The technology curve is bending in our favor

Electric vehicle charging on a snowy evening

Ask a driver who’s committed to their gas-powered vehicle why they haven’t made the switch to electric yet, and you’ll hear reasons like sound (“that sweet purr of my V8”), cost - and, commonly, anticipation for better, cheaper batteries.

Novel battery technology has been evolving for years, but 2025 saw several major milestones toward a future of ubiquitous, affordable batteries that can hold a ton of power and charge quickly.

This month, BloombergNEF reported that the average global price of a lithium-ion battery pack had fallen to a record low of about $108 per kilowatt-hour in 2025. That’s down 8 percent from 2024 and roughly 93 percent lower than in 2010.

That kind of cost cratering is a big reason electric vehicles keep getting more affordable and why battery storage is showing up on grids all over the world. Analysts even expect further declines in battery prices in 2026, which will keep narrowing the gap between gasoline vehicles and EVs.

Better, cheaper batteries

At the same time, engineers are constantly moving the needle for what batteries can do. One major trend is the move from graphite to silicon-rich anodes, which can store more energy in the same space and accept faster charging.

Colorado-based Sionic Energy, working alongside materials company Group14, has demonstrated a 100 percent silicon anode that could boost energy density by about 40 percent compared with today’s cells. Another startup, GDI, is scaling up silicon anodes that aim for roughly 30 percent higher energy density and sub-15-minute fast charging. InsideEVs, a popular industry publication, notes that high-silicon anodes are especially promising for faster charge times, not just extra range.

Even bigger changes may come from solid-state batteries, which replace the liquids inside lithium-ion cells with a solid material. Toyota has been outspoken with its plans to launch EVs with solid-state packs around 2027-2028 and has floated the idea of batteries that could retain about 90 percent of their capacity after 40 years of use. Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Dodge, has been developing solid-state cells they claim can fast-charge from 15 to 90 percent in about 18 minutes while operating in temperatures from about -22°F to 113°F.

What does this mean for communities in Southwest Colorado? Over the next decade, battery advances are likely to bring EVs with more range, quicker charging on cold mornings, and lower upfront prices. They will also mean smaller, more efficient batteries that use fewer raw materials. 

For a rural region where single occupancy vehicles are essential, this is good news: The technology curve is bending in our favor.