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or 20% of the car’s weight, which is inefficient in terms of weight and cost. An EV
requires a battery with three times the current energy density. As shown in Table 4.4,
it will be closer to this target in 2030, and may be beyond it in 2050. In 2050, if
10 million EVs are running in Japan, there will be a large storage battery market of
about 500 GWh just for the EVs.
Meanwhile, the requirement for the physical properties of household storage batteries and power storage batteries is not as stringent as that for automobiles. The
size of the storage battery market for power supply is about the same as that for
EVs. Furthermore, many other applications such as for use in robots can be considered, so it can be said that the battery market is a particularly promising field.
As such, I have described the quantitative calculation results including the current state and future prospects of solar cells and storage batteries. Economy is necessary for expanding the market, and for that purpose, high efficiency and high
performance are indispensable. The research and development issues are clear, and
a large number of researchers and engineers are working on this issue worldwide.
Although competition between companies will intensify, it is a market that will
continue to grow for decades (Fig. 4.2).
Fig. 4.2 Small hydroelectric power generation using agricultural water. (Courtesy: Imagineer Co.,
Ltd.)
4.1 Future Image of Renewable Energy
or 20% of the car’s weight, which is inefficient in terms of weight and cost. An EV
requires a battery with three times the current energy density. As shown in Table 4.4,
it will be closer to this target in 2030, and may be beyond it in 2050. In 2050, if
10 million EVs are running in Japan, there will be a large storage battery market of
about 500 GWh just for the EVs.
Meanwhile, the requirement for the physical properties of household storage batteries and power storage batteries is not as stringent as that for automobiles. The
size of the storage battery market for power supply is about the same as that for
EVs. Furthermore, many other applications such as for use in robots can be considered, so it can be said that the battery market is a particularly promising field.
As such, I have described the quantitative calculation results including the current state and future prospects of solar cells and storage batteries. Economy is necessary for expanding the market, and for that purpose, high efficiency and high
performance are indispensable. The research and development issues are clear, and
a large number of researchers and engineers are working on this issue worldwide.
Although competition between companies will intensify, it is a market that will
continue to grow for decades (Fig. 4.2).
Fig. 4.2 Small hydroelectric power generation using agricultural water. (Courtesy: Imagineer Co.,
Ltd.)
4.1 Future Image of Renewable Energy