The new QC and R&D lab would enable the organization to conduct testing through its different business units and improve its innovation capability. In addition, major players are concentrating their efforts on acquiring smaller market players in order to broaden their product range and geographic footprint. The stationary lead acid battery market is expected to be restrained to some degree during the forecast period due to strict regulations imposed by regulatory bodies in various regions on the use of stationary lead acid battery in the automotive industry.

Energy storage systems (ESS) are used at various stages ranging from electricity generation, utility-scale, grids, and behind-the-meter applications. Batteries are used in commercial, residential, and utility-scale end-uses. Additionally, energy storage batteries are used in electric vehicles, and electronics including smartphones, laptops, and handheld devices. ESS is used in every walk of life. The rising need for storage to reduce losses of energy is expected to augment the demand for batteries, especially portable ones.

The world electricity consumption rebounded in 2016 after steadying in 2015. China was the primary contributor due to industrial recovery and energy efficient improvements. Non-OECD Asia countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India have been the secondary contributors due to the rebound trend due to the dynamic economic development as well as initiatives for electrification of their territories.

Construction Type Segment

Sealed lead acid batteries market dominated the global industry in 2017 and is projected to surpass USD 8 billion by 2023. Sealed lead acid battery or valve regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries have been commercially available since the past two decades and have been increasingly embraced by users of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) due to the ample reduction in installation and operating costs, smaller footprint, lighter weight, and fewer environmental concerns.

Increasing consumer spending along with tremendous growth in per capita income especially in developing economies is projected to increase the sales of transportation vehicles, thus, creating a favorable scope for the consumption of lead-acid batteries.

Flooded batteries, also known as wet batteries, uses lead plates, Sulphuric acid electrolyte, and plate battery. Although flooded batteries require maintenance, they are cheaper and come in various shapes and sizes, making them ideal for various applications. China currently dominates the Asia Pacific lead-acid battery market in terms of demand. The country accounted for nearly half of the market share in the overall lead-acid battery consumption in APEJ in 2016. Favorable governmental policies in China along with rising number of public private partnership projects projected to catapult the demand for lead acid batteries in this region.

Application Segment

Telecom dominated the global market in 2017 accounting for 39.9% of the volume consumption. Fast paced industry growth, expansion of infrastructure and shift towards data-driven services in the telecom sector has propelled the product demand. Additionally, factors such as increasing foreign investments, supportive governmental norms, and increasing 4G penetration are expected to drive the global market in the future.

Aftermarket stationary lead acid battery sales are expected to offer lucrative opportunities as compared to sales through original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Batteries form the backup power system for commercial and industrial applications. Therefore, during the entire life of any backup energy storage device, batteries tend to get replaced, thus, offering a lucrative proposition for equipment vendors.

The development and production of maintenance-free, sealed batteries of small volume and low weight for miniature cordless power sources has also started in response to the increased needs of industry. As a result of advances in materials and production processes, dramatic technical improvements in a wide variety of automotive and industrial lead/acid batteries have been implemented. In automotive batteries, the major new refinements have been: (i) substantial reduction in size and weight; (ii) maintenance-free systems due to the use of low-antimony and calcium-lead alloy grids. Manufacturers of stationary batteries are also heavily committed to maintenance-free systems by use of catalyst vent-cap apparatus.

Asia Pacific held the largest market for stationary lead acid batteries in 2017 accounting for 42.7% of the global volume market sales. China dominated the Asia Pacific lead-acid battery market in terms of product demand. The country accounted for nearly half of the market share in the overall stationary lead-acid battery regional consumption in 2016. Favorable governmental policies in China along with the rising number of public-private partnership projects projected to catapult the demand for lead acid batteries in this region.

Johnson Controls, GS Yuasa, Hitachi Chemical Energy Technology, Enersys, and Exide Technologies are a few of the major industry players. Various manufacturers are keen on the research & development of environment-friendly products that are economical and offer better efficiency which in turn will open new market opportunities for the market development.

The grid in developing economies needs to have aging infrastructure modernized and to be expanded to be able to serve rapidly growing populations and to bring power to an estimated 30 percent of the global population without access to electricity. According to the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All), $45 billion in investment through 2030 will be required to provide universal access to modern electric power. Energy storage is set to play a key role in these investments, enabling better utilization of both new and existing resources as well as strengthening the grid against diverse threats, including natural disasters and physical attacks.