Batteries are storage devices for electricity. From tiny button cells used in electronic gadgets to huge battery banks used in solar and wind farms, the types of batteries in use spans the extremes in terms of size and capacity, not to mention the various types of batteries available for different application.

The global size of market for batteries currently stands at US$ 90 billion, which is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.1 per cent to reach US$ 132 billion by 2016. While China will obviously be the biggest market, India along with South Korea is expected to grow the fastest.

Conventional lead acid batteries used in automobiles and industrial applications are the most common type of batteries. Alessandro Volta's invention, the voltaic pile in the year 1800, was the first electrical battery that could continuously provide an electrical current to a circuit. However, the first real lead-acid battery was invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Plant?, the oldest example of a rechargeable battery. Over the years, the once messy avatar of the typical LA battery - leaking and fuming with corrosive effects - has evolved into compact, maintenance free, 'fit-and-forget' units for automobiles, commercial and less demanding industrial uses. Even the larger capacity batteries are by and large much cleaner and easier to maintain than the predecessors, and still among the cheapest of all types of batteries.

A recent report, 'Lead-Acid Battery Market in India', states that the battery market in India is experiencing rising demand from various sectors, thereby providing immense opportunities to manufacturers of steady, profitable growth. Despite some hiccups in the present scenario, the automobile sector is expected to maintain its growth and with the rising need for power backup, the growth in the lead-acid battery market is assured. The replacement market for batteries has also been growing considerably and is mostly served by smaller firms. These manufacturers are mostly active in the semi-urban and rural areas, catering to the battery needs of old automobiles, tractors and other farm equipment.

The need for uninterrupted power in various industries such as telecom, banking and hospitality has resulted in the strong growth of industrial batteries. Another area from where the market has been facing high demand is the renewable energy market where batteries are required to store the energy generated from renewable sources, viz., solar and wind power.

This report also mentions the duopolistic nature of the Indian market where two companies, Exide Industries Ltd and Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, enjoy around 90% market share. Due to the tremendous brand recall experience by these companies, most original equipment manufacturers use batteries manufactured by them. The passenger vehicle space is dominated by the two companies due to their strong tie-ups with recognised international players. Moreover, power concentration being in the hands of these two players, the pricing power remains strong for the industry. There is an opportunity here for serious and ambitious players, who can, with competitive pricing and extensive marketing initiatives capture a significant share in the market dominated by two main players.

An important area for new generation batteries is the storage requirements of energy from renewable sources, viz., solar and wind power. In Tamil Nadu, which has over 7,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity, wind mill farms are facing serious problems of evacuation as the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) is unable to evacuate the power generated due to various reasons. According to K Kasthoorirangaian, Chairman of the Indian Wind Power Association, the loss due to this is as high as 35 per cent which is ironic in a state experiencing regular power cuts including Chennai. There are clearly problems with grid connectivity that the state government needs to address. But it is in such cases storage batteries can play an effective role, provided manufacturers are able to develop more efficient batteries while also keeping the cost in mind. Globally, there are several companies working in this area.

Researchers from the US Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid. For solar and wind power to be used in a significant way, the need is for a battery made of economical materials that are easy to scale and still efficient. Currently, the electrical grid cannot tolerate large and sudden power fluctuations caused by wide swings in sunlight and wind. But as solar and wind's combined contributions to an electrical grid increase (insignificant at present, but still problematic), energy storage systems must be available to smooth out the peaks and valleys of this "intermittent" power - storing excess energy and discharging when input drops.

Among the big companies, GE's Durathon Battery technology is an innovative and advanced industrial battery engineered to meet the growing need for safer, reliable and high-performance energy storage solutions for stationary and motive applications. Delivering value and ingenuity to the telecommunications, power generation, grid operation and energy management markets, Durathon Battery Energy Storage Solutions, according to the company, will change the way the world sees battery power. Durathon battery technology is based on the simple chemistry of sodium and nickel. During charging, chloride ions are released from sodium chloride and combined with nickel to form nickel chloride. These sodium ions then migrate from the cathode reservoir through a beta alumina separator into the anode reservoir. During discharge, the reverse chemical reaction occurs and sodium ions migrate from the anode reservoir through the beta alumina separator into the cathode reservoir. There is no self-discharge because sodium ions can move easily across the beta alumina, while electrons cannot.

Each cell is hermetically sealed within its own metal case, and is strung together with other cells in a thermally insulated battery module, which ensures that the battery's external surfaces remain within 10?C to 15?C of the surrounding ambient temperature. All Durathon Batteries are managed by the Durathon Battery Management System, which controls and protects the battery and relays information for monitoring the battery's condition. Finally, most people familiar with technology have by now heard about Tesla Motors' advances on the first true electric car. The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car produced by the electric car company, the first highway-capable all-electric vehicle in serial production for sale in the United States in recent times. The company refers to the Roadster's battery pack as the Energy Storage System or ESS. The ESS contains 6,831 lithium ion cells arranged into 11 "sheets" connected in series; each sheet contains 9 "bricks" connected in series; each "brick" contains 69 cells connected in parallel.

The company has also developed technology to charge the battery in super quick time, besides offering an exchange with a fully charged battery at the charging station in next to no time. While a regular charge for a typical Tesla model takes hours at home or public charging station, the company has also unveiled a network of "supercharging" stations - designed exclusively for its Model S and future electric vehicles - that could charge a battery halfway in 30 minutes. Recently it announced an upgrade that cut that time to 20 minutes. And now Tesla's chief technology officer, JB Straubel, says the company eventually could cut the time it takes to fully charge the battery to just five minutes - or not much longer than it takes to fill a gas tank. So the world of batteries is in for exciting times.

In India, Exide Industries Ltd is the largest manufacturer of batteries, with operations dating back to 1916 through a predecessor company that began its operations an import house. Since then, over the years, the company has been steadily progressing by taking necessary initiatives to modernise its manufacturing processes and by constantly improving its customer services. In the year 1994, the company had entered into a technical collaboration with Shin Kobe Electric Machinery Co Ltd of Japan, a subsidiary of the Hitachi Group. The main objective of entering into this collaboration was accessing technology for the new automotive vehicles entering the Indian market. Further in the year 1998, with an objective of increasing capacity without the time lag in setting-up greenfield project the company acquired the Industrial Undertakings of Standard Batteries Limited as a going concern. This acquisition strengthened its production base as well as giving the company access to technology from The Furukawa Battery Company of Japan. With a number of other acquisitions, collaborations and continuous innovations, Exide Industries has gradually risen to become one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of batteries in the sub-continent today, with the widest range of storage batteries in the world from 2.5 Ah to 20400 Ah capacity, covering the broadest spectrum of applications. As on today, the company has a domestic market share of 45% in Industrial, 72% in Auto OE and 73% in replacement auto. The company being the domestic storage major, is also one of the largest power storage solution companies in South-East Asia. On the domestic front, the company has six factories located across India - 2 in the states of Maharashtra, 2 in the state of West Bengal, 1 in state of Tamil Nadu and 1 in the state of Haryana. The company powers most of the industrial and automotive segments in the country and the products are used in critical applications in infrastructure and defence sectors.