Lithium-Ion Electrochemical Energy Storage: the Current State, Problems, and Development Trends in Russia

Analysis of the state and trends of the world market of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is carried out, and the main development trends are identified. Until recently, the growth basis of the global LIB market was built on requests related to portable electronics, but the saturation of this market and the formation of new needs in the emerging areas of the automotive industry, industrial generation, and network power distribution have changed the development vector of the entire industry. New needs have made adjustments to key requirements for battery systems and determined new technological barriers. The present work describes and classifies the main LIB electrode components as well as their applicability depending on the field of use of the final product. The state of the Russian market of both final products and main electrode materials is considered. Despite optimistic forecasts for the development of the LIB market in Russia and the expected significant economic effect, the current level of competences, technologies, and production volumes in the Russian Federation does not meet the needs of modern and future markets. In 2017, LIB import to Russia amounted to $85.1 million USD with an annual consumption growth rate of approximately 15–25%. The structure of the battery import is dominated by batteries for consumer electronics. The share of domestic manufacturers in the civil sector is less than 3%, and domestic manufacturers are mainly represented in the special equipment sector. The work presents a list of the main manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries dominating the Russian market. The tendencies to reduce the cost of existing solutions and the possibility of switching to alternative lithium-free metal-ion batteries are considered.