Energy Storage

Traction batteries and motors in electric vehicles (EVs) are very different to the powertrain components of the internal-combustion engine vehicles they replace.

What do you now purchase by the kilowatt hour? The new supercapacitors replacing batteries. The new IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041", shows how supercapacitors have started to replace 10% of lithium-ion batteries and help kill lead-acid.

Thursday 10 September - Join the webinar "Do Patents Highlight the Way Forward for Li-ion Batteries?", presented by IDTechEx Technology Analyst, Dr Alex Holland. There are 3 sessions to choose from (2am, 10am and 5pm BST).

The battery industry has experienced enormous innovation and investment with the demand mainly from electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The 1,500 GWh market demand in 2030 indicates huge potential for batteries.

Supercapacitors Turn the Corner - Supercapacitors and their variants have recently seen customer commitment to multibillion-dollar opportunities that were previously beyond their reach. Consider large peak-shaving ones for hybrid cars where the Geely orders will soon be followed by others.

Growth in the Li-ion market means significant investments are now being made into building out capacity for manufacturing Li-ion batteries and their components and as the demand for Li-ion batteries grow, so too does the importance of performance and cost improvements.

Electric ships have some of the largest individual batteries of any electric vehicle sector; below is a list of the largest projects IDTechEx have been tracking.

The new IDTechEx report, "Sensors 2021-2041" uniquely analyses the whole subject in the light of such seismic changes as the COVID-19 virus. The sensor business is in turmoil. The industries that spend most on sensors are changing as are the sensors.

In the past two decades, the car market has declined twice: first due to the 2008 economic crisis, and then due to falling sales in China. Most recently, the lockdowns implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic, causing auto-production plants to close globally and a loss of consumer spending will lead to an unprecedented 23% decline in 2020 (IDTechEx prediction).

Nearly every sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence. Materials science R&D is relatively late to this trend, and there are many industry-specific hurdles, but the opportunities are beginning to be realized and the potential impact is significant.