Lead Acid Battery Market

Market Overview

The global lead acid battery market size was valued at USD 48.3 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 75 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.02% during the forecast period (2023–2031). The expected increase in car sales and growing demand for UPS systems in both residential and commercial sectors are projected to drive the demand for lead-acid batteries at competitive prices.

Lead oxide and lead electrodes submerged in a weak sulfuric acid solution comprise a lead acid battery. The most common and powerful rechargeable batteries are lead-acid 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 constituent cells that make up these batteries have a layer of lead alloy plates. Typically, a lead-acid battery contains 65% water and 35% sulfuric acid. The inclusion of other compounds also strengthens the battery.

Market Dynamics

Global Lead Acid Battery Market Drivers:

Cost-Efficient Energy Storage Solution

The best batteries for portable electronics are those based on lithium-ion and nickel. Conventional lead-acid batteries are much more cost-effective and better suited for stationary applications and wheeled mobility than lithium-ion and nickel-based batteries. Lead-acid batteries are bulkier because they are heavier than brand-new batteries (the typical car battery weighs 17 kg). Consequently, a higher mass indicates a lower energy-to-weight ratio. Conversely, lead-acid batteries are perfect for starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) applications in the automotive sector due to their higher surge current capacity. This is largely responsible for the automotive industry's high demand for lead-acid batteries.

Furthermore, 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.

Recyclability Concerned with Lead-Acid Batteries over Lithium-Ion Batteries

According to the Battery Power Magazine Industry Organization, lead-acid batteries are the most recycled product in the globe, with a reported recycling rate of over 90%. Lead-acid batteries are highly recyclable, making them extremely low-risk for the environment and possibly the battery of choice for the majority of consumers. Lead-acid batteries have a competitive advantage over their alternatives, particularly lithium-ion batteries, due to their high recycling rate and well-established global recycling infrastructure that satisfies regulatory concerns regarding lead use in batteries.

An international research and development consortium called the Advanced Lead-acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) fervently maintains that lead-acid batteries are more sustainable than other battery technologies. Its complete recycling results in lower energy consumption and CO2 production. However, because lithium-ion batteries cannot be recycled, their manufacturers have realized this and have begun developing various innovations to maximize the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Such successful development has yet to be reported. This scenario results in the increased popularity and brand loyalty of lead-acid batteries globally, contributing significantly to growth in the global lead acid battery market.

Global Lead Acid Battery Market Restraint:

Emerging and Existing Alternatives Available in the Market

Even though regular lead-acid batteries are a cheap energy source, the global market is anticipating new technologies that will enable it to have long-term energy potential. The reasons for this might be traced to a few drawbacks of lead-acid batteries. A few of these are the lengthy charging process, weight, the presence of combustible gases while charging, and the risk of chemical burns. Manufacturers are developing lithium-ion, nickel, and zinc-based batteries to replace lead-acid batteries. The market for these batteries is expanding, and lead-acid batteries fall short of expectations.

Lithium-ion batteries have been demonstrated to be superior to lead-acid batteries in terms of charging, capacity, and efficiency, except for cost and recyclability. It is commonly known that lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, which translates to greater energy storage. As a result, they provide more energy with efficiency over their alternatives, notably lead-acid batteries. Moreover, global lead acid battery market growth is being impeded by the swift uptake of lithium-ion and nickel- and zinc-based batteries at a moderate rate. This factor is expected to be even higher during the forecast period.

Global Lead Acid Battery Market Opportunities:

Rising Need to Expand Data Centers

Data centers are a collection of servers that host online information that can be accessed from anywhere. Such data centers mostly use lead-acid batteries because of their large power-to-weight ratio and high current surge, which effectively handle huge energy output generated by heavy internet traffic. Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries are mostly preferred in data centers that are known for providing an uninstructed power supply. Moreover, major data corporations like Google have 15 data centers, and Facebook has nine, six of which are in the U.S.

The expansion of the internet's reach is becoming increasingly evident. In order to handle the complexity of varied data, businesses all over the world are growing their data centers. Hyperscale data center are growing, particularly in the United States and China. The biggest retailer, Amazon, intends to increase its data centers in the United States. As a result, the need for lead-acid batteries to supply power is anticipated to rise due to the anticipated large number of new data centers in the upcoming years. Therefore, growing data centers worldwide should present healthy growth opportunities over the forecast period.

Regional Analysis

Region-wise, the global lead acid battery market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

Asia-Pacific Dominates the Global Market

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.

Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. Some major countries that contributed significantly to this region include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Europe has actively participated in mandatory renewable targets as part of the government's legislative approach. The 28 European Union member states are legally required to produce renewable energy. This has increased demand for lead-acid batteries as a cleaner energy storage device, contributing to regional growth. Moreover, Germany, the UK, Italy, and France are among the top 10 leading economies that have reported the highest industrial production, and lead-acid batteries are prominently adopted in forklift trucks in material handling applications as a low-cost energy source. Since lead-acid batteries are high in weight and offer counterbalance that increases their lifting capacity, their adoption in forklifts will likely grow in the coming years.

North America is the third largest region. Key lead-acid battery manufacturers, including Crown Battery, EnerSys, C&D Technologies, East Penn Manufacturing, and NorthStar, largely drive the growth of the North American lead acid battery market share. These companies are focused on product development, which leads to the introduction of advanced lead-acid batteries in the market. East Penn Manufacturing also introduced AGM battery design by utilizing thermal shielding technology. This technology helps extend battery lifespan and withstand large electrical loads, specifically in a high-temperature environment. These factors collectively propel the demand for lead-acid batteries in North America. Other factors contributing to the regional growth include increasing automotive sales, exceptional demand for UPS systems in the U.S., and expanding data centers in the U.S.

LAMEA is a relatively smaller region in terms of growth. It accounted for around 15% of the total market share in 2018, where Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and South Africa emerged as the prominent contributors to regional growth. Although LAMEA accounted for the least market share as of 2018, the region has enormous growth potential in the coming years. Consumers in the residential sector mostly prefer cost-competitive energy sources due to price-sensitive behaviors and poor economic performance in some countries. This makes lead-acid batteries a battery of choice over its competitors, such as lithium-ion batteries.

Furthermore, the telecom industry has considerably impacted the adoption of lead-acid batteries in Latin America. The telecom industry in Brazil is the fifth largest telecom sector in the world, which is expanding due to investments from Spain-based telecom manufacturers. The material handling industry also contributes to the market growth in this region. Moreover, several factors contribute to the increased use of lead-acid batteries in forklift trucks to facilitate material movement operations. These include a rise in chemical production, substantial investments in oil and gas projects, political alliances between countries, and a surge in fleet trade throughout South America. However, the poor economic performance of some countries, such as North Africa and Saudi Arabia, limits the demand for lead-acid batteries in this region.

Segmental Analysis

The global lead-acid battery market is segmented based on product, construction method, and application.

Based on the construction method, the global lead acid battery market is segmented into flooded and valve–regulated sealed lead–acid batteries (VRLA Batteries). 

The flooded segment dominates the global market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.71% during the forecast period. Nuclear submarines and diesel-electric submarines that require flooded lead-acid batteries as a backup power source for electric motors are also major users of these batteries. Therefore, rising marine commerce activities will likely present flooded lead-acid batteries with favorable growth prospects during the projected period. Due to their cost-effectiveness, lead-acid batteries are increasingly utilized in forklift trucks, primarily used in the material handling business, where productivity and cheap costs are paramount.

By the product, the global lead acid battery market is segmented into SLI, stationary, and motive.

The SLI segment owns the highest market share and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. Long cycle life and decreased weight in cars are SLI batteries' main benefits. As a result, the growth of SLI batteries as an affordable energy source is driven by the increase in vehicle sales. According to a 2017 Elsevier B.V. article, there will likely be a rising demand for SLI batteries due to the proliferation of small, inexpensive ICE vehicles, particularly in developing nations like China, India, and Indonesia. This can be attributed to the lack of strict regulatory concerns governing the use of vehicle batteries and issues of CO2 emission penalties. Moreover, car owners view these batteries as an affordable energy source and replace them after a set amount of time rather than purchasing pricey substitutes like the lithium-ion batteries that are now on the market.

By application, the global lead acid battery market is segmented into automotive, UPS, telecom, and others.

The automotive segment dominates the global market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. The automotive segment is divided into e-bikes, passenger cars, and vehicles. In the case of e-bikes, sealed lead-acid batteries or SLA batteries are mostly preferred. SLAs are sealed in a hard plastic case and can be turned into any orientation without acid leakage. This enables its use in e-bikes. In addition, lead-acid batteries are preferred over wet-cell lead-acid batteries in e-bikes as wet-cell batteries may leak acid if turned upside down to the side. The key advantages of using lead-acid batteries for e-bikes are their low cost, high power output potential, and capacity to provide huge amounts of current.

In the case of passenger cars, the growth of this segment is attributed to the launch of new models, expansion of production capacity, and increasing use of lead-acid batteries in passenger cars as a low-cost power source. Moreover, the rise in penetration of the automobile industry in emerging markets worldwide and the use of advanced digital automotive parts such as digital speedometers are projected to support the growth of lead-acid batteries in the passenger car segment.

Recent Developments

• June 2023 - EnerSys announced that it had begun a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Verkor SAS, a European leader in battery technology, to explore the development of a lithium battery gigafactory in the United States.
• May 2023 - EnerSys® launched the ODYSSEY® Connect battery monitoring system, featuring proprietary technology to actively monitor and track a range of battery health and performance data for optimal operations. The information the system receives is then communicated via Bluetooth® to any Apple® or Android™ smart device.