If you are building your own Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car, having an on board battery pack made of rechargeable lithium batteries would be a dream come true.
At present, lithium ion batteries are considered an ideal choice for homemade electric cars because they are light, last longer before recharge, generate more power output etc.
The list of benefits rechargeable lithium batteries have over deep cycle batteries is very long. The reason DIY electric car builders don’t use them is the astronomical cost. Why are lithium batteries so damn expensive? Do they lack economies of scale or are they simply cost a lot to manufacture?
As a matter of fact, lithium batteries lack economies of scale and cost a bomb to make. Firstly, even though most modern electronic gadgets runs on small rechargeable lithium ion batteries, their demand is still relatively small compared to car lead acid batteries or marine deep cycle batteries.
Another reason why lithium batteries are so expensive is the manufacturing process. Making a lead acid or deep cycle battery is relatively easy and does not require sophisticated equipment.
Building lithium batteries require both precision chemistry and manufacturing which require special custom facilities. To build a lithium ion battery manufacturing plant would require the investment of hundreds of million dollars.
If you have the budget, you still can build an electric car using lithium battery pack. Your investment cost will be somewhere around $5,000. But for most people, that would have burst their EV conversion budget. Until the cost of lithium batteries comes down, EV enthusiasts would have to use deep cycle batteries for the time being.
Convert Your Own Electric Car
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