Top Electrification Trends and What To Do About Them

Business executives ignore the sustainability conversation at their own peril. Electrification is at the center of many organization’s green initiatives to reduce their emissions and carbon footprint. There’s no lack of blog posts and white papers on electrification trends — but what do they mean for business leaders when it’s time to make strategic decisions?

Here are the top electrification trends and how they translate into business strategies and decisions.

1. The total cost of ownership (TCO) tipping point is here, and it requires a different mindset

Battery-powered fleets, including cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty vehicles, are on track to achieving a lower TCO than their diesel-powered counterparts. Despite the higher upfront costs, lower maintenance expenses and the availability of low-cost renewable energy will tip the scale to favor electric fleets — allowing operators to break even faster (e.g., 2-3 years).

This trend aligns sustainability with economic viability to encourage the widespread commercial adoption of electric fleets. And EVs are just the tip of the iceberg. Business leaders must shift from the old mindset of sustainability being at odds with profitability to embracing electrification as the means to “do well by doing good.”

2. Mastering the cost-benefit equation requires a deep understanding of all the moving parts

Calculating TCO is just one part of the story. Business leaders must also mitigate risks and weigh all the options. For instance, they must consider the challenges caused by the often-fragile battery supply chain, part of which is at the mercy of geopolitics. They must also balance the quest for the most cost-efficient solution with time to market to maximize ROI.

Understanding the fine print, uncovering the hidden costs, and thinking outside the box could save you a pretty penny and shorten time to value. Don’t settle with what today’s technology can and can’t do — our software-defined batteries (SDBs) can do what many industry veterans deem impossible. If we went with what we were told, our 30 patents would not have existed!

3. Electrification of infrastructure and facilities is vital… and so is the safety of your on-site solutions

Electrification is essential for decarbonizing industrial processes. Business leaders must seek every opportunity to electrify the entire value chain — from logistics, supply chain, and industrial facilities to manufacturing processes and HVAC systems.

On-site renewable energy sources are perfect for industrial sites with abundant space. For example, photovoltaics (PV) and battery solutions with grid backup will enable plants to switch to clean energy while minimizing disruptions. However, ensuring the safety of these installations, particularly that of lithium-ion batteries, is paramount.

Analytics and monitoring will become essential to ensure battery safety and protect your investment. For instance, the Tanktwo Battery Operating System (TBOS) with its Dycromax™️ Architecture can automatically flag and bypass cells at risk of a thermal runaway event to ensure 24/7 safe operations without human intervention.

4. Addressing the demand for expanding grid capacity with software-defined power infrastructure

Today, transmission bottlenecks are already creating inefficiencies and risks, yet building new grid infrastructure requires resources, space, political consensus, and time. Like we always say, we solve hardware problems (and then some) with software — smart grid solutions can help us redesign and strengthen the grid infrastructure faster and cost-effectively.

Mobile Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) and analytics will become an essential component of a software-defined power infrastructure to optimize production, distribution, and usage. Meanwhile, the rise of renewable sources and generation capacity at the grid edge means we need large-scale, cost-effective stationery storage solutions (i.e., batteries) to ensure reliability.

5. Green tech has hidden costs… overlooking them may hurt your electrification initiatives

Unlike fossil fuel plants that can be built almost anywhere, solar and wind farms or hydro-power stations are location-dependent. If you purchase renewable energy from a source hundreds of miles away, you need the infrastructure to transmit the power. However, the grid is strained in many populated areas and has become less reliable in times of high demand.  

Meanwhile, today’s monolithic battery solutions aren’t as environmentally friendly as many presume. Operators often must replace the entire pack when only one cell fails. Given the significant environmental harm of the lithium mining and production process, such inefficient use of battery materials can undo the positive impact of an electrification solution.

The environmental implications of climate tech are more than what meets the eye. Business leaders must look under the hood to consider the supply chain, second-life/end-of-life disposal, the source of renewable energy, its reliability, and other factors to choose solutions that lower environmental footprints while supporting their growth.

6. Battery breakthroughs will continue… but we need a way to incorporate new chemistries cost-effectively

Battery manufacturers are racing to develop safer and more energy-dense new chemistries to make more applications economically viable. These chemistries can operate in broader temperature ranges, are safer and faster to charge, support longer operating time, and are compatible with the upcoming ultra-fast Megawatt Charging System for EVs.

However, what do you do with vehicles and equipment designed for today’s cell chemistries? A wholesale overhaul of your fleet is cost-prohibitive and requires extensive downtime. The good news is a modular SDB system like TBOS allows operators to mix and match cells of any chemistry and switch to new cells during routine maintenance.

7. Retrofitting doesn’t sound so glamours but could be your fastest path to electrification

The cost of new equipment and the lengthy user adoption process is a major hurdle for electrifying operations in the industrial sector. But what if you don’t have to reinvent the wheel? Retrofitting existing equipment can be the ticket to accelerating your electrification initiatives while minimizing downtime and maximizing resource utilization with minimal wastage. 

However, retrofitting equipment running internal combustion engines (ICEs) with battery packs requires a mindset change because the cost-benefit equation is different. For instance, putting in a large fuel tank doesn’t cost extra, but over-dimensioning a battery pack may destroy a business case.

8. Markets for underlying equipment will expand… seek opportunities to enter the electrification game

Solar power will be the predominant contributor to new electricity generation capacity. Add transmission and distribution (T&D) to the equation, and electrification could represent a $45 billion market opportunity by 2030. Meanwhile, the market for EV charging infrastructure will surpass $15 billion by 2030.

Most trends concern how companies may electrify their operations. But there are also many opportunities to ride the long-term wave by creating products and services to support the energy transition. Can you identify areas where your company can get a piece of the electrification pie?

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Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. We can help you make meaningful progress in selecting your battery solution and designing an integration strategy in a day in our new Battery Strategy Workshop. Learn more to see how we can help you build electrified products cost-effectively with cutting-edge insights and deep industry knowledge.