The market for electric-vehicle energy storage devices is expected to grow from $7.7 billion in 2010 to $14.5 billion in 2015, according to a report from Lux Research. But that's not the most interesting part of the analyst report that was released last month with seemingly little notice from the media.
Lux Research said that the predicted big growth in the overall market for batteries, fuel cells, and ultracapictors is not going to come from an increase in electric vehicles, but from the explosion of smart grids. In its report "Emerging Technologies Power a $44 Billion Opportunity for Transportation and Grid," Lux Research predicts that the overall market will grow from $21.4 billion in 2010 to $44.4 billion by 2015.
Smart-grid storage will make up the largest energy storage market growing from $5.4 billion in 2010 to $15.8 billion in 2015, according to Lux Research.
There will also be a pointed increase in growth for plug-in and electric-vehicle batteries, but not exactly in the area one might think. Batteries made for electric bikes and scooters will grow from a $6.4 billion market in 2010 to $10.9 billion in 2015, as the vehicles themselves increase in popularity.
"Policy makers, auto manufacturers and the media have locked their attention on battery technologies for plug-in and electric vehicles. But in fact e-bikes and scooters will drive the biggest growth for these batteries in the next five years," Jacob E. Grose, Lux Research analyst and the report's lead author, said in a statement.
The Lux Research report concurs with data already out there.
Pike Research predicted in October that lithium ion batteries for utility energy storage would be a $1 billion industry by 2018. The U.S. Department of Energy in November announced it was granting $620 million in stimulus funds along with $1 billion in private industry funds for 32 U.S. smart-grid programs. At the time, it also announced another $770 million from various government and corporate sources would be used to fund energy storage projects.
Every home and business should have access to “timely, useful and actionable” energy information, said a group of close to 50 companies — including Google, General Electric, Intel, Silicon Valley venture firms, smart grid startups and research groups — in a letter addressed to President Obama on Monday. The group used the letter to ask the federal government for more clarity, leadership and incentives on how to help consumers have better access to energy information.
Google, which is leading a summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday focused on consumers and energy information called “Power in Numbers: Unleashing Innovation in Home Energy Use,” made the letter public on Sunday night. That event is being co-sponsored by The Climate Group and features speakers like Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and Charlene Begley, president and CEO of GE Home & Business Solutions. (We’ll be highlighting this theme at our Green:Net conference on April 29 in San Francisco).
The letter has been signed by various groups that have been promoting the idea that consumers should have open access to home energy information, including: consumer electronics manufacturers Best Buy and Whirlpool; broadband service providers AT&T, Verizon and Comcast; energy information vendors eMeter, EnergyHub and Tendril; venture firms Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins; and research groups Environmental Defense Fund and The Climate Group.
Google, which seems to be spearheading the effort, has been particular outspoken about setting energy information free. Google has also been supporting policies in California state that would require the state’s big utilities to give near real-time pricing information to every smart meter-enabled customer by the end of next year. And it’s developed the energy information management tool PowerMeter.
The companies have a vested interest in selling gadgets and services based off of energy information to consumers and utilities, but if more aggressive policies and incentives are implemented the energy savings could be substantial. The letter says:
[I]f all U.S. households saved 15 percent on their energy use by 2020, for example, the greenhouse gas savings would be equivalent to taking 35 million cars off the road and would save consumers $46 billion on their energy bills, or $360 per customer each year.
Google’s official blog post can be found here.
Easter Sunday was a minor blip over the weekend that will now be remembered as the official launch of the iPad — who cares about Easter egg hunts when there were lines snaking around city blocks, and gadget-fans fiercely giving their early impressions of the device. While there could be a variety of effects of the success of Apple’s iPad on the energy consumption associated with computing (Greenpeace’s and other’s takes here), applications developed for the iPad could also play a role in promoting low-carbon lifestyles like better fuel economy and home energy efficiency.
We’d been hoping that some of the iPhone apps developed for next-generation connected cars and home energy efficiency would be available for the iPad launch, but there’s actually very few. The lone official one we’ve seen that touches on home energy is Control4’s, which enables the user to control a thermostat and lighting (as well as audio, video, security) via the iPad device.
Apple says that most of the current 150,000 iPhone and iPod touch apps will be viewable on the iPad, but those are unofficial versions and won’t necessarily be formatted well for the expanded screen or work exactly the way the iPhone versions work. But there’s already over 1,000 official iPad applications available from some of the eager adopter app makers. And I’m expecting a lot more official iPad applications when the 3G (connected to cellular networks) and GPS-embedded iPad versions come to market.
Here’s 1 official green application you can already get on the iPad, and 4 more green iPhone apps that we’re looking forward to checking out the iPad versions:
1). Control4: Control4’s iPad app was the only green-leaning official iPad application I could find as of iPad launch time. The free app basically turns the iPad into your central home dashboard, enabling the user to control a connected thermostat, lighting, entertainment systems (video, audio), and home security. To get this to work properly, of course you need to buy — and have a dealer install — the Control4 connected home system. An iPad app really plays into the sweet spot of Control4’s offer: a high-end home product, slick design, and a dashboard offering rich media around energy.
2). Tendril: We’re not sure if Tendril has an official iPad app in the works (we’re waiting to hear back on that), but the six-year-old home energy management startup plans to release an iPhone app to both select utility customers and consumers this year. Dubbed Tendril Vantage Mobile, the iPhone app will enable users to see home energy consumption in real time, view dynamic pricing changes, and control connected appliances and thermostats remotely. Like with Control4’s application, the iPad, more than the iPhone, could offer a superior centralized dashboard for home energy management.
3). ZipCar: ZipCar created a free iPhone app [iTunes] that enables ZipCar members to find, reserve, and lock/unlock ZipCars via iPhone. For the iPad version, ZipCar’s service could use the larger screen to integrate more rich media, including navigation, directions, entertainment for, say, touring, and even syncing with audio and visual content. (We’re waiting to hear back on if ZipCar will add more iPad functionality to its app)
4). Nissan LEAF: Nissan has been working on an iPhone app that can connect with the information technology system of its electric vehicle the LEAF and can monitor battery charging and temperature controls (on/off). The LEAF doesn’t go on sale until the end of December, so it’s safe to expect to wait that long for the iPhone app, too. For an iPad version, Nissan could use the larger screen to better incorporate navigation, and entertainment. (Nissan’s Mark Perry, Director, Product Planning and Strategy, will be speaking about connected cars at our Green:Net conference on April 29 in San Francisco). (We’re waiting to hear back on if Nissan will add more iPad functionality to its app)
5). Visible Energy: Young startup Visible Energy (which launched at our Green:Net 2009 conference) was an early advocate of turning to the iPhone for home energy management. And recently the FCC mentioned the company’s iPhone app as an example of how IT can help the environment and global warming. As for Control4 and Tendril, an expanded screen and more rich media could help a Visible Energy iPad application make the consumer experience more interesting and more connected with the consumers digital content and the web. (We’re waiting to hear back on if Visible Energy will add more iPad functionality to its app). Updated: Visible Energy CEO Marco Graziano tells us his company will be developing a native iPad application for the UFO Power Center as well as for other Visible Energy products.
