US Battery & Fuel Cell Materials Demand to Reach $3.4 Billion in 2009

US demand for battery and fuel cell materials is projected to increase 5.9 percent annually through 2009 to $3.4 billion. Healthy gains in US battery production, due to the growing popularity of high-drain electronic products such as digital cameras and wireless phones, will result in the increased use of high-value materials needed to boost battery performance. Recycling will continue to be a key focus, especially for lead-acid batteries, which satisfied over 80 percent of its lead metal requirements with recycled material in 2004. The smaller fuel cell market will show sevenfold gains in output, resulting in extremely rapid advances in materials consumption.

The strongest increases in demand will be seen in carbon/graphite and polymers, although these comprised less than ten percent of the overall battery and fuel cell materials market in 2004. Carbon/graphite will benefit from rising output of fuel cells, in which these materials are used as plate and electrode materials. Additionally, there is significant potential for carbon/graphite nanomaterials. By 2020, nanomaterials for batteries and fuel cells is expected to be a nearly $1 billion industry. Demand growth for polymers, especially fluoropolymers, will be driven by fuel cell advances as well as increased production of lithium and zinc-air batteries.

Growth in demand for metals and chemicals will be slower, as the bulk of these materials are tied to mature markets such as lead-acid and alkaline batteries. Although metals were the fastest growing material type from 1999 to 2004, much of this was due to a spike in metal prices during this period, and advances are expected to slow through 2009 as raw material prices moderate. Smaller-volume metals such as platinum, lithium and nickel, as well as lithium and nickel chemicals, are expected to advance more quickly.

Electrodes, by far the largest functional category for materials, are the focus of intense research and development activity aimed at reducing material costs and improving product performance. However, stronger increases will be registered in the battery market by materials used in electrolytes, separators and other functions such as performance additives, as battery producers increasingly use higher-value materials in these components to enhance performance and extend battery life.

Distributed by Market Wire