The market for batteries has exploded in recent years. Demand has grown more than fortyfold since 2010. The major reasons for the growth are electric cars and energy storage for solar and wind. Sales of EVs hit 20 million last year and storage capacity for solar farms has grown twentyfold in just the past 5 years.
Most of the growth in batteries has been in lithium-ion batteries. They are the go-to for laptops, power tools, smart phones, drones, electric cars, and energy storage installations. But lithium is difficult to mine and the market for it subject to economic turmoil.
There are many other battery chemistries, but each has its challenges and shortcomings.
Sodium batteries are cheap because sodium is far more common than lithium and manufacturing batteries with it is relatively straightforward. The main problem is that sodium batteries take up twice the volume and weigh three times as much as lithium batteries. But there are already some low-cost electric cars powered by sodium batteries in China and sodium’s size and weight is not a real problem for stationary applications like utility energy storage.
Solid-state batteries are quite expensive but pack more power into smaller, lighter footprints. They contain no flammable liquids and permit ultrafast charging. With further development, they are expected in a few years to power high-end electric cars that can go great distances on a charge.
Lithium is the major technology for the booming battery industry, but it is not without competition.
**********
References:
Beyond Lithium: New Battery Tech Starts to Break Through
