Research Objectives

Batteries are a $63 billion global industry. Where consumers have gotten used to having more capability and more power at their fingertips, batteries are and will be the preferred energy storage solution for a long time to come. Manufacturers of all types of commercial products – from microchips to cell phones, lawnmowers to automobiles, medical implants to cordless power tools – would benefit from battery technology with better performance that is lighter, smaller, cheaper, safer and greener. Battery manufacturers are developing new generations of batteries, in various form factors, for existing and emerging markets:

• Batteries with more energy in smaller packages: flexible and lightweight thin-film and/or screen-printed batteries for tiny electronic systems and emerging micropower energy-harvesting devices, where macro trends and market trends are converging around ecosensititives and low-power devices.
• Larger-format but lighter-weight rechargeable batteries with greater power, higher energy, longer runtimes and better safety profiles: for the transportation industry and advancing the market for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles.
• Ultra-large advanced batteries for storing energy from renewable, sustainable sources: for electric utility grid services and clean-energy generators like wind turbines and solar panels.
• Alternative, hybrid energy storage devices with attributes of both a battery and either an ultracapacitor or a fuel cell: potentially ground-breaking future energy storage devices that may be superior to any batteries commonly used today.

Commercial companies, start-ups and universities are all working on new battery designs that rely on new materials and new chemistries. Some of their technologies are available to OEMs and product designers already.  Others are struggling to move into the production phase and may see their plans delayed by the global recession. Some may never succeed as mainstream products at all. The sheer number of companies and R&D centers active in battery development, and their varied approaches, are an indication, however, that this is a competitive market with potentially lucrative opportunities for battery makers in years to come.

This report’s primary focus is technologically advanced secondary (rechargeable) batteries in both large and small format. The report covers advanced technologies as replacements for NiCd and NiMH, especially advanced lithium-ion batteries that make use of new electrode materials and electrolytes. It also covers printable batteries and thin-film battery stacks as enablers of micropower applications, and hybrid battery/fuel cell systems that are emerging as complements to consumer electronics batteries. Tables and charts are used to give a big picture of the future growth potential for advanced battery technologies based on the leading markets (applications). The report includes profiles of 25 commercial (a few of them public) and development-stage companies and their products and business strategies. Another 12 commercial and/or university-based R&D centers are covered.

Findings and forecasts are based on a mix of primary and secondary research sources. Fuji-Keizai USA conducted first-person telephone interviews with select U.S.-based battery manufacturers. We focused on companies with 1) innovative technology, 2) commercial potential as measured by relationships with customers or partners, and 3) venture capital interest. We further surveyed publicly available documents and white papers of battery companies, third-party investor reports, academic research literature and technical documents from the U.S. Department of Energy to assess state-of-the-art technical challenges and goals.

Definition and Characteristics of Next-Generation Batteries

Next-generation batteries are technologies that have higher power density and higher energy density, are safer, and can be put in new form factors – with the expectation that they can also be put into mass production targeting lower costs.  Ideal characteristics are:

• Smaller form factor (the amount of space in a device reserved for batteries)
• Low weight
• More customizable shapes (flexibility)
• Longer cycle life (10,000 to 15,000 charges vs. <1,000 for existing batteries)
• Shorter recharge times (e.g., recharging to almost full capacity in just minutes)
• Composed of novel electrode materials, including nanomaterials
• Improved tolerance for extreme high and low temperatures
• Operationally safe
• Environmental friendly (i.e., nontoxic)
• Targeted to high-value and/or high-growth markets and applications 
• Eventual reduced cost (e.g., potentially one-tenth the cost of today’s NiMH or Li-ion batteries)

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