Electrification
The Top 10 EV Battery Manufacturers in 2022
The Top 10 EV Battery Manufacturers in 2022
The global electric vehicle (EV) battery market is expected to grow from $17 billion to more than $95 billion between 2019 and 2028.
With increasing demand to decarbonize the transportation sector, companies producing the batteries that power EVs have seen substantial momentum.
Here we update our previous graphic of the top 10 EV battery manufacturers, bringing you the world’s biggest battery manufacturers in 2022.
Chinese Dominance
Despite efforts from the United States and Europe to increase the domestic production of batteries, the market is still dominated by Asian suppliers.
The top 10 producers are all Asian companies.
Currently, Chinese companies make up 56% of the EV battery market, followed by Korean companies (26%) and Japanese manufacturers (10%).
The leading battery supplier, CATL, expanded its market share from 32% in 2021 to 34% in 2022. One-third of the world’s EV batteries come from the Chinese company. CATL provides lithium-ion batteries to Tesla, Peugeot, Hyundai, Honda, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
Rank | Company | 2022 Market Share | Country |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | CATL | 34% | China 🇨🇳 |
#2 | LG Energy Solution | 14% | Korea 🇰🇷 |
#3 | BYD | 12% | China 🇨🇳 |
#4 | Panasonic | 10% | Japan 🇯🇵 |
#5 | SK On | 7% | Korea 🇰🇷 |
#6 | Samsung SDI | 5% | Korea 🇰🇷 |
#7 | CALB | 4% | China 🇨🇳 |
#8 | Guoxuan | 3% | China 🇨🇳 |
#9 | Sunwoda | 2% | China 🇨🇳 |
#10 | SVOLT | 1% | China 🇨🇳 |
Other | 8% | ROW 🌐 |
Despite facing strict scrutiny after EV battery-fire recalls in the United States, LG Energy Solution remains the second-biggest battery manufacturer. In 2021, the South Korean supplier agreed to reimburse General Motors $1.9 billion to cover the 143,000 Chevy Bolt EVs recalled due to fire risks from faulty batteries.
BYD took the third spot from Panasonic as it nearly doubled its market share over the last year. The Warren Buffett-backed company is the world’s third-largest automaker by market cap, but it also produces batteries sold in markets around the world. Recent sales figures point to BYD overtaking LG Energy Solution in market share the coming months or years.
The Age of Battery Power
Electric vehicles are here to stay, while internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are set to fade away in the coming decades. Recently, General Motors announced that it aims to stop selling ICE vehicles by 2035, while Audi plans to stop producing such models by 2033.
Besides EVs, battery technology is essential for the energy transition, providing storage capacity for intermittent solar and wind generation.
As battery makers work to supply the EV transition’s increasing demand and improve energy density in their products, we can expect more interesting developments within this industry.
Electrification
Visualized: What is the Cost of Electric Vehicle Batteries?
The cost of electric vehicle batteries can vary based on size and chemical composition. Here are the battery costs of six popular EV models.

What is the Cost of Electric Vehicle Batteries?
The cost of an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack can vary depending on composition and chemistry.
In this graphic, we use data from Benchmark Minerals Intelligence to showcase the different costs of battery cells on popular electric vehicles.
Size Matters
Some EV owners are taken by surprise when they discover the cost of replacing their batteries.
Depending on the brand and model of the vehicle, the cost of a new lithium-ion battery pack might be as high as $25,000:
Vehicle | Battery Type | Battery Capacity | Battery Cost | Total Cost of EV |
---|---|---|---|---|
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ | Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA) | 200 kWh | $22,540 | $130,000 |
2023 Tesla Model S | Nickel Cobalt Aluminum (NCA) | 100 kWh | $12,030 | $88,490 |
2025 RAM 1500 REV | Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) | 229 kWh | $25,853 | $81,000 |
2022 Rivian Delivery Van | Lithium Iron phosphate (LFP) | 135 kWh | $13,298 | $52,690 |
2023 Ford Mustang | Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) | 70 kWh | $6,895 | $43,179 |
2023 VW ID.4 | Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM622) | 62 kWh | $8,730 | $37,250 |
The price of an EV battery pack can be shaped by various factors such as raw material costs, production expenses, packaging complexities, and supply chain stability. One of the main factors is chemical composition.
Graphite is the standard material used for the anodes in most lithium-ion batteries.
However, it is the mineral composition of the cathode that usually changes. It includes lithium and other minerals such as nickel, manganese, cobalt, or iron. This specific composition is pivotal in establishing the battery’s capacity, power, safety, lifespan, cost, and overall performance.
Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) battery cells have an average price of $120.3 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) has a slightly lower price point at $112.7 per kWh. Both contain significant nickel proportions, increasing the battery’s energy density and allowing for longer range.
At a lower cost are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are cheaper to make than cobalt and nickel-based variants. LFP battery cells have an average price of $98.5 per kWh. However, they offer less specific energy and are more suitable for standard- or short-range EVs.
Which Battery Dominates the EV Market?
In 2021, the battery market was dominated by NCM batteries, with 58% of the market share, followed by LFP and NCA, holding 21% each.
Looking ahead to 2026, the market share of LFP is predicted to nearly double, reaching 38%.
NCM is anticipated to constitute 45% of the market and NCA is expected to decline to 7%.
Electrification
How Clean is the Nickel and Lithium in a Battery?
This graphic from Wood Mackenzie shows how nickel and lithium mining can significantly impact the environment, depending on the processes used.

How Clean is the Nickel and Lithium in a Battery?
The production of lithium (Li) and nickel (Ni), two key raw materials for batteries, can produce vastly different emissions profiles.
This graphic from Wood Mackenzie shows how nickel and lithium mining can significantly impact the environment, depending on the processes used for extraction.
Nickel Emissions Per Extraction Process
Nickel is a crucial metal in modern infrastructure and technology, with major uses in stainless steel and alloys. Nickel’s electrical conductivity also makes it ideal for facilitating current flow within battery cells.
Today, there are two major methods of nickel mining:
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From laterite deposits, which are predominantly found in tropical regions. This involves open-pit mining, where large amounts of soil and overburden need to be removed to access the nickel-rich ore.
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From sulphide ores, which involves underground or open-pit mining of ore deposits containing nickel sulphide minerals.
Although nickel laterites make up 70% of the world’s nickel reserves, magmatic sulphide deposits produced 60% of the world’s nickel over the last 60 years.
Compared to laterite extraction, sulphide mining typically emits fewer tonnes of CO2 per tonne of nickel equivalent as it involves less soil disturbance and has a smaller physical footprint:
Ore Type | Process | Product | Tonnes of CO2 per tonne of Ni equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
Sulphides | Electric / Flash Smelting | Refined Ni / Matte | 6 |
Laterite | High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) | Refined Ni / Mixed Sulpide Precipitate / Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate | 13.7 |
Laterite | Blast Furnace / RKEF | Nickel Pig Iron / Matte | 45.1 |
Nickel extraction from laterites can impose significant environmental impacts, such as deforestation, habitat destruction, and soil erosion.
Additionally, laterite ores often contain high levels of moisture, requiring energy-intensive drying processes to prepare them for further extraction. After extraction, the smelting of laterites requires a significant amount of energy, which is largely sourced from fossil fuels.
Although sulphide mining is cleaner, it poses other environmental challenges. The extraction and processing of sulphide ores can release sulphur compounds and heavy metals into the environment, potentially leading to acid mine drainage and contamination of water sources if not managed properly.
In addition, nickel sulphides are typically more expensive to mine due to their hard rock nature.
Lithium Emissions Per Extraction Process
Lithium is the major ingredient in rechargeable batteries found in phones, hybrid cars, electric bikes, and grid-scale storage systems.
Today, there are two major methods of lithium extraction:
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From brine, pumping lithium-rich brine from underground aquifers into evaporation ponds, where solar energy evaporates the water and concentrates the lithium content. The concentrated brine is then further processed to extract lithium carbonate or hydroxide.
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Hard rock mining, or extracting lithium from mineral ores (primarily spodumene) found in pegmatite deposits. Australia, the world’s leading producer of lithium (46.9%), extracts lithium directly from hard rock.
Brine extraction is typically employed in countries with salt flats, such as Chile, Argentina, and China. It is generally considered a lower-cost method, but it can have environmental impacts such as water usage, potential contamination of local water sources, and alteration of ecosystems.
The process, however, emits fewer tonnes of CO2 per tonne of lithium-carbonate-equivalent (LCE) than mining:
Source | Ore Type | Process | Tonnes of CO2 per tonne of LCE |
---|---|---|---|
Mineral | Spodumene | Mine | 9 |
Mineral | Petalite, lepidolite and others | Mine | 8 |
Brine | N/A | Extraction/Evaporation | 3 |
Mining involves drilling, blasting, and crushing the ore, followed by flotation to separate lithium-bearing minerals from other minerals. This type of extraction can have environmental impacts such as land disturbance, energy consumption, and the generation of waste rock and tailings.
Sustainable Production of Lithium and Nickel
Environmentally responsible practices in the extraction and processing of nickel and lithium are essential to ensure the sustainability of the battery supply chain.
This includes implementing stringent environmental regulations, promoting energy efficiency, reducing water consumption, and exploring cleaner technologies. Continued research and development efforts focused on improving extraction methods and minimizing environmental impacts are crucial.
Sign up to Wood Mackenzie’s Inside Track to learn more about the impact of an accelerated energy transition on mining and metals.
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