Battery As The 21st Century Key Technology

Batteries used to be an essential but cheap component of small electric and electronic devices. But with the rise of EVs and renewables, they have become maybe the most important technology for the green transition.

Batteries used to be an essential but cheap component of small electric and electronic devices. But with the rise of EVs and renewables, they have become the most important technology for the green transition.

The growth in battery demand is barely getting started, with an exponential rise in demand from EVs and energy storage expected in the upcoming years.

The company leading the charge globally in battery production is CATL – Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, responsible for manufacturing 36.8% of total battery volume worldwide.

The company has recently announced a few new products that could radically change its growth potential and make it one of the largest industrial companies in the world in a few years.

Its stock reflects the recent good news and product release, with a price up 54% so far this year, partially riding on a dramatic rebound of Chinese equities as a whole.

Battery Market

When it comes to EVs, batteries are important because almost every part of an EV system is superior to internal combustion engines (ICE): electric motors are more efficient, more reactive, smaller, more sturdy, and require less maintenance due to almost no moving part, and can even collect energy back when braking.

ICE cars have however one advantage. Liquid fuels are incredibly energy-dense. So for EVs to compete, they need the densest batteries possible. This way, the EV does not carry “dead weight” reducing the performance of the whole car.

We discussed in detail the possible chemistries and challenges of EV batteries in “The Future of Mobility – Battery Tech”.

Another sector in dire need of more and better batteries is renewable energy. Wind and solar are very efficient, but they also produce energy intermittently and often not when most needed (like in the evenings and winter).

So for electric grids to stay stable, massive storage capacity is required. Here the issue is not battery density, as energy storage stays immobile.

Instead, the 2 key factors are:

This market is expected to grow quickly, with a 26.4% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.

We discussed in detail the possible chemistries and challenges of EV batteries in “The Future Of Energy Storage – Utility-Scale Batteries Tech”.

Battery production is a complex task, requiring massive scale for a few reasons:

This is why, in the battery business, the bigger the better.

This creates a business flywheel that greatly rewards the largest companies and makes any smaller startup competitor struggle. Even with better technology, the need for multi-billion-dollar factories can cause problems in successfully producing and selling the batteries.

For example, the company Freyr stopped battery production in the summer of 2024, and Northvolt is cutting jobs and downsizing its production targets.

Meanwhile, CATL is expanding as quickly as it can, with many news in the last few months indicating how precious of a partner to global tech and industrial corporations and government CATL has become:

Past Results

For now, a lot of CATL attention is focused on EVs, and improving battery technology through tweaking the manufacturing process of lithium-ion batteries.

Previously, the industry was expected to switch as soon as possible to solid-state batteries, due to their higher energy density, quicker charge, and better safety profile (no electrolyte that can catch fire).

Future domination by solid-state batteries might not be so clear cut, since CATL released a new lithium battery with a honeycomb design that makes it a lot denser and durable.

This is the key behind the announcement by CATL of a new LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) battery that can add 600km of range in just 10 minutes. In total the driving range could be above 1,000 km (600 miles), totally removing all “anxiety range” for future EV owners.

Overall, this means 1 km worth of range can be charged every second and a full charge for 1,000km will take 16.6 minutes.

Until recently, it was somewhat of a consensus that in the long run, lithium-ion was not the right chemistry for utility-scale energy storage. This is because lithium-ion is expensive, and degrades too quickly, usually losing performance badly in more or less 10 years.

So, when CATL revealed the performance of its TENER containerized battery system, the whole battery industry was shocked.

The pilot project using the TENER has demonstrated zero degradation in capacity after a full 5 years of operation.

The honeycomb structure is likely becoming a central part of CATL's battery architecture. While not explicitly stated as such, this is probably what CATL referred to when talking about TENER:

To realize TENER, the company used an SEI with biomimetic ion channels and high stability, together with self-assembled electrolyte technologies creating what it calls an “ageless energy storage system.

Based on state-of-the-