MANHASSET, NY -- The Chinese lithium-ion battery market will nearly double to $9.2 billion in 2016, as volumes grow 129 percent to 44.3 GWh.
The impressive growth will occur despite demand for emerging electric vehicles still trailing the government’s ambitious projections, according to .
The compound annual growth rate for battery volumes will be 18.2 percent while revenues – pegged at $5.0 billion in 2011 – grow at a slower rate of 12.8 percent as average selling price dips 20 percent to $207 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2016.
“The consumer electronics market continues to dominate the Li-ion battery market but emerging applications are where the hype is and where policy is being focused,” said Zhuo Zhang, Lux Research Associate, the lead author of market research firm Lux Research report titled, '
Hype vs. Policy: The Chinese Market for Lithium Batteries.'
“The markets for electric bikes and electric vehicles are anticipated to grow fast in a few years but less than 100,000 new-energy vehicles will be sold in 2016,” reported Zhang.
Lux Research analysts made the following findings:
- Some 57 percent of the 32 million electric bikes produced in China in 2016 will use lithium-ion batteries, compared with a mere 3 percent in 2011.
- The 714,000 telecom base stations in China, aggregated across three massive telecom entities, have been tasked to replace all lead acid, creating a $14 billion opportunity.
- Foreign venture-capital-backed start-ups have a chance to become Chinese companies’ acquisition targets. Boston Power, Ener1, and Altair Nanotechnologies have already cut deals with Chinese partners.