InterviewUS lithium-ion batteries open $13bn market to chemicals
06 June 2009 00:38 [Source: ICIS news]
By Al Greenwood
HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A US programme to develop lithium-ion batteries and other types of energy storage could open a $11bn-13bn market to chemical companies, an automobile executive said on Friday.
The nation's $780bn (€554bn) stimulus bill includes roughly $2bn to develop energy storage, said Ted Miller, senior manager of energy-storage strategy and research at US automaker Ford.
Miller is also Ford's representative at the US Advanced Battery Consortium, an industrial cooperative research group that falls under the US Council for Automotive Research.
The $2bn from the government will join venture-capitalist money that is already funding research and development (R&D), Miller said. "There seems to be a fairly bullish outlook for these energy-storage technologies."
The nation seems more committed to developing the technology than previous efforts - such as a 2003 push to develop fuel cells, Miller said. "We are in a little different climate both literally and figuratively."
Climate change, greenhouse gases and air quality are growing concerns, Miller said. The political climate has changed, with a new party controlling the US Congress and the presidency.
Also, demand already exists for batteries, Miller said. Hybrid automobiles have maintained a 3-4% market share in the US, although nearly all of those vehicles feature nickel-metal hydride batteries.
By the end of this year, Daimler should introduce Mercedes S-Class hybrid, the first mainstream automobile that will have a lithium-ion battery, Miller said. General Motors (GM) and Ford will introduce vehicles in 2010 that will feature the technology.
From then on, automakers could consistently release more vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, Miller said. By 2015, demand from US automobiles could create a $11bn-13bn market for lithium-ion batteries.
Another source of battery demand could come from electrical utilities, Miller said. Regulators are encouraging power companies to generate more electricity from such renewable sources as wind and solar power.
Both sources generate power sporadically, regardless of when electricity is most needed, Miller said. "The wind isn't always blowing when you need it."
Lithium-ion batteries could store the electricity until it is needed, he said.
The batteries have three high-cost components that chemical companies could produce, Miller said.
The material (a lithium compound) used to make the battery's cathodes could see noticeable growth, he said.
"The cost of those materials can be relatively high," he said. "Those are probably big opportunities."
The second material is the battery's electrolyte salt, lithium hexafluoride, he said.
The third is the separator film, Miller said. "They represent a pretty significant percentage of the pie."
Although the separators are made of commodity plastics, the engineering requirements make them a high-dollar item, Miller said. The batteries require thin, uniform sheets that are microporous.
ExxonMobil already is developing separators. BASF may build a US plant that makes battery materials. A Dow Chemical joint venture has plans to build battery plant.
($1 = €0.71)
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