheaper batteries, the result of economies of scale. Yet because of the global shortage […]