The Battery Decade: Electronic Parts Trends
Over the past decade, an increase in Li-ion battery (lithium-ion) production has driven down prices of products made from electronic components to the point that even the so the called low to middle income personas have for the first time in history been able to shop around for electric vehicles because they have now become commercially viable. This is because battery technology in the past 10 years has become easy to mass produce and therefore, what used to be the envy of the rich is now attainable from both a cost and performance perspective.
Breakdown of the Battery in Electronic Parts Industry
Batteries used in cars are estimated to be over $53Billion dollar industry, on the other hand, products that we commonly use like the smartphone is estimated to be over $ 22Billion and fast forward, this decade the forecast of portable and wearable devices is forecasted to hit $93 Billion in 5 years.
What is a Battery?
Although Volta and Italian Physicist id credited to inventing the first modern battery, we know this technology had been experimented before in the 1600. Basically, Alessandro Voltas design was a stack up of coins material was silver and zin and separated by cardboard soaked in brine to deliver electricity. Sounds like a BBQ marinate.
“A battery can be defined as a self-contained power source. Its’ main work in such a way that it converts chemical energy into electric energy through the flow of electrons. This energy can also be stored.”
What we now know as rechargeable batteries are an invention of Sony which was a huge breakthrough in 1991 using their Lithium-ion battery technology which allowed doubling of electric storage.
The evolution and spike of consumer electronic and electronic vehicle markets and their growth is because of the lithium-ion battery technology. The crazy thing about consumer electronics growth has been phenomenal and especially wearable device like trackers, health body monitors, smart phones have become very affordable and has increased competition for creation of better products that the consumers can choose from without breaking the bank.
What the future of stored energy?
Like formation of diamonds, battery technology is quickly developing under increased pressure to improve and electronic parts manufacturers and their supplier are pushing the boundaries to get better battery technology that is sustainable, safe, cost effective and good for the environment after the lifecycle.
Industries that are going to benefit a lot from improvement of battery technology include health and medical, military and defence and OEMs are working to ensure that batteries for life critical industries are at the forefront of their research and any success will then be transferable to products in other sectors.
We know that brands like Tesla who are now one of the biggest companies in the world have invested heavily in battery technology and as result, we are sure that things can only be better in the immediate future i.e., 5-10 years.
A recent, interview with the MD of one of the upcoming baby toy brand madeforbabies.net highlighted that majority of the products they now make require motion and therefore, they are quite keen on development of long lasting batteries that will be safe in their products since their market is babies and toddlers. This has been key on their product development with application engineers and manufacturers are also keen on helping toy producers create long lasting batteries that are easy to charge and light in weight at the same time.
Conclusion
1991 was a breakthrough year for all electronic parts manufacturers when Sony invented the Li-ion battery using LCO cathode and that 30 years ago. The industry is due another invention like this to helps bring the cost of electric vehicles and consumer electronic even lower. This will be beneficial in the drive for climate change and batteries are the answer for storage of renewable energy. In 5 years’ time, the forecast shows the supercharge usage of batteries and an increase growth of nearly 100 Billions just for smart phone batteries and electric vehicles will also grow by the same amount. This is why companies like Traco Power are continuously creating dc-dc converters and ac dc converter for high price sensitive high volume projects.
Article written by https://www.electronicscomponents.co.uk/ Jamin Swonden – Electronic parts and components writer.
