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Battery Recycling January 17, 2011 04:34:01 AM

US battery industry to expand to $33.6 bn by 2012

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
The global batteries market is estimated at $47.5 billion. Its forecast to hit $74 billion in 2015, driven by demand for rechargeable batteries, which make up more than 75 percent of the international market.

US battery industry to expand to $33.6 bn by 2012

NEWYORK(Scrap Monster): Buoyed by  the soaring popularity  of  high-tech devices in the United States , the battery industry is expected to expand to $33.6 billion by 2012. The industry estimates that more than 15 billion batteries of some type were sold in the U.S. last year, according to a report in The Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com)

The global batteries market is estimated at $47.5 billion. Its forecast to hit $74 billion in 2015, driven by demand for rechargeable batteries, which make up more than 75 percent of the international market, the news report added.

Rapid expansion stands the estimation as Mark Hartland; Wis.-based Batteries Plus LLC bills itself as the nation's largest and fastest-growing battery retailer, selling more than 50 million batteries per year. It has nearly 450 outlets in 45 states and Puerto Rico – with 90 percent franchisee-operated – selling more than 40,000 types of batteries and accessories.

Although Batteries Plus touts itself as the nation's largest battery retailer, there's plenty of competition to go around, from businesses such as Battery Bill and Battery World, plus the electronics departments of major retailers like Wal-Mart.

 Recycling  a subset of the battery industry, also keeps on moving on a high momentum, as  Batteries Plus alone recycled an estimated 200 million tons of batteries just last year. 

 Manufacturing batteries is an estimated $9 billion-a-year industry in the U.S. Revenue is sometimes affected by varying prices of nonferrous metals such as zinc and lead. By 2015, the U.S. manufacturing segment is expected to top $10.4 billion. 

Industry experts cite the ongoing evolution of lithium-based batteries to power electric/hybrid vehicles. Companies that develop smaller, lighter and reliable in-car batteries stand to make billions. Another possible growth sector: medical devices.

As a ubiquitous component of the modern world expert also viewed this as recession proof industry.There are batteries for cameras, cordless work tools, phones, computers, electric wheelchairs, boats, security lighting systems, in-vehicle electronic devices, flashlights, dog collars, all-terrain vehicles, video equipment, clocks, thermometers, scanners and watches, to name just a few.

The Elk Grove store even had a desktop stapler-size battery to power the comparatively massive, shoulder-held camcorders of the 1980s.

Currently, lithium-based batteries that power electric/hybrid vehicles are large, heavy pieces of equipment that must be installed by trained technicians. The complex battery in the new Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, for example, weighs nearly 400 pounds.

However, analysts believe it's possible that, someday, auto batteries will evolve to a point that they would be the size and weight of the 12-volt batteries found under the hoods of cars worldwide.

Assuming the same kind of evolution that took video from Betamax to Blu-ray, experts say it's conceivable that motorists ultimately will be able to replace an electric vehicle's battery pack by stopping at a Batteries Plus store or other retail outlet.

The United States has long been the world's biggest battery-using nation, but most of the manufacturing has shifted to China.

Analysts believe that China's rapidly expanding industries – including automotive – might ultimately push it past the United States and open up another massive market for battery sellers.

 

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