4. Development of lithium-ion systems

Following in the footsteps of Sony, several companies (Sanyo, Mitsubishi batteries, Hitachi Maxell, Moli Energy, AT&T batteries...) quickly began the mass production of Li-ion batteries. For about ten years (1991-2000), the applications targeted were to be mainly mobile phones, laptops and camcorders: high added value mobile equipment, whose production is concentrated in Asia and mainly in Japan. The development of the Li-ion sector was accompanied by an increase in technological maturity and a strong growth in production capacities, which rapidly suggested the possibility of penetration of other new or existing markets, (space, electric vehicles, stationary and network coupling...). In 2015, the production of Li-ion batteries was 15 to 20 times that of Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries (figure