Apple-And-Microsoft-Computers

New Technologies Will Drive Electric Car Market to Hit $178.9 Billion by 2024

June 2, 2014
Launches of production models of fuel cell cars are promised around 2015 by companies such as Hyundai, Toyota, Daimler and Tata Motors will push market forward.

New car technologies such as supercapacitors, SiC and GaN power components, switched reluctance motors, merged and structural electric components, contactless charging and harvesting heat, light and vertical movement, are all driving growth in the electric car market, according to  IDTechEx.

In a new report, the firm predicts that the global sale of hybrid and pure electric cars will triple to $178.9 billion in 2024.

The report examines in-wheel motors, fuel cell cars and the transformed battery situation. In-wheel motors are at last appearing in born-electric vehicles optimized for this disruptive change, the group says. And 140 lithium-ion battery manufacturers and their changing success with EVs and changing chemistry are pushing the market forward.

Launches of production models of fuel cell cars are promised around 2015 by companies such as Hyundai, Toyota, Daimler and Tata Motors, bringing these center stage to the” contempt of competitors that consider them to be a dead end,” the group said.

Plus Tesla’s mega factory could “dwarf all of them put together.”

IDTechEx sees a gathering trend towards OEMs making their own key enabling technologies. It reveals that there are far more than the traditional three key enabling technologies now and explains their future.

Very different options for the elements of an EV are now emerging. It may be possible to have flexible batteries over the skin of the car in due course. Sometimes such laminar batteries permit faster charging and greater safety. In about ten years structural components - load-bearing supercapacitors  and batteries will save even more space and weight in the most advanced vehicles.

Vehicle electrics will be a greater part of the cost of the vehicle as they replace hardware and give greater safety and performance. Electrics will change radically from the introduction of wide bandgap power semiconductors to printed electronics.

There is scope for energy harvesting from shock absorbers, thermoelectric harvesting which will be viable around 2017 and there will be some local harvesting for devices around the vehicle (eg Fiat vision).

And radically new functional systems with previously impossible shapes and functions will transform e-car systems beyond recognition, IDTechEx says.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor - MH&L, IW, & EHS Today

Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with Endeavor Business Media and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank.

She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics, EHS Today, and IndustryWeek. 

Editorial Mission Statement:

Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes, and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I Find Manufacturing Interesting: 

On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated, and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.