Top Global and US Battery Manufacturers
As batteries get more and more important for everyday life, battery manufacturers also get more important and more powerful. These manufacturers produce a huge range of batteries, from the simple AA batteries you use in small electronics at home to the battery in your cell phone, the battery for your solar system, and even the batteries in cars, airplanes, and satellites. When it comes to modern life, there isn’t much that batteries don’t influence.
In this article, we’re going to focus on US-based battery manufacturers. That does mean that some of the big names in battery manufacturing won’t be included, but we think that it’s worth focusing on US companies for now. A lot of innovation and exciting developments in battery technology are happening right here in the USA, and getting a job with any of these manufacturers is a big deal and a great way to launch a career in battery technologies.
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With that in mind, let’s dive in and learn more about battery manufacturers in the USA.
Contents
Battery Supplier Types
There are many different types of battery suppliers. Here’s a list you can go through.
Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturers
Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most common and popular batteries out there. That’s because these batteries are powerful and effective – excluding some of their safety problems, of course.
The exact chemistry of each lithium-ion battery is proprietary to its manufacturer, making each battery a little different. The proprietary nature of innovations in lithium-ion battery chemistry also means that there is a fair amount of research and development that goes into this kind of battery. That research is currently geared toward innovations in safety, making the batteries more environmentally friendly, making them more powerful, and reducing manufacturing costs. Research is also being done to attempt an increase in battery charging speed, particularly for use in electric vehicles.
Many lithium-ion battery manufacturers are based outside the USA, with several major manufacturers in China and Japan, in particular. The largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers and researchers also often partner with car manufacturers or specialize as car battery manufacturers to help ensure a steady supply of batteries for electric cars and other electric vehicles.
Non-lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturers
With lithium-ion batteries dominating the market, other types of batteries often get less attention. Lithium battery manufacturers hope that their battery technologies might surpass or at least compete with lithium-ion batteries as future battery technologies are discovered and new improvements are made.
These batteries consist of lead-acid batteries (possibly the oldest kind of battery), zinc-based batteries, sulfur batteries, flow batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, and other varieties.
Many of these batteries already have advantages over lithium-ion batteries, which is why they are still in production and use. Those advantages range from safety, efficiency, to simply being less expensive to manufacture. These manufacturers, and their customers, look for applications that are a good fit for the strengths of each kind of battery while balancing different advantages with the cost.
Manufacturers of non-lithium batteries create a wide range of batteries, from small batteries for household electronics to solar power batteries to batteries for large telecom project applications. Many of the technologies in these batteries, like lithium-ion batteries, can be scaled up and down depending on the needs of the battery. However, not all of these technologies scale well, and some non-lithium-ion batteries need more maintenance than lithium alternatives.
Solar Panel Batteries
Solar panel batteries come in a range of types, and manufacturers build them for a variety of uses. These batteries might be lithium-ion, lead-acid, or a range of other kinds of batteries. Some are designed for smaller, personal use in home solar systems, while others are designed to help load-balance the energy produced by large solar fields and contribute to a larger power network.
US Battery Manufacturers
| Company | Battery types manufactured | Headquarters | Founded | Are they still in operation? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A123 Systems | Lithium-ion batteries, multi-pouch cell battery modules, and individual lithium-ion battery cells | Livonia, Michigan | 2001 | Yes |
| American Battery Solutions | Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles | New York, New York, Manufacturing in Ohio | 2019 | Yes |
| Cell-Con, Inc. | Lithium-ion, and other lithium batteries, nickel-cadmium, and lead-acid batteries | Exton, Pennsylvania | 1983 | Yes |
| Clarios | Lithium-ion, AGM, and lead-acid batteries | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1885 | Yes |
| East Penn Manufacturing | Lead-acid Batteries | Lyon Station, Pennsylvania | 1946 | Yes |
| Livent | Lithium-ion batteries | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2018 – Current company, with roots in the lithium industry since the 1940s | Yes |
| Odyssey Battery | Lead-acid batteries, AGM batteries | Reading, Pennsylvania | 2000 | Yes |
| Power Sonic Corporation | Lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-iron-phosphate batteries | Reno, Nevada | 1970 | Yes |
| Tripp Lite Chicago | Uninterruptible power supply batteries (UPS batteries) | Chicago, Illinois | 1922 | Yes |
| U.S. Battery Manufacturing Co. | Deep-cycle flooded lead-acid and sealed lead-acid batteries | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1926 | Yes |
| Yuasa Battery | AGM and conventional lead-acid vehicle batteries and valve-regulated lead-acid batteries | Warrensburg, Missouri | 1979 | Yes |
A123 Systems
A123 Systems is a subsidiary of Wanxiang Group Holdings, a Chinese conglomerate, but its own headquarters are in Livonia, Michigan. This company specializes in lithium-ion batteries specifically for electric vehicles, including producing unique battery lines for specific vehicles and products. They also sell individual battery cells and multicell modules that can be used for a variety of purposes. A123 Systems is one of the larger automobile battery manufacturers in the USA.
American Battery Solutions
American battery solutions is a very new battery company specializing in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. This company is one of the larger automotive battery manufacturers in the USA but a comparatively small player as one of the global automotive battery manufacturers. They offer a range of batteries, both low- and high voltage, designed to serve the whole range of the electric vehicle industry. Some of their batteries are also designed to act as replacements for lead-acid batteries. They have facilities across multiple states in the USA, including New York, Ohio, and Missouri. The company also has several overseas locations.
Cell-Con, Inc.
This company produces a wide range of batteries, including lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, and lead-acid batteries. They also produce a range of other electronic products for a wide range of markets. They have a commitment to producing high-quality parts and batteries and also invest in research and development to stay on the cutting edge of battery technology, including developing future battery technology.
Clarios
Clarios was previously known as Johnson Controls and was originally founded in 1885. The company produces a relatively wide range of batteries, including flooded lead-acid batteries, AGM lead-acid batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. The company produces batteries for one-third of all-electric vehicles, including cars, trucks, heavy vehicles, marine vehicles, and garden vehicles. The company also conducts significant research and development and is looking to create greener battery technologies.
East Penn Manufacturing
East Penn Manufacturing is the largest single-site battery manufacturing facility in the world, with a 560-acre manufacturing campus. They are also an award-winning large employer for their great, corporate culture and being a good place to work. The company produces five lines of batteries for vehicles, along with wire and cable manufacturing, battery recycling, and product distribution. The company is also growing, opening a second campus to help handle manufacturing demand.
Livent
With roots in lithium-mining operations starting in the 1940s, modern-day Livent still has a large lithium-mining presence and manufactures a lot of lithium battery materials and components in addition to the batteries themselves. The company also invests fairly heavily in research and development and sustainability initiatives to help further lithium battery technology.
Odyssey Battery
Odyssey Battery is a subsidiary of EnerSys, an industrial stored energy network provider. Odyssey shares its headquarters with the larger company. It focuses on the manufacturing of lead-acid batteries and both SLA batteries and AGM batteries. The company uses 100% lead, not lead alloy, which increases the life, efficiency, and overall power of their batteries. As one of the more important AGM battery manufacturers, Odyssey is working hard to make lead-acid batteries more efficient.
Power Sonic Corporation
Like several other manufacturers on this list, Power Sonic Corporation doesn’t manufacture batteries exclusively. They also perform precision metal fabrication and offer custom injection molding to their customers. In 2017, the company was acquired by Blackbird Group LLC, but the company continued manufacturing even before their acquisition.
Tripp Lite Chicago
Tripp Lite Chicago manufactures a wide range of electronics equipment, including power distribution and charging systems, cabling, racks, and cooling equipment, surge protectors, power inverters, and other important power and electronics equipment. Their main battery manufacturing focuses on UPS battery systems or uninterruptible power supplies. These batteries work as the backup power source for power networks, a stored power alternative to backup generators and other power systems.
U.S. Battery Manufacturing Co.
One of the older battery manufacturers on this list, this company has been around since 1920. They specialize in high-quality lead-acid batteries for a variety of uses, including machinery and high-power equipment, floor machines, RVs, solar and other renewable energy systems, and marine vehicles. US Battery MFG is one of the more important marine battery manufacturers in the USA.
If you’re interested in learning more about marine batteries, and specifically which marine batteries perform best, this article has you covered.
Yuasa Battery
Yuasa battery focuses on vehicle batteries specifically for motorcycles, ATVs, and other high-power-demand vehicles. They also produce a separate line of batteries for industrial uses. The company has some important innovations to make their batteries more powerful, but also produces lower-powered versions for vehicles that aren’t designed for more powerful batteries.
Global Lithium Ion Battery Manufacturers
| Company | Battery type | Headquarters | When were they founded? | Is this company still in operation? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYD | Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for industrial use | Shenzhen Guangdong, China | 1995 | Yes |
| Contemporary Amperex Technology | Lithium-ion batteries for EV, energy storage, and energy management | Ningde, Fujian Province, China | 2011 | Yes |
| China BAK Battery, Inc | Full range of lithium-ion batteries from power tool use to energy systems management | Shenzhen, China | 1999 | Yes |
| Guoxuan High-Tech | Electric vehicles, power stations, communication stations, and mobile power lithium-ion batteries | Hefei, Anhui, China | 1995 | Yes |
| LG Chem | Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles | Seoul, South Korea | 1958 | Yes |
| Northvolt AB | Cylindrical and prismatic lithium-ion batteries for a variety of uses | Stockholm, Sweden | 2016 | Yes |
| Panasonic | Industrial and electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries | Osaka, Japan | 1918 | Yes |
| Samsung – SDI | Small lithium-ion batteries and industrial-use lithium-ion, including electric bikes and vehicles | Seoul, South Korea | 1938 | Yes |
| TianJin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock CO., LTD. | Lithium-ion cylindrical battery, prismatic battery, polymer battery, and others | Tianjin, China | 1997 | Yes |
| Wanxiang Group Corporation | Electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries and lithium-polymer batteries | Hangzhou, China | 1968 | Yes |
BYD
BYD is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion, and other types. The company also has a significant role in the electric vehicle production market, directly producing their own fully electric and hybrid vehicles. Their lithium-ion batteries vary in range and use a range of batteries from rechargeable cell phone batteries to renewable bulk storage batteries and everything in between.
CATL – Contemporary Amperex Technology
CATL is one of the biggest battery manufacturers in the world, usually ranking close behind LG Chem and Panasonic depending on the kind of battery produced. This company offers a range of different batteries, including lithium-ion batteries. Their batteries are geared toward use in electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and energy management systems.
China BAK Battery, Inc.
China BAK, or CBAK, is perhaps best known for building the first fully automated battery production line in China back in 2005. The company today specializes in a wide range of lithium-ion batteries that offer high performance and a cycle life between 1,000 and 2,000+ cycles on most batteries. Their batteries are used in electric vehicles, electrical storage, and some tool uses.
Guoxuan High-Tech
Guoxuan High-Tech is a company that specializes in lithium-ion battery technology and manufacturing. Unlike many other major battery manufacturers, they don’t produce significant products outside of their battery manufacturing. Their batteries are used in electric vehicles, power stations, communication stations, and mobile power. In fact, Guaxuan is an important car battery manufacturer.
LG Chem
LG Chem produces a wide range of base materials as well as some more advanced manufacturing. Their battery manufacturing is actually in the USA, but we couldn’t include them in the US market since the company itself is based in South Korea. They specialize in lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries. LG Chem also produced the first lithium-ion batteries in 1999. LG Chem is one of the top electric car battery manufacturers globally and also one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world.
Northvolt AB
Northvolt AB specializes in lithium-ion battery cell production on two lines, cylindrical and prismatic. Their lithium-ion batteries are high quality, with long cyclic lives as well as higher-than-average power ratings. As an additional push, this company is very focused on green manufacturing and finding energy solutions to reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil fuel-based energies.
Panasonic
Panasonic produces a wide range of products, including the consumer electronics most people know them for. However, Panasonic is also the third largest producer of electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries globally, and they produce a wide range of other batteries as well. Panasonic lithium-ion batteries are suitable for industrial use, electric vehicles, and other uses. They produce both primary and secondary batteries. Panasonic is widely considered one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world.
Samsung – SDI
Samsung, in addition to being a major player in the household electronics market, also has a significant investment in lithium-ion battery manufacturing and technologies. Their batteries are designed to work with electric vehicles, energy storage systems, electric bikes, and power tools. They also produce a range of smaller lithium batteries for other uses. Samsung, unsurprisingly, is also one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world.
TianJin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock CO., LTD.
Currently, Lishen produces six different models of lithium-ion batteries: cylindrical battery, prismatic battery, power battery, polymer battery, photovoltaic, and ultra-capacitor, as well as near-thousand models. The company is committed to increasing manufacturing capacity with the goal of becoming one of the three largest lithium-ion battery producers globally. Lishen is also committed to green technology and the advancement of environmentally friendly technologies globally.
Wanxiang Group Corporation
Wanxiang is primarily an auto parts manufacturer; however, they are also heavily invested in lithium-ion battery manufacturing. This company also owns A123 Solutions which is based in the USA. On their own, they also produce lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles and are researching lithium-polymer batteries for the same purpose.
Global Non-lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturers
| Company | Battery type | Headquarters | When were they founded? | Are they still in operation? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSB Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries, and UPS batteries | Tainan City, Taiwan | 1986 | Yes |
| East Penn Manufacturing Co. | Lead-acid batteries | Lyon Station, Pennsylvania | 1946 | Yes |
| Enersys Ltd. | Lead-acid, AGM, nickel-admium, lithium-ion, gel, and pure lead batteries | Reading, Pennsylvania | 2000 | Yes |
| EnZinc | Zinc batteries | San Anselmo, California | 2009 | Yes |
| Exide Technologies, LLC | Automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries | Milton, Georgia | 1888 | Yes |
| Invinity Energy Systems | Vanadium redox-flux batteries | Jersey | 2006 | Yes |
| Leoch International Technology Ltd. | Lead-acid, AGM, VRLA, VRLA-GEL, pure lead, UPS, and other batteries | Guangdong, China | 1999 | Yes |
| Panasonic | Nickel, zinc, alkaline, and other batteries | Osaka, Japan | 1918 | Yes |
| Salient Energy | Zinc-ion | Dartmouth, Canada | 1996 | Yes |
| Trojan Battery Company | Deep Cycle AGM, deep cycle flooded, deep cycle gel | Santa Fe Springs, California | 1925 | Yes |
CSB Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
CSB specializes in producing valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries and UPS batteries. Their batteries are all rechargeable and maintenance-free options. Most of their batteries are designed for solar and other renewable technology energy storage. They also focus on batteries designed for emergency use and as a security measure.
The company is also very focused on their international distribution networks and improving their battery technology. They also do some research and development with the goal of creating greener, more environmentally friendly battery technologies.
East Penn Manufacturing Co.
While we’ve already discussed East Penn Manufacturing Co. as a US-based lead-acid battery manufacturing company, their size and share of the global lead-acid market are worth mentioning again here. East Penn Manufacturing Co. has expanded into global markets including secondary headquarters in Canada and Wujiang, China. The company has also acquired MK Battery and Navitas Systems in an effort to expand their market share and the products they produce globally. Between these expansions, East Penn Manufacturing Co. has a global presence that reaches every continent.
Enersys Ltd.
Enersys Ltd. offers a wide variety of batteries across many different lines. Their batteries are all purpose-built, with recommendations of the kinds of settings and situations where each battery is most suitable. Since they produce a wide range of different batteries, they also work with a wide range of other industries both selling current products and working on innovation to help push our technological future forward.
This company also produces battery accessories and other energy technology and equipment. They produce outdoor enclosures, power equipment, and other important power infrastructure supplies.
EnZinc
EnZinc is one of the battery companies trying to produce future battery technology. Their goal is to produce products that help with the decarbonization of the planet while maintaining green manufacturing processes, high battery quality, and high safety standards. Their zinc batteries are now reaching the point of being competitive with lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries – both in terms of power and safety.
Currently, their batteries are being designed for electric vehicles and small-scale energy networks. Initial zinc battery designs are nickel-zinc, intending to produce batteries for larger-scale operations as well.
Exide Technologies, LLC
Exide Technologies, LLC is one of the oldest lead-acid battery manufacturers out there. While this company is based in the USA, their long-running presence as a manufacturing company and global market share makes them as much a global company as a US company. Exide also has headquarters in the European, African, Asian-Pacific, and Middle Eastern regions, primarily working to supply lead-acid batteries for automotive manufacturers and serving as an electric car battery manufacturer.
Invinity Energy Systems
Invinity Energy Systems is a relatively recent company that was the result of a merger between two battery companies, RedT Energy and Avalon Battery. The two companies combined to take advantage of their different specialties to form a stronger company that could handle both research and development and international distribution. Like many recent battery companies, Invinity hopes that their redox flow batteries will be part of the greener energy solutions of the future.
Leoch International Technology Ltd.
Leoch International Technology Ltd. is the number one exporter of lead-acid batteries in China. They have 105 different production lines and 3 different production and research and development centers all focused on pushing lead-acid technology to the next level. They also offer 2000+ individual products.
Panasonic
We’ve talked about Panasonic’s lithium-ion batteries, but they also have a reasonably large share of the non-lithium batteries on the market globally. The company also produces a range of rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, zinc, alkaline, and specialty batteries. Panasonic also produces their own battery chargers and is one of the larger battery charger manufacturers out there.
Salient Energy
Now that zinc-ion battery technology has advanced to the point of being competitive with other kinds of batteries, Salient Energy is producing batteries that can compete and even outmatch other battery types in almost every category of measurement. Like most zinc battery companies, this company is focused on green technology and creating energy solutions for a more environmentally sustainable future. Salient Energy also works with businesses and scientists to test unproven technologies for future use through their Shell GameChanger program.
Trojan Battery Corporation
Trojan Battery Corporation focuses almost exclusively on deep-cycle (or long-running) lead-acid batteries. These batteries are great for use in marine vehicles, golf cars, certain recreational vehicles, and some ground equipment. They are also good for off-grid renewable energy storage solutions, including solar and other renewables.
Trojan as a company is focused on maintaining sustainable manufacturing and technology while also creating products that are consistent and reliable over long-term use.
Battery Technology Evolution/The Future of Batteries
Batteries have probably been around longer than most people would expect, though not in the form of the portable AA batteries we use every day. The word “battery” was actually first coined by Benjamin Franklin, though he was talking about an array of charged glass rather than anything we’d think of as a battery.
The First Batteries
The invention of the first battery is credited to Alessandro Volta in 1800. This first battery, the voltaic pile, probably doesn’t look anything like you’d expect. The voltaic pile used paired copper and zinc disks surrounded by cloth or cardboard and soaked in what Volta called brine – what we would now call an electrolyte solution. While voltaic piles could produce continuous electricity sufficient to demonstrate that it was effective, they tended to lose charge over time and weren’t very strong or practical.
From the voltaic pile, battery technology actually advanced relatively rapidly. John Frederic Daniell created the Daniell cell using a copper pot, copper sulfate solution, and earthenware barriers in 1836, and the next several years were filled with the invention of several more basic battery designs, some more efficient than others.
The invention of the first battery technology that would then get continuous use through the present was the lead-acid battery. Gaston Planté invented the lead-acid battery in 1859, and they were first used to power lights in train carriages. Gaston Planté’s battery was also the first rechargeable battery. Later, Camille Alphonse Faure would improve on the design by introducing a lead lattice filled with lead-oxide paste. Since these plates are stackable, this innovation improved the power and efficiency of the design.
Stackable plates also made lead-acid batteries easier to mass produce, making the technology more widely available.
Lead-acid batteries are still used today, despite being heavier than many other types of batteries. Most notably, lead-acid batteries are used for car batteries and other vehicles where weight isn’t a major barrier. SLA batteries in particular are popular for a wide range of uses, from vehicles to home solar energy storage.
The March Toward Modern Battery Technology
Around this time in the nineteenth century, there were other important innovations, though these batteries didn’t have as big an impact until later. The first zinc-carbon and nickel-cadmium batteries were also invented in the nineteenth century. Georges Leclanche invented both a zinc-carbon wet-cell battery as well as the first dry-cell battery, also a zinc battery. In 1881, Carl Gassner would produce a zinc-carbon dry cell battery that was the first dry-cell battery to see commercial success.
Though the invention of dry-cell batteries was an important innovation, wet-cell batteries are still in use today and still an important technology in a range of fields.
In 1901, Thomas Edison would invent the first alkaline batteries using iron and nickelic oxide.
It’s around this time that we’d start to see batteries that look and function a little more like the batteries we’re used to today. The size D battery was first introduced in 1897, while the common AA battery would be introduced in 1907. AAA batteries were introduced in 1911, though it would take a little longer to get the next common battery type. 9V batteries didn’t arrive until 1957.
In Edison’s time, one of the biggest challenges with batteries was finding ways to improve battery life. The technologies of the day didn’t last nearly as long as modern versions, and most battery technologies were roughly comparable in performance.
Zinc-carbon batteries eventually came to be the dominant batteries, though sales and use were still relatively low since the batteries didn’t last very long. It wasn’t until the 1950s that batteries started to be a little longer lasting and more practical both from a financial and an effectiveness perspective.
Alkaline batteries, while known before the 1950s, were too expensive for mass manufacturing. However, using a combination of manganese, zinc, and alkaline electrolytes made alkaline batteries more affordable and effective. This improved version would hit the market in 1959.
Nickel-hydrogen batteries would be the next major improvements in battery technology (NiMH). NiMH batteries also had the advantage of being less expensive than nickel-cadmium batteries (NiCd). They are also less toxic than NiCd batteries, making them more environmentally sound.
By the 1980s, we started to see the first real developments in lithium batteries. Important innovations in the USA, Morocco, and Japan brought us closer to the first real lithium batteries, though lithium’s potential use in batteries had been noted as early as 1912.
Sony was the first company to commercialize lithium-ion batteries in 1991.
That largely brings us up to modern battery technology.
Modern Battery Challenges
Modern batteries are largely the same technologies we’ve already talked about. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most popular of all batteries, with lead-acid batteries still having a high level of popularity and use. However, while improvements are always being made to those batteries, there are some serious challenges ahead of us.
For one thing, current battery manufacturing isn’t exactly environmentally friendly. Companies that are invested in environmental manufacturing and green energy like Northvolt AB, Enersys Ltd., EnZinc, Livent, and others face an uphill battle. That’s partially because many batteries use rare earth metals like cobalt with unsustainable mining practices. It is also because of challenges with battery recycling, battery life, and battery toxicity. Many of these challenges have been partially addressed by recent battery innovations, but not all of them, and none of these challenges have been 100% addressed.
Some improvements in battery power and longevity, like the improvement of AGM batteries over flooded or sealed lead-acid batteries, are significant and worth noting. AGM, or absorbed glass mat batteries, are significantly more efficient, but they aren’t suitable for every use. Some innovation and industry changes are still necessary before AGM, like many other battery improvements, and can replace older lead-acid battery technology.
New energy sources also offer new challenges in battery technology. For instance, switching to solar power requires specialized solar power batteries that have both high capacity and long cyclic lives. While both lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries are currently being used for large and small-scale solar power systems, they don’t address all the problems with creating a solar power grid.
The main challenge with many renewable power grids, especially solar and wind power, is that power production is inconsistent. That means batteries attached to those grids need to be able to balance power loads, ensure an even spread of power across the network, and handle inconsistent input and output from different areas as wind and solar power production varies with the weather.
Add to that the challenges of moving electricity over long distances, and it’s clear that significant innovations in batteries are necessary.
Electric cars and other vehicles also present a significant and very real challenge for auto battery manufacturers. Here, the problem is charge, charging time, and the lifetime of the battery. Current electric vehicle batteries are effective, but they have limited ranges and a limited number of times each battery can be charged (cyclic life). Improvements in both range and cyclic life are considered crucial for the success of electric vehicles in the long term.
Batteries of the Future
As we reach the limits of current battery technology, it’s becoming more and more clear that further innovations are needed to power a greener healthier future. Batteries are critical for balancing power grids, making technology more environmentally friendly and equalizing access to power across global populations.
That means experimental batteries are needed to find solutions to global technological problems and to make energy access more widespread as well as more environmentally friendly. Even our most advanced lithium-ion batteries don’t yet address these problems, but there are some batteries that might.
For instance, cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries have similar or greater potential and are much more environmentally friendly.
Likewise, lithium-sulfur batteries, which seem to have higher output potential than lithium-ion, might be a future option.
Zinc batteries have also recently started to compete with lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries in most performance metrics and have the potential to be more effective and scalable than either technology.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of batteries being experimented with right now that might answer some of the energy needs of the future. Currently, battery technology is seeing a boom, with improvements being made in almost all measurable aspects of battery technology. Manufacturers are all competing to be the first to come out with powerful, sustainable, and scalable technology the battery industry needs.
Of course, we might not have found the right battery technologies quite yet. Even more innovations and possibly even entirely new technologies could be coming that will make our current batteries look like the voltaic pile by comparison. The good news is that a lot of money and research power is bent on this issue, so the batteries of the future may not be very far off.
Conclusion
The wide range of battery technology and manufacturers means that there is a lot we couldn’t explore in this article. We’ve chosen 11 of the most important manufacturers in the USA, and 10 each of the most important lithium and non-lithium battery manufacturers globally to give you a good sense of the range in battery technology and the range of manufacturer priority.
Remember that no two batteries are entirely alike, and a lot of the chemistry and design behind batteries are proprietary. That means that all the top battery manufacturers we’ve discussed are producing completely different batteries, even if they are using the same technology.
That’s fantastic news because it means that we have many more possible approaches to creating the batteries of the future and a lot more chemical formulas and designs than in the early days of batteries.
Most of all, we hope that this article will improve your understanding of batteries and the global battery market.