Oct 21 2009
According to a new technical market research report, Lithium Batteries: Markets and Materials (FCB028E) from BCC Research, the global market for lithium battery sales is worth an estimated $8.6 billion in 2009, but is expected to increase to nearly $10 billion in 2014, for a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8%.
In this report, the global market is broken down into two segments - primary and secondary.
The larger of the two, the secondary segment, is expected to amount to $7.5 billion in 2009, and to increase at a CAGR of 2.9% to reach $8.6 billion in 2014.
The primary market is estimated at $1.1 billion in 2009, and is projected to grow to nearly $1.3 billion in 2014, for a CAGR of 2.7%.
The second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 were the most significant months in the history of lithium batteries. First, several of lithium batteries' largest and highest growth markets entered a period of retraction. Even as "must-have" portable products like iPhones grew in popularity, battery-powered laptop and cell phone sales fell. This was due to global recessionary forces, including unemployment, difficulty obtaining consumer credit, and lower commercial demand. At the same time, gasoline prices peaked and fell from a high of more than $4 per gallon to less than $2 per gallon. This, combined with the recession, resulted in deeply lower demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, especially hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
Meanwhile, the Bolivian government is negotiating with several companies from several nations with the aim of developing the vast Bolivian lithium salt deposits. If this results in working mines, any anticipated global demand would be satisfied. Meanwhile, other lithium resources are preparing to come online. The possibility that widely commercialized lithium EV batteries would create a lithium battery shortage now seems unlikely.
The latest generation of lithium batteries includes very large cells suitable for powering vehicles or storing significant amounts of utility power as well as very small thin-film cells capable of powering micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). In fact, improved lithium batteries have allowed the commercialization of entire new classes of portable products, including laptop computers, cellular phones, and portable music players.
This report provides a unique analysis of the global lithium battery and associated materials market, and will be of interest to manufacturers and users of these batteries. This report will be especially useful to material miners, compounders, and fabricators. It also will be valuable to those involved in battery development and marketing, as well as those offering competing power sources.