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AS GOVERNMENTS and green industries move towards sustainable development, cylindrical batteries will take centre stage, claims TrendForce.
The development of the green energy industries in countries where progressive governments are providing subsidy policies or industrial regulations has let to a boom in the demand for power batteries.
The overall cylindrical battery demand will see a year-on-year increase of 32% from 882 million in 2014 to 1,171 million units in 2015, according to the newest report from EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce.
There are other drivers for the uptake in batteries, including use in transport and automotive applications, which will grow by 30 percent from 111 million units in 2014 to 145 million in 2015.
The IT sector will require fewer cells, due to the emphasis on ultra-thin products — as such , battery cell manufacturers should enter the automotive market if they have not already, in order to maintain sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, power tools have stricter standards for battery life due to the cells’ higher level of power outputs. As a result, demands in the power tool market will stabilise. However, as cell capacities rise, power tools will also need less batteries. The overall demands for lithium batteries in the power tool market is therefore expected to remain flat around 220 million units in 2015.
While previously, energy storage systems were associated with the emergency or standby power supply systems used in the industrial sector, the rise of renewable energies means they are trickling down to the residential and architectural markets.
Developments in the energy storage market are expected be driven by factors such as soaring electricity consumption, rising electricity prices, increasing demands for energy efficiency, and decreasing costs in energy storage. This means there will be a push for energy storage systems between 2016-2020.