These functions power storage and power portability make batteries essential to today s industrial and consumer-oriented society. Although simple batteries have existed for at least 200 years, the battery industry traces its roots to the early 1900s.
Automotive batteries are a distinct secondary battery market subsector.
As such, most of the battery industry is considered mature, with demand closely linked to the sales of either automobiles or various consumer products. Unlike many mature industries, battery demand is related also to service life, and hence, replacement sales. Even rechargeable secondary batteries must eventually be discarded and replaced. In many applications, replacement sales are the driving force in market growth. Portable batteries are the largest component of the U.S. battery market figures, but BCC forecasts that large and advanced batteries will represent the highest growth rate of all the sectors, followed by battery control technology products and fuel cells.