Batteries

AI is placed to reshape the battery supply chain over the next few years, with machine learning providing powerful tools for cell developers, materials suppliers, battery users, and even recyclers. IDTechEx Technology Analyst shares more on how valuable data can finally be used to its full effect.

Second-life battery storage technologies are struggling to be a cost-competitive technology against first-life Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS). In their report on the topic, "Second-life Electric Vehicle Batteries 2025-2035: Markets, Forecasts, Players, and Technologies", IDTechEx explores various means for repurposers to generate revenue within the sector including renting systems and incentivizing automotive OEMs to share revenues.

IDTechEx reports positive growth of Li-ion batteries to be expected over the coming years, largely due to policy, technological improvements, and demand in major sectors such as the EV market and stationary energy storage.

Wednesday 25 September 2024 - Unlocking Lithium Brine Potential: The Role of Direct Lithium Extraction. Lithium Mining and Extraction: Fundamentals and Current Practices; Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE): A Comprehensive Overview; Sorbent-Based DLE Technology: In-Depth Exploration; Evolving Business Models in the DLE Market; Sustainability and Cost Benchmarks Across Lithium Extraction Methods; Lithium Market Outlook: Drivers, Challenges, and Emerging Trends in DLE

Thursday 29 August 2024 - Applications of BESS for grid-scale and residential battery storage markets; Overview of global Li-ion battery storage market growth, regional activity, market dynamics and trends; Comparisons across battery storage technologies, and discussion on the current and future position of Li-ion in the energy storage market; Trends observed and analysis on these trends, including cell chemistry, energy density, safety, and thermal management in Li-ion battery storage technologies; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions on the global Li-ion BESS market.

The key to wider adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will be lower-cost models with a more approachable price point. The most expensive component of an EV is the battery pack. As well as increasing the energy density and reducing the cost of the battery cells, another avenue to cost reduction is through more efficient packaging of the cells.

End-of-life equipment from automotives, electric vehicles, e-waste and decarbonized energy technologies are rapidly emerging secondary raw material sources for valuable critical materials. A new report from IDTechEx forecasts that US$110B of critical materials will be recovered annually from secondary sources by 2045, with a combined weight of over 3.3 million tonnes.

Electrification is tough. It has taken around 15 years to convince car owners that battery power is a viable alternative to their fossil fuel comfort blanket. In the construction, agriculture, and mining industries, electrification is an even steeper uphill battle. In these industries, if a machine runs out of battery, the operators will soon start losing money.

Since the conception of flexible battery technologies, suppliers have searched for strong application markets for their products. In the last five years, niches have finally begun to materialize, though the specific use case depends on battery technology.

Thursday 18 July 2024 - EV thermal system architecture and fluids used; Battery thermal management and trends; Motor thermal management and trends; Future refrigerants; Outlook for fluid content and forecasts