Climate
Verified dataBatteries got 99% cheaper
The price of lithium-ion battery cells has fallen from about $9,200 per kilowatt-hour in 1991 to under $80 in 2024 (in constant 2024 dollars) — the quiet engine behind cheap solar storage and electric cars.
CSV · 34 rows · 1991–2024
Lithium-ion battery cell prices fell about 99% between 1991 and 2024 — from roughly $9,200 to under $80 per kilowatt-hour in constant 2024 dollars — the decline that made electric cars and cheap grid storage possible.
Key findings
- Battery cell prices fell about 99% between 1991 and 2024, from ~$9,210 to $78 per kWh (2024 dollars).
- That collapse is what made electric cars and grid-scale storage affordable.
- Prices briefly rose in 2022 as raw-material costs spiked, then resumed their long decline.
Explore the data
Coverage: Jan 1, 1991 – Dec 31, 2024 · World
Free to download and reuse. Get the data behind every new chart →
Sources
Primary source
BloombergNEF; Ziegler & Trancik (2021)
via Our World in Data
Price of lithium-ion battery cells
Accessed Aug 22, 2026
Representative lithium-ion cell price across chemistries, constant 2024 US$/kWh, 1991–2024.
Methodology
Representative price of lithium-ion battery cells across all major chemistries, in constant 2024 US dollars per kilowatt-hour (adjusted for inflation), 1991 to 2024. Data are compiled by Our World in Data from BloombergNEF and Ziegler & Trancik (2021).
What this does not show
These are cell prices; a complete battery pack (cells plus housing, wiring and management electronics) costs more per kilowatt-hour. Figures are inflation-adjusted representative estimates across chemistries. After decades of decline they ticked up in 2022 as lithium and other raw-material costs spiked, then resumed falling.
Creator
Reuse this visualization
Cite this
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed code
<figure style="margin:0;max-width:1600px">
<a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/battery-cell-price-1991-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://chartive.org/infographics/battery-cell-price-1991-2024.png" alt="Log-scale line chart of lithium-ion battery cell prices in constant 2024 dollars, falling from about $9,210 per kilowatt-hour in 1991 to $78 in 2024, with a small uptick in 2022." width="1600" height="2133" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" />
</a>
<figcaption style="font:14px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#57534e;margin-top:8px">
Graphic by Daniel Okafor, using data from BloombergNEF; Ziegler & Trancik (2021) — via <a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/battery-cell-price-1991-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chartive</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Reuse is welcome — the embed keeps a link back to the source.
