Continued research and innovation are required in battery technology, from the development of advanced cathode and anode materials through to scalable manufacturing processes for next-generation batteries, to improving and scaling up both end-of-life battery management and recycling. Innovation continues to make progress in improving energy density, reducing cost and improving safety. Priority should be given to reducing the intensity of critical metals in batteries, such as nickel and lithium, where supply challenges already exist.
The year 2023 saw the first commercially available electric car with a sodium-ion battery, and technological progress (the chemistry was at technology-readiness level (TRL) 4 only a few years ago) has led to projections that this novel battery chemistry will enter the market by 2030, potentially easing some challenges facing road electrification related to cost and critical minerals supply.
Efficient technologies to reduce the fuel requirements of ships and aircraft are being developed. For ships, options include wind propulsion and assistance, for which many designs can be retrofitted. In aircraft, entirely new airframe and engine designs, such as blended wing-body aircraft or ultra-high-bypass ratio jet engines, can reduce fuel burn by more than 20%.
Enabling ships and planes to run on alternative fuels will also play a role in reducing emissions. Promising demonstrations have included ships capable of running on hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, while hybrid electric aircraft and aircraft running on hydrogen – including via direct combustion, via onboard fuel cells, or a hybrid of the two – are at various stages of conceptual design and prototyping.
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