In this extra for Business Planet, the CEO of ITEN, a leading microbattery manufacturer explains why rechargeable ultra-powerful batteries are the key to a more sustainable future.
The demand for high-voltage sustainable batteries in Europe has increased since the European Commission launched the European Battery Alliance (EBA) in 2017.
As the Commission strives for European suppliers to make more environmentally-friendly batteries**,** ITEN, a French start-up located just outside of Lyon is working to solve the transition in power supply with tiny microbatteries that are no more than a few millimetres thick.
Fabien Gaben, the CEO of ITEN told Euronews: "Energy management is a fundamental issue for electronic circuits, which are becoming smaller and smaller.
"Within 50 years the power of processors has multiplied by a thousand while their size has reduced by a thousand. But when it comes to energy management in those electronic circuits, which is fundamental, we have never managed to miniaturise them" he said.
The need for the industry to keep up with evolving technology is now more important than ever before. Standard button batteries, while small, are not rechargeable and pose a real danger to young children if swallowed.
"That's why at ITEN we developed a new electronic component, called a microbattery, this microbattery is a thousand times more powerful than a button battery and resolves the energy management problem directly in the heart of an electronic circuit," said Gaben.
Microbatteries have proven to be increasingly versatile and can be used in hearing implants, toys, kitchen appliances and a wider range of medical equipment. At present, the microbattery market is valued at approximately €295 million a year but is expected to surpass €763 by 2030.
"Every time you have an electronic circuit you potentially have a microbattery, they provide backup functions in the internal clock of microprocessors, you will find them in communication sensors, for example, in data loggers that record information in logistics flows, we can also find them in medical implants.
However, according to the European Commission, the battery sector alone will need another 800,000 skilled workers to keep up with demand.
"The possibilities are enormous. Each time you have an electronic circuit, you potentially need an energy storage micro source" Gaben concluded.
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