The Electric: A Coming Chinese Battery Deluge?

On Aug. 15, a California-based executive of Chinese battery company Gotion posted a message on LinkedIn, offering lithium-ion batteries at a “significant” markdown. “If you are interested in cells, modules, packs, or systems and would like to take deliveries in the next 6 months—let’s talk,” wrote Vikash Venkataramana, Gotion’s vice president of energy storage solutions for the U.S.

Venkataramana’s public pitch for customers was surprising in an intensely secretive industry where players fear losing any competitive edge. But it reflects a new industry reality: Just last year, global automakers scrambled to lock in long-term contracts for electric vehicle batteries amid forecasts of a dire, decadelong shortage. Now battery makers are courting the automakers, and observers such as Goldman Sachs are forecasting a battery surplus and much lower prices beginning in 2025. Already, prices for NMC622, the standard nickel-based EV battery chemistry, have fallen about 14% since March, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a battery research firm.