Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Other and primary batteries: Economics

How cheap lithium raised the bar for every rival

What this tab covers Economics and financial structure: capital versus operating cost, levelised cost of storage, and how the asset earns money.

Emerging chemistries must beat lithium-ion prices that have collapsed since 2022; primary cells are cheap per unit but very expensive per kWh, and their market is a consumer one rather than a grid one.

Capex versus opex

Unfavourable

The cost hurdle has risen: battery-grade lithium carbonate fell from USD 63,700/t in 2022 to about USD 9,000/t in 2025 (USGS annual averages in real terms), reducing the raw-material saving that zinc, magnesium or potassium chemistries offer. PNNL's 2021 zinc system estimate (USD 449/kWh at 10 MW, 10 hours) was already above lithium iron phosphate. Primary cells have no opex but must be bought again after each use.15

Lithium carbonate price, real USD 63,700/t (2022) to USD 9,000/t (2025)5 Zinc system installed cost, 2021 USD 449/kWh (10 MW / 10 h)1

Levelised cost of storage

Unfavourable

No LCOS for zinc-ion, magnesium-ion or potassium-ion was found in Lazard, PNNL or IEA sources reviewed. The benchmark is US standalone 4-hour lithium-ion at USD 210 to 292/MWh in Lazard's 2026 edition, up from USD 115 to 254/MWh in 2025 because US tariffs cut access to cheap Chinese cells. LCOS is not meaningful for primary cells, whose cost per kWh is many times higher than any rechargeable battery.1112

Lithium-ion LCOS, 100 MW / 4 h, 2026 USD 210-292/MWh (USD 115-254/MWh in 2025)1112

Revenue stack and market participation

Mixed

If zinc-ion reaches grid scale it would compete in the 2 to 8 hour arbitrage and capacity market against lithium-ion and sodium-ion, with non-flammability as its selling point for urban or indoor sites. Primary cells earn retail margins in devices that need long shelf life and low self-discharge: hearing aids, watches, medical devices, smoke alarms and remote sensors.16

AA alkaline shelf life Up to 10 years at 21 C16

Sources

  1. 2022 Grid Energy Storage Technology Cost and Performance Assessment (PNNL-33283), Executive Summary p. vii Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for US Department of Energy, 2022
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lithium US Geological Survey, 2026
  3. Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy+ (LCOE+), July 2026 (LCOS v11.0 key assumptions p. 38; LCOE v19.0 assumptions p. 28) Lazard, 2026
  4. Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy+ (LCOE+), June 2025 (LCOS v10.0 Appendix B p. 43) Lazard, 2025
  5. Energizer E91 AA alkaline product datasheet, newer edition (Form EBC-1102Q; undated, hosted on a University of Houston course page) Energizer