The International Lead Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) has published a study on lead-acid industrial batteries prepared by Geoffrey May of Focus Consulting. After automotive batteries, industrial lead-acid batteries are the most important market sector for lead-acid batteries with global sales of ~$10 billion. This study describes the market in detail both for motive power and standby batteries and also the emerging market for energy storage to support the deployment of renewable energy sources. The different types of lead-acid battery are described and competitor systems are analyzed. The longer term position of lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and Li-ion batteries for industrial applications is discussed in detail.
The market is analyzed by sector, geography and application with figures for sales, output in kWh and lead requirements in tonnage. There are profiles of 40 companies representing all the significant producers. Forecasts are provided by sector and by region and despite competition from Li-ion batteries, it is expected that the market will continue to grow at a good rate in the next few years with the motive power market expanding more slowly than standby power.
