A lead acid battery is composed of lead oxide and lead electrodes immersed in a dilute sulfuric acid solution. Lead-acid batteries are the prevailing and potent type of rechargeable batteries. Due to their low cost per watt, they are cost-effective energy sources for automobiles, electric vehicles, forklifts, ships, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. The batteries consist of cells composed of lead alloy plates. A lead-acid battery typically consists of 65% water and 35% sulfuric acid. The incorporation of additional compounds enhances the battery's performance.
New-age batteries, such as lithium-ion and nickel-based, cost twice or even more than lead-acid batteries. This makes the lead-acid battery a cost-competitive energy source, fueling its global demand. Automotive and UPS systems mainly generate significant demand for these batteries due to their cost-effectiveness. In the automotive segment alone in 2017, more than 260 million lead-acid batteries were used, close to 60% of the market in SLI applications. On the other hand, UPS systems altogether generated a demand of more than 65 million units of lead-acid batteries in the same year. Therefore, strong car sales and rising demand for UPS systems in the residential and commercial sectors are anticipated to fuel demand for lead-acid batteries at competitive prices.
A data center is an arrangement of servers that house publicly accessible web content. Lead-acid batteries are the primary power source for these data centers due to their high power-to-weight ratio and high current surge, which enable them to efficiently manage the massive energy output produced by high internet traffic. Data centers, which are renowned for offering an unregulated power supply, typically favor valve-regulated lead-acid batteries. Moreover, large data corporations such as Google have fifteen data centers, and Facebook has nine, six of which are located in the United States.
Furthermore, the reach of the internet is growing, as it is becoming more and more apparent. Companies all over the world are expanding their data centers to handle the complexity of varied data. Hyperscale data centers are expanding, especially in China and the United States. The largest retailer, Amazon, plans to expand its data centers within the US. As a result, it is projected that the number of new data centers in the coming years will increase, increasing the need for lead-acid batteries to supply power. There should be healthy growth opportunities due to the global expansion of data centers over the forecast period.
Asia-Pacific is the most significant global lead-acid battery market shareholder and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Australia are the principal contributors to the Asia-Pacific. High automobile production and sales, swift industrialization, an increase in population, and a rise in demand for UPS systems are key elements promoting this region's growth. The automotive industry generates most of the income for lead-acid batteries in Asia-Pacific because of the strong demand for passenger cars and the rising popularity and uptake of electric vehicles.
The automobile industry's electric vehicle segment is expanding significantly to cut carbon footprints. Lead-acid batteries are widely utilized in electric cars, and their popularity is steadily rising. Moreover, the region is still developing in terms of economic growth and is relatively price-sensitive. Considering this, lithium-ion batteries that are high in price, i.e., Lithium-ion, report sluggish adoption in this region, which boosts the growth of the lead–acid battery market.
Key global lead-acid battery market players are EnerSys, Exide Industries, Crown Battery, East Penn, Hoppecke, NorthStar, Hitachi Chemical, Teledyne Technologies, Hankook AltasBX, and C&D Technologies.
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