The reputation of lithium-ion and other batteries, such sodium-sulphur, used in a range energy storage applications have taken a real pounding lately – coming to a head with the heavily-publicised Boeing Dreamliner grounding and now an investigation into manufacturer GS Yuasa, who supplied the suspect cells.

There appear to be a number of safety issues involved, with one expert opining that a reason for battery maker A123’s demise was the fact that “the American auto industry chose energy density over safety and lifecycle capacity.” The over-arching problem is that, as commentator Neal Dikeman puts it: “Batteries are just hard. Investing in them is hard. Commercialisation of batteries is hard.”

The industry is learning, according to NAATBatt (National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries). In a summary of the US industry body’s latest annual meeting, it states that: ‘The mantra that “what is most important in advanced battery development is cost, cost, cost” is becoming “what is most important in advanced battery development is safety, safety, safety”.’

But the best thing this week – for litihium-ion batteries, at least – is the news that annual sales for electric vehicle applications are predicted to reach USD$22 billion by 2020. Accentuate the positive, people – accentuate the positive!