'Humble' EVs like e-bikes projected to drive battery sales

While electric batteries for cars like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf garner the headlines the real growth will be in smaller outsources, according to a report from Lux Research.

Lux contends that the battery market will be powered by a rise in so-called "humble vehicles" like e-bikes and micro-hybrids. The upshot: The battery market for electric vehicles will grow from $13 billion in 2011 to $30 billion in 2016.

The Lux report looks at batteries, supercapacitators and fuel cells and demand generated by vehicles such as e-bikes, cars, buses and trains. Why will smaller vehicles drive battery sales? Electric car prices won't far fast enough to boost battery demand.

Among the key points from Lux:

• Micro-hybrids, which use batteries only to start and stop and regenerate braking have the most entrenched technologies. These will surpass all vehicle types in battery sales.
• E-bikes will be all about the volume. E-bikes are already thriving in China.
• Lead-acid batteries will dominate the market. Li-ion batteries will grab some share, but high volume markets will stick with lead-acid.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com