42 January/February 2025 | E-Mobility Engineering A wealth of advanced battery tech for EVs was on show in Detroit, as Peter Donaldson reports Designs on the future Staged for the first time at Huntington Place, Detroit, The Battery Show and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo, North America showcased a myriad advanced battery technologies. Organiser Informa Markets reports that more than 21,000 professionals from around the world attended and 1250 organisations exhibited, making the 2024 event the largest in its history, which dates back to 2010. However, this comes at a time of growing economic and geopolitical uncertainty, occasioned by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the threat of sanctions against China (to which the latter will most likely respond in kind), with supply-chain implications for most EV manufacturers in the West and elsewhere. Recent sales statistics probably don’t reflect this yet. ABI Research’s 2024 third-quarter report shows passenger vehicle sales returning to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 91.7 million shipments in 2023 and 94.7 million shipments in 2024, although the sales growth this year of 3.3% is down from 11.7% in 2023. While the organisation reports that the EV market is experiencing what it calls a mild slowdown, it points out that overall sales growth remains stronger than that for ICE vehicles. However, battery EVs (BEVs) in the passenger vehicle sector face their own problems related to factors such as high purchase prices, running costs and widely publicised fires, compounded by high depreciation due to businesses putting large numbers of relatively young, used EVs (bought in response to the carrot-and-stick of government subsidies and zero emission laws) onto markets where demand is already weakening, such as the UK. “We’re just getting a taste for what happens when you try to legislate technology instead of allowing technological performance and customers to drive demand,” commented one seasoned industry insider. The industry needs to apply some “non-conventional wisdom” by avoiding typical, large company responses to expected slowdowns, such as laying people off, cutting their marketing and ripping apart their r&d. “We’ve seen it so many times in the past,” said the insider. “A lull in the automotive sector is like a lull in the chip sector or any other market. The big question is who wants to be the winner coming out the other side?” However, he still sees plenty of opportunity for alternative powertrains. He stresses the importance of developing safe, reliable and accessible rapid charging, and deploying the infrastructure, as well as developing better, safer batteries whose health is easier to monitor and predict, and more refined and responsive thermalmanagement systems. He also sees more potential for developing fuel-cell vehicles that match With 21,000 attendees and 1250 exhibitors, the 2024 event broke records (Image courtesy of Accesswire)
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