"Between 2022 and 2030, the global green technology and sustainability market is forecast to grow. In 2022, the size of this market amounted to roughly 13.76 billion U.S. dollars. By 2030, it is expected to peak at almost 62 billion U.S. dollars, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.8% from 2023 to 2030. "
Source: Statista, Federica Laricchia, July 21, 2023
Many of us are reinventing our companies and/or careers to better suit the new realities in which we have suddenly found ourselves. I would encourage everyone to think of green tech and sustainability as more than trendy buzzwords.
There is real opportunity in this sector because in the coming decade it will not rely on market forces alone. It will be heavily subsidized. Here’s an article from Pew that outlines just a few of the opportunities for federal funding. This article relates to the US, but similar programs are in place worldwide:
It seems that the biggest hurdle to the adoption of EV’s is the long recharging times. According to the article below, “the notion of battery swapping, dismissed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and many others as unworkable, is still percolating.”
I just completed a long road trip with my family, and thought about this each time we filled the tank. It seems that it would have been impossible to find charging stations, and waiting 30 minutes would have been really annoying.
"How it works: Ample makes modular battery packs that can be integrated into EVs of any size and swapped out when depleted.
• The shoebox-size modules fit within an adaptor plate designed to match the shape and size of a given vehicle’s original battery.
• That flexibility means car manufacturers like Fisker can install a swappable Ample battery as an option at the factory. "
FD - I am not associated in any way with the companies mentioned in the article.
Swappable batteries are the answer. No one should own a battery for their EV. The infrastructure should be built so that when you need to tank up, you pull into a station and your depleted battery is removed. The a fully-charged battery is installed. This should take less than 5 minutes, just like filling up with gasoline.
There can be different types of batteries, just like there are different types of fuel. Some could be higher performance and more costly.
A major issue is tracking the batteries so that they are not stolen by the user. Blockchain could be the solution for that, but I don’t know exactly how.
Yes, to @Digitaldavos95’s point, the lithium-ion extraction techniques that are most commonly used these days are inefficient and can be environmentally detrimental. Though some companies – such as CHMX – are working on innovative methods to mitigate such issues: https://next-chemx.com/
Surprised not to see anything in this article / legislation about infrastructure for other types of vehicles (esp. hydrogen-powered vehicles).
The environmental impact of creating the batteries is something I hadn’t considered. It is swapping one bad thing for the other. Like non-fat products that are loaded with sugar.
I have heard about a new technology, glass batteries, that would presumably be cleaner to produce and more efficient. To my knowledge, these batteries are being developed by the inventor of the lithium battery.