What’s Next for Batteries?

Batteries have been with us for a long time. Thanks to a series of impressive innovations, they’ve gotten considerably more impressive over the last decade or so. With the introduction of Battery Electric Vehicles, they look set to become more impressive still. 

The use of batteries in the US

In the US, the battery market is worth just under $30 billion. This figure is projected to skyrocket over the next decade, with the aforementioned shift in the automotive industry set to be a major driver.

Standard batteries are used in everything from smoke alarms to television remotes to power tools. They can be single-use, or they can be rechargeable, and they come in a variety of form factors.

Types of batteries

It’s worth taking stock of the various types and sizes available. 

The size of a battery is described using a letter – except for certain cases, like the 9v and CR123A batteries. There are also coin-sized batteries to consider, which are designed to work with thinner appliances and the motherboard on your computer.

Lithium batteries are now among the most common and energy-dense varieties. They’re more expensive, but they last much longer. You can’t throw these away; they’re flammable and must be properly disposed of.

That still leaves a place for the alkaline battery, which tends to be considerably more cost-effective. They work well even during extreme fluctuations in temperature, which makes them a reliable choice for flashlights. 

Carbon zinc batteries fall at the cheaper end of the spectrum. They’re very cheap and commonplace, and come in a range of sizes – but you shouldn’t expect them to last very long.

Coin-sized batteries tend to be either silver oxide or zinc air. The former are expensive but powerful; the latter are cheap but vulnerable to hostile environments.

We should also consider rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are used to power smartphones, power tools, and cars. Then, there are NiCd and NiMH batteries, which come in more standard household sizes.

Common uses of batteries

Batteries are used wherever electricity is not being drawn from a mains outlet. That means your handheld games machine, your pacemaker and your impact driver all use various forms of the technology. 

The future of batteries 

Demand for batteries is set to rise in the immediate future, which will help factories to scale up their operations while still turning a profit. The capacity and weight of the batteries themselves is also set to improve enormously. 

Generating particular hype are ‘solid state’ batteries, which promise a significant leap forward for charge times and weight-to-power ratios. When these devices arrive, we might no longer have to worry about things like range when we’re considering an electric vehicle.

Conclusion 

It seems highly probable that this technology will be with us for a long time yet to come. We shouldn’t lose sight, however, of the advances that have already been made. We’re living in a golden age for batteries!

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