If you’ve ever felt the frustration of trying to send an e-mail, make a call, or snap a photo only to realize that your laptop, cellphone, or camera has gone dead, you understand the need for better batteries. But while there’s no question that batteries are important, they’re rarely described as “exciting.”

Lowly, hardworking batteries have routinely received little or no attention, while the devices they power grab the spotlight.

“When somebody sees a Bentley, they don’t say, ‘Oh my God, that’s got a good battery inside,’ ” says Brian Fan, senior director of research at the Cleantech Group headquartered in San Francisco, which tracks venture-capital investments in North America, Europe, Israel, China, and India.

In the economic downturn, that could be changing.

The Cleantech Group’s numbers show an uptick in venture-capital funding for batteries in the first quarter, even as overall US venture investments fell to the lowest level since 1997, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

Spurred by federal cash, electric cars, and demand for ever more powerful gadgets, investment in advanced batteries has bucked the recessionary slump and, energy analysts say, could help the economy recover.

Cleantech tracked $94 million in advanced-battery investments in the previous quarter, up substantially from a recession-affected $29 million in the last quarter of 2008 and up slightly from $90 million in the first quarter of that year.

Sara Bradford, a principal consultant for global research firm Frost & Sullivan, predicts that North America could be facing a renaissance in battery manufacturing.

In March, she wrote that the US battery industry “is humming with revived confidence” as a result of the federal stimulus package, which opens up $2 billion in loans for advanced batteries, among other incentives.
A move toward greener cars helped fuel this growth. Hybrids, plug-ins, and electric vehicles are “the big goal” of next-generation batterymakers says Kent Furst, an analyst for research firm Freedonia Group in Cleveland.

Another factor is renewable energy. Wind and solar power are “intermittent” sources – they only collect energy during blustery or sunny times of the day, not necessarily when people need it most. To continue serving communities even during weak moments, some in the energy industry have called for grid batteries that could store the green energy and dispatch it on demand.

A variety of innovative battery technologies have received funding so far this year, but the bulk of the cash has flowed to lithium-ion batteries. This common type powers most portable electronics, particularly laptops and cellphones. Lithium-ion is not a surprising favorite because, of all the mainstream battery chemistries, these pack the most energy for their size and weight.

While most hybrids use nickel-metal hydride batteries today, which can store up to 36 watt-hours per pound, they can’t deliver the all-electric range that many automakers want for electric vehicles and some plug-in hybrids, such as GM’s much-anticipated Chevy Volt. Lithium-ions offer more than double the energy density of nickel-metal hydrides, storing up to 81 watt-hours per pound, Ms. Bradford says.

But the batteries are too costly for most vehicles and for grid storage today, she says. Lithium-ion also faces some technical challenges.

For one thing, consumer electronics generally call for longer running times (more energy) while vehicles tend to require higher voltage (more power), says Mr. Furst. Vehicle batteries also need to be able to perform in widely varying temperatures, and need longer life spans than are typically required for consumer electronics.

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