Lead-acid batteries will continue to be a mainstay of the automotive market into the next decade— despite increasing focus on lithium-powered electric vehicles, a battery and raw materials expert has said.
Christophe Pillot (pictured), a partner and director of French consultancy firm Avicenne Energy, said lead-acid “will not disappear” as carmakers increase development of EVs.
Pillot said: “Lithium-ion is not about to take over the market and lead-acid will still be there as a strong player in 2025, especially in SLI batteries and even in forklifts and other applications.”
Pillot said lead would continue to be a force to be reckoned with worldwide because technology is “still very far away from giving end-users of lithium-ion cars what they want” in terms of requirements such as a driving range of several hundred kilometres.
Pillot’s analysis echoed those of renowned battery and EV market analyst, Menahem Anderman, who told AABC Europe earlier this year that EV penetration at 20% of the global car fleet would not be reached by 2025 and lithium-ion battery costs remained the key barrier to market.
