ARE PREDICTIONS OF RAPID ELECTRIC-CAR BATTERY PRICE DECLINES unrealistic? “The Academies and Toyota Motor Corp. have publicly said they don’t think the Department of Energy goals are achievable and that cost reductions are likely to be far lower. It likely will be 20 years before costs fall 50%—not the three or so years the DOE projects for an even greater reduction—according to an Academies council studying battery costs. The council was made up of nearly a dozen researchers in the battery field.” Well it wouldn’t be the first time the Administration was over-optimistic about green technology.