Battery Industry Explosion - Reasons For Staggering Battery Sales Growth In Recent Years

The battery industry has exploded in recent years. Battery sales have skyrocketed due to a number of factors. These are certainly not the only factors or even necessarily the most important factors, but they are all contribuing reasons (intended on giving you a flavor of things that have influenced the rapid battery market growth). Consider the following:

1. 32 times growth in 5 years - The small rechargeable battery industry has more than doubled worldwide every year for the past 5 years. This market would generally be the smaller-sized lithium-ion, nickel metal hydride (NiMH), and nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries which are used in small electrical and electronic devices like cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, cordless power tools battery, etc. This double growth for five years totals to 32 times growth. Wow! And considering that the battery market was quite large 5 years ago, that 32 times growth statistic is even more staggering.

2. Growth everywhere - As far as segments of the battery market go, the small rechargeable batteries have grown the most, but the whole gamut of battery sizes and chemistries has grown significantly in recent years. Each year, our world becomes more and more computerized and dependent on electrical and electronic systems, many of which are dependent on battery systems of one sort or another.

3. Large companies - As large companies continue to become more computerized, they have found that centralizing their critical computer systems significantly reduces costs. These large corporations have been moving scattered computer systems into large data centers with huge rooms stacked from floor to ceiling with computers and equipment. These data centers rely on enormous UPS battery systems (Uninterruptible Power Supply backup battery systems) so that they can operate in blackout or brownout conditions. Smart companies will not leave the fate of their "brains" completely in the hands of the power companies. These APC battery systems are an important part of their overall risk management strategy.

4. Cell phones batteries - By thinking about the growth of cell phones in recent years, we can get a feel for why the industry has exploded in the last 5 years. Virtually all new cell phones being produced now use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Cell phones were fairly common 5 years ago; many people owned one, but many still did not. Back then a cell phone was considered to be somewhat of a luxury item. Today, we are quite surprised when we run into any person who does not have at least one cell phone. They have become a basic necessity. My mother is old-fashioned in many ways, and not into technology. She continually surprised friends and relatives when they asked for her cell phone number, by replying "I don't have one." And now, even mom has a cell phone. She got it last year. If the truth be known, it was actually my brother who tired of telling her that she should get a cell phone. He gave her a phone and put her on his plan.

5. Hybrid automobile batteries - With concerns for our environment growing in recent years, hybrid automobiles have become extremely popular. Hybrids by definition are dependent on large batteries. Legions of environmentally conscious folk happily put their name at the end of long waiting lists for the privilege of being able to buy a hybrid once they become available. Hybrids all have very large capacity (and very, very expensive) battery systems. Because the weight of the batteries is of prime importance in a hybrid, the battery systems use very costly batteries to achieve the large capacity and reduced battery weight. There are anywhere from 3,000 - 8,000 dollars worth of batteries in one hybrid. Wow.

6. Alarm batteries - With growing security and safety concerns today, many families are installing alarm systems. These systems all need an alarm battery to provide power to the alarm if the power is interrupted. The alarm system would be of little use if a burglar could disable it by turning off the power at the main circuit breaker, which in many houses is easily accessible from the outside of the house. The alarm battery addresses this issue.

The battery industry has kept up rapid and steady growth in recent years. Our world is becoming more and more dependent on electronic products of all sorts, many of which rely on batteries for one reason or another. Expect strong growth of battery sales to continue for many years.

There are rechargeable and disposable batteries. Most people are familiar with alkaline batteries, which are a popular type of disposable battery. They're an inexpensive form of energy. There are many types of rechargeable battery chemistries. The order of evolution of rechargeable battery chemistries is roughly as follows: first there's nickel cadmium, then nickel metal hydride. In going from nickel cadmium to nickel metal hydride, you have roughly doubled the capacity of the battery without increasing the size or weight.

Nickel metal hydride is now a very common form of rechargeable battery. There's more chemistries out there like polymer batteries. It's still not widely used. It can be recharged fast and it's very, very light (it has a high energy density ratio).

We also have conventional lead acid batteries and they come in many different forms such as batteries for your car, truck, or boat. Lead acid batteries can be broken down into free liquid batteries and sealed batteries. In the free liquid batteries, the battery has an open cell that expels gasses. They may need some maintenance from time to time like adding water or sometimes acid. Free acid batteries are an old technology that has been around for a hundred years or more.

Sealed lead acid batteries have become quite popular in the last 20 plus years. They are used in many applications. They are also known as valve regulated batteries. The electrolytes (acids) are immobilized in a gel form. The acid is mixed with silica or other material which turns into a paste material and a paste material goes into a cell. There is a pressure release valve that keeps the cell pressure from building too high and also allows the gases to recombine internally within the gel under pressure.

Another form is sealed lead acid batteries are absorbed glass mat often referred to as AGM. In AGM batteries the electrolyte is suspended in a sponge like fiber glass material.

Common uses for AGM batteries are for backup power for computer systems, UPS systems, phone systems, cell phone towers, etc. Cell phone towers are using this technology because they can set up the system, and they don't have to worry about maintenance for years. They don't have to worry about corrosion issues or needing the type of maintenance that free liquid batteries would need.

Those are some common uses for the traditional lead acid batteries. There's also large industrial uses -- industrial batteries which would be used in industrial application such as large forklifts and motive power for very large pieces of equipment.