Frost & Sullivan Projects Explosive Growth for Lithium-ion Batteries in Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Segments

LONDON, April 26, 2010 - The credit crunch has hit global and European economies hard. The lack of
available finances has affected investments and has been accompanied by a
drop in consumer spending, rising unemployment and a decline in industrial
output. As the major market for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is in the
consumer, industrial and automotive end-user segments, demand has fallen,
evidenced by the drop in revenues. However, the market is poised to rebound
around end-2010 and, with the electric vehicle (EV) segment projected to
explode in 2012-2013, the market is set for sustained expansion.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.powersupplies.frost.com),
European Secondary Lithium Battery Market, finds that the market earned
revenues of US$1,618.5 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach US$1,759.4
million in 2015.

"Superior performance characteristics that make Li-ion batteries the
preferred choice of industry will push growth in the future," notes Frost &
Sullivan Research Analyst Rajanand Rao. "Li-ion batteries have a high energy
density of 120-160 Wh/kg, compared to 30-80 Wh/kg for Nickel Metal Hydride
(NiMH) batteries."

Moreover, Li-ion batteries do not suffer from memory effect and have a
low self-discharge rate of about 5 per cent per month, compared to 10 per
cent for common NiMH batteries. These superior characteristics of high power
and long runtime make them suitable for consumer, industrial and upcoming
electric and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications.

The Li-ion battery is emerging as the chemistry of choice and is set to
dominate the future of the battery industry, especially with EVs and HEVs
poised for mass production. These segments are looking to adopt this
chemistry owing to its advanced performance characteristics.

When Li-ion batteries were first introduced in the market, there were
several problems connected with their safety and particularly, with their
thermal runaway. The best example of these safety issues was the recall of
millions of laptop batteries by Sony in 2006 that caused massive losses, both
in terms of revenues and trust in Li-ion batteries.

"Li-ion batteries have a tendency to become unstable at temperatures
above 140 degrees C," explains Rao. "This needs to be overcome in order to
boost customer trust in these batteries and promote their usage in the
industrial as well as automotive segments."

The need of the hour is to invest in R&D and find new materials that are
safer as well as low cost. New cathode chemistries such as Li-iron phosphate
and manganese spinel as well as anode and electrolyte technologies promise
higher performance, while also providing improved safety.

"Continued R&D to find new and better chemistries, increasing process
efficiency and curbing production costs will ensure a steady revenue flow,"
advises Rao. "This, together with efforts to expand into the new space
created by EVs should help increase, if not maintain, the current market
share."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an
e-mail to Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications at
chiara.carella@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone
number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

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    European Secondary Lithium Battery Market
    M46F

    Contact:
    Chiara Carella
    Corporate Communications - Europe
    P: +44-(0)-20-7343-8314
    M: +44-(0)-753-3017689
    E: chiara.carella@frost.com

www.frost.com

Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications - Europe, +44-(0)-20-7343-8314, Mobile, +44-(0)-753-3017689, chiara.carella at frost.com