Lithium-ion battery prices rose this year for the first time in more than a decade, according to the Financial Times. Soaring raw material costs are expected to challenge the auto industry's efforts to turn electric vehicles into mass-market products. Soaring prices for battery metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, combined with rising component costs, have pushed battery pack prices up 7 percent from a year ago, the first increase since Bloomberg New Energy Finance started its annual survey in 2010. Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects EV battery prices to rise further next year, to $152/kWh.