Trends in Li ion battery – Energy Density, Anode & Cathode Chemistry Trends for Lithium Ion Batteries

Last updated: Feb 2020 by Narasimhan Santhanam

This post is a part of EV Next’s EV Perspectives.

EV Next, a division of EAI, is a leading market intelligence & strategic consulting firm for the Indian e-mobility sector.

Get to know about 1000+ EV innovations from EVI2: EV Innovation Intelligence from EVNext 

Here's more about EAI

India's first climate tech consulting firm

We work across entire climate tech spectrum

Our specialty focus areas include bio-energy, e-mobility, solar & green hydrogen

Gateway 2 India from EAI helps international firms enter Indian climate tech market

Deep dive into our work

E-Mobility Bio-energy Solar Green H2

View full playlist

Introduction

The Indian automobile sector is one of the most prominent sectors of the country, accounting for nearly 7.1% of the national GDP. The industry produced a total of 25.31 million vehicles, including commercial, passenger, two, and three vehicles and commercial quadricycles in April-March 2017, as against 24.01 million in April-March 2016. However, India has set itself an ambitious target of having only electric vehicles (EV) by 2030, which is expected to increase the demand for lithium-ion batteries in India, significantly. The high cost, associated with batteries that are used in electric vehicles, is considered to be critical for India’s ambitious target. To counter this, the Government of India is planning to set up lithium-ion battery manufacturing units in India, aggressively

Leading business players in India, such as Adani, Suzuki, Reliance, IOCL, and JSW, are planning to acquire this growing opportunity and invest heavily in setting up of lithium-ion battery manufacturing units. Furthermore, factors, such as the growing adoption of smart grid initiatives and the implementation of lithium-ion-based energy storage systems, are expected to support the demand for lithium-ion batteries in the Indian market. The India lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR of 29.26% during the forecast period, 2018-2023.

Recent market trends on Li ion batteries

• The research and development in the Battery field is working towards creating a smaller, lighter, efficient, cost effective batteries that can last long.
• Lithium sulphur chemistry can store up to 500 Wh/kg which is almost twice that of the other lithium chemistries. The problem in LiS is that the cost is high and the anode material tends to degrade during recharge which reduces the number of charging cycles of the battery.
• Zinc–air batteries (non-rechargeable) , and zinc–air fuel cells (mechanically rechargeable) are metal–air batteries powered by oxidizing zinc with oxygen from the air. These batteries have high energy densities and are relatively inexpensive to produce. 
• Zinc–air batteries have some properties of fuel cells as well as batteries: the zinc is the fuel, the reaction rate can be controlled by varying the air flow, and oxidized zinc/electrolyte paste can be replaced with fresh paste.
• Possible future applications of this battery include its deployment as an electric vehicle battery and as a utility-scale energy storage system.
• A metal–air electrochemical cell uses an anode made from pure metal and an external cathode of ambient air, typically with an aqueous or aprotic electrolyte.
• Lithium air battery uses the oxidation of metal (lithium) at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode to induce a current flow. The major appeal of the metal-air battery is the extremely high energy density. This chemistry starts to approach the energy density of oil and can theoretically deliver 12 kWh per kg. 
• Lithium-air batteries have never met with as much success as lithium-ion cells due to the difficulty of building a lithium-air cell which can be recharged thousands of times. It could be a decade before Metal-air batteries are a commercial reality.
• Supercapacitors are electric storage devices which can be recharged very quickly and release a large amount of power. In the automotive market they cannot yet compete with Li-ion batteries in terms of energy content, but their capacity is improving every year. They are already used as ancillary devices to store energy from braking and to provide the necessary boost during quick accelerations, ultimately increasing the efficiency of the vehicle.
• The trend of high nickelization of cathode materials is more obvious, and solid-state batteries are gradually appearing.
• The market for lithium-ion battery manufacturing equipment is booming; most manufacturers are currently focusing on a specific segment of equipment.
• The use of Li-ion battery chemistry in energy storage systems and particular applications of electric vehicles is worthy of attention.

Read more on the EV Battery ecosystem from: EV battery Innovations | Components of BMS | FCEV Trends | FCEV Indian Efforts | Anode/Cathode R&D | Li-ion Battery Trends | BMS Innovations | Indian Battery Manufacturers | Cost of Li-ion Batteries | Anode Materials in 2020-2030 | Key Drivers shaping Battery Chemistry |

Know more on how EV Next can assist your business in your strategy for the e-mobility and electric vehicles sectors, Here

Wish to know everything about India’s EV market from one place? Check out the India EV Expert Guide, an 800 page comprehensive guide to the Indian EV market. Here

Get to know about 1000+ EV innovations from EVI2: EV Innovation Intelligence from EVNext 

See also the related blog posts

• World’s Leading Suppliers of Li-ion Batteries for EVs – Global Electric Vehicle Battery Vendors

• Cost of Li-ion Batteries – Cost Trends 2018-2030 – $/kWh with Break-Ups

EVNext, EAI’s specialized consulting division, provides assistance in market research, strategy consulting, technology vendor/supplier finder assistance and more  for the complete EV value chain – Li-ion & Lead Acid Battery Cells & Battery Packs, BMS, Battery Manufacturing equipment, EV charging station, battery swapping station, Li-ion & Lead Acid battery recycling, and for a range of electric vehicles – e-bikes, electric bicycles, electric scooters, electric motorbikes, electric autos, e-autos, e-rickshaws, electric trucks, electric LCVs, electric buses and more. Send a note to consult@eai.in if you wish to take EVNext assistance for the Indian electric vehicle market.