The European Lead Battery Conference has ended and participants heard the worldwide battery market is worth more than $250 billion and rising, and the lead battery sector is maintaining its own.
In his introduction to the Milan, Italy, gathering, Glencore general manager and chair of the International Lead Association, Florian von Steinkeller said the outlook four years ago was doom and gloom. There were fears that lithium-ion was going to take over and lead would end up on the European Union’s REACH list with restrictions.
Neither quite happened as feared and the downturn in the EV market and safety concerns over lithium-ion car batteries catching fire has changed things, leaving lead in a better position.
In his presentation on the global rechargeable battery market, director of consulting firm Avicenne Energy, Christophe Pillot, told his audience his company put the total battery market worldwide at over $250 billion, with growth in the lead battery sector going from 526GWh in 2020 to 550GWh in 2023. Lead-acid retains a market share of over 30%, he said.
In the industrial battery sector, Avicenne forecasts that lead will retain its dominance in UPS batteries with a 70% market share, in telecom batteries with 73% and motive at 51%. The lowest share is in the ESS segment (grid and residential, excluding inverter market), where lead batteries make up only 1% and lithium-ion 99%.
“Lead will stay at a high level, except for ESS,” he said. The lead-acid battery market volume is still growing, but lithium-ion will continue to take market share.
Lead analyst Neil Hawkes, celebrating 35 years in the industry, said lead batteries are facing challenges from LFP batteries, but are set to remain resilient as part of a multi-battery landscape.
ELBC was organised by the International Lead Association and the Consortium for Battery Innovation.
