There is an urgent need to decarbonize various industry sectors, including
transportation; however, this is difficult to achieve when relying solely on
today’s lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology. A lack of sufficient supply
of critical materials—including lithium, nickel, and cobalt—is a major
driving force behind the research, development, and commercialization of new
battery chemistries that can support this energy transition. Many emerging
chemistries do not face the same supply, safety, and often durability
challenges associated with Li-ion technology, yet these solutions are still
very immature and require significant development effort to be
commercialized.
This chapter identifies and evaluates various emerging battery chemistries
suitable for deployment in the automotive industry and describes the
advantages, disadvantages, and development challenges for each identified
technology. Additionally, the chapter outlines development timelines,
contending that, to benefit from these new technologies in a decade or so,
commercialization needs to begin today. That includes de-risking critical
material supply chains and developing circular approaches. Finally, the
chapter proposes policy interventions to enable the development of these new
solutions and to allow those immature technologies to compete with
well-established Li-ion batteries.