The Road to Net Zero: Batteries

THE ROAD TO NET ZERO: BATTERIES

In the year 1800, Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), an Italian physicist, invented the battery, which consistently stored an electric current and allowed it to be employed in a regulated setting. The battery's first practical application was to power telegraph networks, and it permanently changed the world. Ever since, battery technologies have continued to transform how we live, work, and interact, but its developers could never have predicted how compact and powerful the battery would become in the twenty-first century. The battery is a relatively new development in human history, having only been discovered and developed in a little more than 200 years, and they provide both an enormous challenge and a great potential for today’s business. 

Recent significant breakthroughs in battery electrochemistry, notably in the previous three decades, have accelerated the technology, allowing the electrification of many aspects of our daily life. How much of a difference ten years can make: Batteries powered our phones and laptops in 2010s and by the end of the decade, they are also powering our automobiles and dwellings. Batteries have fundamentally changed the world for several reasons, but the main reasons are:

• Mobility
• Low-Power Devices
• Perform Self-Sufficient Duties
• Autonomy

The battery is much more than simply a necessity. It symbolizes a crucial component in saving the globe and are seen as key tool for achieving Europe's 2030 renewable energy goals, as we all know. On the other hand, the major automakers, who must and will follow this trend, are paving the way for others to use this technology as developers and applicators. During our visit to the Messe Stuttgart Battery Show, we witnessed firsthand how quick and distinctive these improvements were. A few of our observations are:

• The gradual shift of studies presented at the PoC stage a few years ago to mass production and the increase of reference customers in the EU market,
• Frequency of work on material improvement, with a particular focus on increasing heat dissipation in the battery pack,
• Increasing number of companies developing and serving test rigs with developing regulations,
• Continuation of the superiority of the companies in the Asian region that produce at the cell level in terms of both product variety and line installation competencies,
• Increasing product development activities from component level to system level supply starting from the area that suppliers know best,
• Increase of OEMs and E-bike users working in the micro mobility vertical
• In parallel with the range and performance improvement targets in electric vehicles, the battery pack and powertrain group has increased efforts to optimize innovation and thermal management.

The use of more batteries and electric vehicles helps the development of this new energy system, and we see breakthroughs in this industry every year, if not every period. So, things have been changing a lot.