Here it says it would cost about $50, plus labour.
It might be comparable to gasoline.
Here is what they claim:
At today’s market rate, a kilo of aluminium costs $2, and one pack of 50 plates weighs 25kg — so, ignoring labor costs, it would cost $50 to refill your Al-air battery.
A battery would cost $50 only if it is a roughly cast slab of Aluminum. If any human has to touch it - to machine it, or to add anything to it, or to put it into a box... the price starts climbing very fast. You cannot ignore labor costs. You also cannot ignore the replacement labor and the time wasted at the service center. Recycling of those batteries will be also an expensive and dirty process - guess who is going to pay for that? Customers, of course - as they do it already with other hazardous items.
There is yet another catch. Say, you have a 1,200 mile battery, and you used up 1,000 miles already. How comfortable will you be driving on the remaining capacity? Some charge of these batteries will be wasted, as people cannot afford to have a car that won't go where they need it, even *in case* if they need it. This doesn't happen with gas cars and rechargeable EVs. It's possible to make a hybrid EV, but it won't make it cheaper, and you'd be taking both batteries on sightseeing tours all over the area. Most individuals do not want this complexity.
That is the estimated cost of the materials. I doubt it would sell for anywhere near that. That would be like estimating the cost of a computer by the weight of the metal and plastic, or the cost of a car for the scrap value of the metal.
Also I saw in the article that the “Al-air battery must also be refilled with water every 200 miles, to replenish the electrolyte”
so.... the range is really only 200 miles!!! before you have to stop. That’s a pretty key point left out.