Modern eras are in large part defined by their novel technologies, which become embedded in every other part of the economy and create broad new possibilities:
In the early 1800s, steam power led to the rise of factories and of rail and steamship travel;
In the late 1800s, the internal-combustion engine led to the automobile, the airplane, and other transformative means of transport;
In the early 1900s, the electric grid and wireless communication connected people around the world;
Through the late 1900s, the silicon chip and computer-processing power reshaped nearly every aspect of life.
In this era, the battery revolution is an enabling technology for countless other applications, from road and air transport to storage for renewable-energy systems.
And of course the battery revolution is driving the shift away from the obsolete, hyper-pollution lawn equipment discussed in this space.
In its February 6 edition, Russell Gold and Ben Foldy of the Wall Street Journal describe the technological, commercial, and strategic implications of the race for battery improvements. A sample:
Batteries “are right on the precipice of being highly disruptive,” said Chris McKissack, chief executive of GlidePath Power Solutions LLC, an Illinois-based company that builds renewable energy generation….
Prices have come down a long way since January 2010, when Boston Consulting Group estimated battery costs at between $1,000 and $1,200 per kilowatt-hour. It said getting to $250—a level car makers were targeting—“is unlikely to be achieved unless there is a major breakthrough in battery chemistry.”
Today, battery prices are about $125 per kilowatt-hour, after big increases in manufacturing capacity lowered costs, and tweaks to chemistry and design yielded further savings.
Battery costs are widely expected to fall further, said Venkat Viswanathan, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He expects them to go as low as $80 per kilowatt-hour in two to three years before bottoming out.
It’s worth reading the whole, extensive piece.
Also, check out this report from the HV1 site, covering news of the Hudson Valley, about a step toward leaf blower regulation in New Paltz, New York. (The site limits many stories to local subscribers, and if you can’t see this one, its gist is the continuing trend of communities limiting these out-of-date, needlessly damaging devices.)