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An article entitled "Power Innovation - The Remarkable Evolution of Batteries", published on the BBC website on 17 January, is excerpted below.
The development of battery technology has had a transformative impact on society. What changes can one expect to happen as battery technology continues to evolve?
Imagine if you could get through a day without using a battery. Batteries are essential whether it's a smartphone, laptop, electric car or other electric appliance. With global warming and economies around the world struggling to move away from reliance on fossil fuels, batteries have the potential to play a more significant role in powering society.
A progressive and revolutionary evolution
The next leap in battery evolution uses the chemical element lithium as a springboard, with the advent of electronic devices such as mobile phones, battery capacity needed to be expanded.
Rechargeable lithium batteries, based on inventions by scientists such as John Goodenough and Akira Yoshino, were introduced in 1991. They became a revolutionary force due to their small size, high voltage and ample charge storage. They have not only made all sorts of portable electronics possible but have also recently given a boost to the emergence of electric cars. As their cost has fallen dramatically - they are now only one-thirtieth of what they were 30 years ago - they have become an essential technology for the information age and for achieving zero-emission transport.
Lithium batteries have also fuelled the recent popularity of IoT devices. These batteries are small enough to be used in various innovative wearable devices. They are also flexible enough to be attached to wine bottles to help winemakers monitor heat and humidity during transport.
Jay Turner, an expert on the history of batteries and head of the Environmental Studies Department at Wellesley College, points out that breakthroughs that have changed the battery industry have been rare.
Turner says, "Many innovations in batteries have been incremental improvements on established technologies - this is true of lead-acid, alkaline manganese and lithium batteries. Over time, their small, incremental performance, capacity and safety improvements have driven dramatic battery performance improvements."
Driving the spread of renewable energy
Innovations in battery technology will continue to revolutionise the world. Today, large-scale battery banks are helping to stabilise power grids, while countries such as Japan see them as a critical technology for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the global energy storage market is expected to grow by 30% per year by 2030.
Batteries have already changed the way people work, live and entertain themselves. As battery technology continues to develop, batteries can help increase people's reliance on renewable energy, helping to transform society further and create a more sustainable world.
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