TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.—Battery-electric vehicles are likely to remain more expensive than their traditionally powered counterparts until 2028, according to a top official with the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.
But promising battery-chemistry technologies likely are to drive down the per-kilowatt-hour cost of batteries to a point that would make BEVs cost competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles, Michael Berube said.
Berube, the acting deputy assistant secretary for sustainable transportation, said a number of factors are contributing to bring down the operating costs of BEVs, including an increasing use of cheaper renewable energy sources by utilities as well as chemistry advances in battery development.