A technology analyst from market research group IDTechEx has revealed new trends in batteries that investors should look out for.
According to Xiaoxi He, recent areas of interest include different battery dimensions, such as thin-film batteries, micro-batteries and large area batteries. There has also been interest in more flexible batteries, both mechanically and shape-wise. Other up-and-coming trends include printed batteries, solid-state, lithium anode and silicon anode batteries, as well as energy storage systems and electric vehicle applications.
These areas indicate new opportunities, according to the analyst. He has also revealed that batteries with new technologies will be tried in small gadgets first (such as solid-state batteries in Apple’s portable devices), and flexible, printed and thin film batteries will become predominant over the next decade. The market for the latter will reach US$471 million by 2026, according to He.
The analyst has also stated that the growth in consumer electronics is approaching a plateau, making cost reduction critical. This will rely primarily on economy of scale rather than technology improvement however, as “Battery technology improvement is based on electrochemical restriction and it is difficult to have sudden significant breakthroughs,” said He.