On April 19, the global auto industry, which is trapped by a shortage of semiconductor components, may face a shortage of electric vehicle batteries in the next few years. Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has indicated that there may be a serious shortage.
Rivian has said publicly that producing enough batteries will be the biggest hurdle for an industry trying to boost global electric vehicle sales from the current millions to tens of millions over the next decade.
Rivian believes that the current global production of electric vehicle batteries is less than 10% of the demand in the next decade, which means that 90%-95% of the supply does not yet exist. The shortage of batteries for electric vehicles that the auto industry may face in the next 20 years will be more severe than the shortage of chips facing the automotive sector today.
Electric vehicle batteries may face shortages, from the mining of cobalt, lithium, nickel and other raw materials to processing, and then to the production of batteries, there will be shortages, and it will be a shortage of the entire industry chain.
Although Rivian believes that the auto industry may face a severe shortage of electric vehicle batteries in the future, battery suppliers and automakers are increasing investment in this area. CATL and LG New Energy, two major power battery suppliers, are constantly building factories; SK Innovation has divested its battery business last year and established a new company, SK On, which is also considering large-scale financing; sources said last year It was also revealed that Samsung SDI is considering divesting the battery business in order to secure sufficient funds for investment in this business.
In addition to pure battery suppliers, car manufacturers involved in battery production are also investing heavily in the production of electric vehicle batteries. Tesla's 4680 battery, launched in October 2020, has been mass-produced and used in Model Y; BYD's blade battery, in addition to being used in a large number of its models, has also been supplied to other manufacturers last year; Herbert Die Volkswagen under the leadership of Sri Lanka is also investing heavily in electric vehicles, and they are also working with partners to promote the construction of six large battery factories.
