Global Battery Markets

The battery market is expanding, and the global revenue in 2009 was a whopping $47.5 billion.* With the growing demand for portable electronics and the desire to connect and work outside the confines of four walls, experts predict that this figure will reach $74 billion in 2015. These numbers are speculative and include batteries for the electric powertrain of cars.
An Overview of Battery Types
Batteries are divided into two categories: primary and secondary. In 2009, primary batteries made up 23.6 percent of the global market. Frost & Sullivan (2009) predict a 7.4 percent decline of the primary battery in revenue distribution by 2015. Primary batteries are used in watches, electronic keys, remote controls, children’s toys, light beacons and military devices.
The real growth lies in secondary batteries. Frost & Sullivansay that rechargeable batteriesaccount for 76.4 percent of the global market, a number that is expected to increase to 82.6 percent in 2015. Batteries are also classified by chemistry and the most common are lithium-, lead-, and nickel-based systems. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of these chemistries.