Electric battery common fuels such as gasoline. In automobiles, this is somewhat offset by the higher efficiency of electric motors in converting chemical energy to mechanical work, compared to combustion engines. The usage of "battery" to describe a group of electrical devices dates to Benjamin Franklin, who in 1748 described multiple Leyden jars by analogy to a battery of cannon (Benjamin Franklin borrowed the term "battery" from the military, which refers to weapons functioning together). Italian physicist Alessandro Volta built and described the first electrochemical battery, the voltaic pile, in 1800. This was a stack of copper and zinc plates, separated by
Electric vehicle battery total cost of ownership. As of 2015, electric cars are more expensive to initially purchase, but cheaper to run, and in at least some cases, total cost of ownership may be lower. According to "Kammen et al., 2008", new PEVs would become cost efficient to consumers if battery prices would decrease from $1300/kWh to about $500/kWh (so that the battery may pay for itself). In 2010, the Nissan Leaf battery pack was reportedly produced at a cost of $18,000. Nissan's initial production costs at the launch of the Leaf were therefore about $750 per kilowatt hour (for the 24 kWh