The world wide battery market is now worth roughly fifty-five billion US dollars, of which roughly 6 billion dollars is allocated to rechargeable (secondary) batteries. The growth is estimated at five% annually through 2012. Indonesia, Pakistan, Ecuador, Germany and Japan will record some of the strongest market gains.

Presently the strongest growth area inside the battery sector is the automotive market, which is having strong double-digit growth.  In the automotive space, HEVs are driving a tide in demand for lithium and other chemical technologies, while the core SLA battery market continues to sustain revenues and show steady growth due to after-market sales and the expanding global fleet of motor vehicles.   Almost 50 percent of the current 13 billion dollar lead acid battery market is due to the replacement category.  Despite recent increases in lead prices, the Sealed lead-acid battery market is likely to experience continued growth owing to its reliability, tough construction, low cost of maintenance, better performance compared with other technologies, and the inability to develop a commercially viable alternative technology that could replace SLA batteries in all these aspects.

Another fervent growth sub-category is the PC battery market which is expected to rise from one point five billion dollars in 2006 at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 8 percent.

The reality above are abundant grounds of just how hot the battery market is for venture capitalists at the moment, and what a vast return they expect if a battery technology breakthrough should occur.  A revolution in this space might be akin to the holy-grail, due to dependency on batteries for portability.

Of the many chemical technologies, the Lithium rechargeable battery market is projected to be seven billion dollars in 2015.  Of this growth, the Lithium rechargeable battery market for Hybrid Electric Vehicles is envisaged to rise from virtually zero in 2006 to roughly  US two billion dollars in 2015 – the equivalent of a 50% year-over-year CAGR.  The overall market for Lithium batteries is increasing much faster in terms of quantity, but due to device cost reductions due to improved efficiencies in the manufacturing processes and increases in production volumes, aggregate revenue growth is not forecast to quicken so quickly.

The storage battery market is extremely competitive and vast sums of money are invested on research and development each year.  Advanced New chemical technologies, along with advancements in old technologies leads industry experts  to predict improvements in battery capacity (for equivalent size and weight) of 3 to 4 times over the next 4 years.  This doubling of capacity every 2 and a half years is similar to moores law in the computer sector which sees cpu power doubling every sixteen months.

In terms of single-use batteries, ordinarily a consumer purchases these types of batteries 4 times per year.  Single-use batteries are gauged to have the highest margin per sq foot in most retail stores, and they are often an distress purchase by the consumer.  These kinds of batteries are sold in more retail establishments than any other products, period.  This is obviously due to the vast array of products that are heavily reliant on batteries – Many experts view sales pretty much recession proof.

From an environmental view, expendable batteries are obviously problematic, due to their very nature.  The worlds landfills are full of the often toxic byproducts of the disposable battery boom.  In light of this the European Union has come to the table and introduced legislation called the European Directive on Batteries, which has finally been agreed to and will come into force in 2008, introducing recycling to the market.  It is hoped that the US and other notable countries will follow this development closely and introduce their own environmental bills.

Around the time Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPad, a funny Photoshopped picture began making the rounds on the Web, showing Jobs with four iPhones crudely lashed together with duct tape. The picture’s unspoken message, of course, was that the iPad is just a big iPhone.

Well, something like that is actually coming true in the automotive battery field. It turns out that you can make a pretty good battery for a hybrid electric vehicle by assembling lots of small lithium-ion laptop battery cells—up to 2,000 of them, in fact—into one big pack.

This is the approach being pursued by Boston-Power, the Westborough, MA, startup best known for making the environmentally friendly Sonata batteries used in many Hewlett-Packard notebook computers. And in a sign that Boston-Power is getting serious about marketing its so-called Swing cells to electric-vehicle makers, the company is expected to announce today the appointment of retired General Motors executive Robert Purcell to its board of directors.

As the leader of GM’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Group from 1994 to 2002, Purcell helped to launch the EV-1, GM’s first modern electric vehicle, as well as an electric pickup truck and early hybrid cars. He went on to lead global sales, planning, and strategic alliances for GM’s Powertrain Group, managing billion a year in direct engine and transmission sales and billion in licensing activity.

n other words, he’s been around the block a few times in the automotive industry. And while he says he’s “seen a lot of things” in his work with GM and its partners, he’s never seen a car powered by the equivalent of 2,000 laptop batteries.

“Of course, this isn’t just as simple as strapping together a bunch of laptop cells,” Purcell told Xconomy last week. “It’s about integrating from cell to module and then from module to pack. Boston-Power has some very clever ideas about how to do that in a cost-effective way. And this isn’t a science fair project—they are doing the hands-on work to move from cell to module to pack in a way that will work in a typical light-duty passenger vehicle.”

Boston-Power has been eyeing the transportation market since 2008, when it expanded the R&D facilities at its Westborough headquarters and began to build prototype battery packs for power-assisted bikes and scooters. So far, the company has tested Swing-based battery packs in just a few hundred cars—but Christina Lampe-Onnerud, the company’s founder and CEO, predicts that eventually the Swing and other lithium-ion batteries will completely displace the nickel metal hydride batteries used in today’s mass-produced hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius. That’s mainly because lithium-ion batteries have a much higher energy density, a measure of the amount of current a battery can produce per unit of volume.

So the work Boston-Power has done to engineer greener, longer-lasting, faster-recharging lithium-ion batteries for laptops will eventually pay dividends in the automotive market, Lampe-Onnerud believes. “The rigor we brought to the portable space is really paying off as we enter the transportation market,” she says. “The fundamental carryover is the absolute dedication to safety, the very good thermal management, and the temperature window for high performance, which is really wide. We are already in mass production, and we have applications that match some of the expectations of the automotive industry—although everybody around the table admits that this is an emerging market and there’s still a lot to learn.”

That’s one of the reasons Boston-Power recruited Purcell, who will be valuable to the startup not just for his understanding of electric and hybrid vehicles but for his connections across the automotive business. Part of Purcell’s last job at GM was managing the giant automaker’s relationships with the other powertrain makers that license its technology. “What was really interesting about that assignment was that I got to know every major automaker in the world, and virtually all of the companies supplying power systems to the auto industry,” he says. “I actually spent more time inside other companies than I did inside GM. That will be a real advantage as we begin to position Boston-Power” to sell batteries to carmakers.

Purcell says he was attracted to a board position at Boston-Power in part because of the company’s high engineering standards. (While lithium-ion technology itself is quite venerable, Boston-Power has developed novel cell geometries, wiring arrangements, and control electronics that make its batteries longer-lived, less likely to overheat, and faster to recharge than conventional lithium-ion cells.)

“I have seen a lot of battery companies over 15-plus years and I have to say that Boston-Power clearly came to the top of the class in terms of its system engineering expertise,” Purcell says. “A battery is more than just a bag of chemicals, it’s an integrated system, and I never saw a company that made a more intelligent set of tradeoffs on the overall system design. The safety, the high energy density, the recharge time—these are the right kinds of elements to bring into play to be successful for an automotive application.”

On top of all that, says Purcell, Boston-Power has “put a real emphasis on creating a green battery,” becoming the only battery maker to win Nordic Eco-label certification for the long life of its batteries and its low use of heavy metals. “To me, it’s simple—a green car deserves a green battery,” Purcell says.

But when Lampe-Onnerud lists Boston-Power’s fundamental advantages as it goes head-to-head with other battery suppliers in the auto industry—including Watertown, MA-based A123Systems (NASDAQ: AONE), which plans to build a production plant outside Detroit in Livonia, MI, to supply battery pack to Chrysler—she comes back to the small form factor of its Swing batteries, which are identical in size to its 6.5-centimeter-long Sonata batteries.

The small size means not only that the cells can be flexibly arranged into modules and packs that fit almost any space, but that there’s less chance of catastrophic overheating, a problem that’s led to well-publicized episodes of exploding laptops, plug-in hybrid meltdowns, and battery recalls. “We feel strongly that the cell elements that are put together into packs need to be small to preserve safety and control,” Lampe-Onnerud says. “That is absolutely critical, and I don’t think the industry had that focus before we came along.”

More Automotive Market Articles

San Diego-based SSI Racing is proud to announce a patent pending lightweight 10 year, 100% replacement guarantee, automotive battery.  This battery comes as a result of over five years of development and testing spanning SSI Racing’s participation in the DARPA Grand Challenge, as well as its participation in the ongoing Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, three years of testing on the race track, and 8 world records.

The features of the battery include:
Over 500 Cranking Amps
Less voltage drop during starting means higher RPMs
Over charge protection.
Short circuit protection
Long shelf life
Leaving the lights on won’t damage the battery
Smaller, lighter weight
6, 12, and 15 volt batteries available
Custom batteries and cases available upon request.

Sample batteries will begin shipping late February upon request, with quantity shipping to begin in late April. For more information, please contact Michael Kadie with SSI Racing at 928- EV RACER (928-387-2237)

Additionally, SSI Racing will produce a series of limited edition, completely custom automobiles in 2010.  With its partners from the greater Southern California area, which include master fabricators, mechanics and show quality paint and body specialists, SSI Racing will develop10 of these vehicles starting at $120,000 each.  

To order a car, SSI Racing requires a minimum two hour interview and disclosure of height and weight of driver and passenger.  Choices will be offered in performance, range, driving style, colors, and interior options.

SSI Racing is now taking a $5,000 deposit to reserve a spot. SSI Racing recommends that the customer visit its facilities in San Diego, CA, to examine its work and experience the joy of one of our previous works before making their final decisions.

About SSI Racing:
SSI Racing came from the building of a dream car. The founder built his dream car, set a world record, and SSI Racing was born. We specialize in high performance custom vehicles which has led us to develop a number of intellectual properties enabling us to look toward the mass market. We test at the track under extreme conditions. Our motto is “Green is as Sexy as You Build It”.

Learn more at www.SSI-Racing.com

About the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE:
The goal of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles that offer more consumer choices. Ten million dollars in prizes will be awarded to the teams that win a stage competition for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 Miles per gallon or energy equivalent (MPGe). The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE will place a major focus on efficiency, safety, affordability, and the environment. It is about developing real, production-capable cars that consumers will want to buy, not science projects or concept cars. This progress is needed because today’s oil consumption is unsustainable and because automotive emissions significantly contribute to global warming and climate change.

For more information about the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, please visit www.progressiveautoxprize.org or email progressiveautopress ( @ ) xprize dot org dot

Contact: Michael Kadie
Phone: 928-EV RACER
mike ( @ ) ssi-racing dot com

Source:
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/ssi-racing-announces-10-year-100-percent-guaranteed-automot-pr-177173.html

Most modern cars are now fitted with a low maintenance battery and these either require little electrolyte topping up and in some cases, none at all. This is a result of advances in automotive technology where alternators ensure that the battery is not subjected to an abnormal voltage charge.

The battery charger that you use in your workshop needs to be as versatile as your vehicle’s charging system to ensure that your battery’s life if not cut short by a defective process.

The big problem encountered with maintenance-free or sealed batteries is gassing, this is where electrolyte is lost as a result of too high a charge. Battery chargers designed to deal with these maintenance-free batteries are referred to as automatic and they cut off the voltage between around 13.8v and 14.5v to prevent gassing taking place. Some of these automatic chargers allow the battery to be permanently connected, topping up the charge when necessary. This float charge is very useful when you have a motor caravan or a car that is laid up for a length of time. CTEK and some of the Gunsons range of chargers are designed with this function. These chargers also have reverse-polarity protection with a built in cut-out feature and are supplied with a decent length of cable and obviously, a decent pair of clips. CTEK produce a lead where the charger can be fitted to the engine compartment of a vehicle and plugged into the mains when required.

The Calcium/Calcium battery began being fitted to vehicles with SMART charging systems from 1997. Failure to fit the correct type of replacement battery could result in damage being caused to your vehicle’s electronic control unit; so it is absolutely vital that you fit the correct battery to your vehicle and invest in the correct charger to maintain it.