this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2026
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Trump Is Obsessed With Oil. But Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 2 days ago by UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
189 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Chinese technology companies are paving the way for a world that will be powered by electric motors rather than gas-guzzling engines. It is a decisively 21st-century approach not just to solve its own energy problems, but also to sell batteries and other electric products to everyone else. Canada is its newest buyer of EVs; in a rebuke of Mr. Trump, its prime minister, Mark Carney, lowered tariffs on the cars as part of a new trade deal.

Though Americans have been slow to embrace electric vehicles, Chinese households have learned to love them. In 2025, 54 percent of new cars sold in China were either battery-powered or plug-in hybrids. That is a big reason that the country’s oil consumption is on track to peak in 2027, according to forecasts from the International Energy Agency. And Chinese E.V makers are setting records — whether it’s BYD’s sales (besting Tesla by battery-powered vehicles sold for the first time last year) or Xiaomi’s speed (its cars are setting records at major racetracks like Nürburgring in Germany).

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[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

EVs alone have major grid balancing potential. You can get home batteries for under $100/kwh in US right now, and cost of EV batteries have always been lower due to bulk/contract purchases. At $100/kwh, even from grid TOU use power, you can time shift profitably for just 1c/kwh before financing costs, but before resilience/backup benefits from batteries.

Solar is by far the cheapest way to charge those batteries, where home solar without monopoly persecution from utilities, as in Australia, can be extra affordable. But even before abundant solar is permitted in our countries, or even net metering, simply having TOU rates that are cheap at night allows for enough arbitrage for when TOU rates are high. Where some EVs are $300/kwh to $500/kwh for the entire car, TOU rates can allow for arbitrage that pays for whole car.

[–] TheBloodFarts@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What sorts of batteries are around that price per kwh? Genuinely curious, been thinking about adding batteries but can't justify the costs I've seen

[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bShGUPU3TQ $120/kwh. There are amazon listings for 20kwh in rack batteries for under $3000. It does take DIY (no soldering kits) to get to $100/kwh. searching youtube for projects/options reviews, and especially the linked author is recommended if you're interested.

[–] TheBloodFarts@lemmy.ca 2 points 14 hours ago

Amazing, thank you. My new obsessive project has been lined up