InvestorPlace is dedicated to bringing the smartest investing insights available. Our goal is to help you grow wealthier and wiser – every day.
To help with that goal, we are bringing you another special series from Matt McCall, editor of Investment Opportunities. Matt spends his time identifying and researching the massive trends that are reshaping our world — and creating huge investment opportunities.
Last month we shared Matt’s exciting research on autonomous vehicles, and Matt has written another set of essays on a trend that will reshape your life every day. It’s a trend that can make investors rich, and, therefore, has him and many of his subscribers very excited.
Matt’s track record is strewn with picks that have returned hundreds — even thousands — of percent to his followers. We’re delighted to share these essays with you in a special send of the Digest.
We know you’ll find Matt’s essays informative and great reading.
Enjoy
Luis Hernandez, Managing Editor
The Biggest Battery Breakthrough Yet Will Ignite a $3 Trillion Global Revolution
By Matt McCall
Walk the streets of any major U.S. city for a day and you’re bound to see two of the greatest technological achievements of our age.
One is the Apple iPhone XS, the latest and greatest smartphone produced by the world’s top phone maker. Featuring a superfast new semiconductor chip, an amazing digital camera, and cutting edge video display, the iPhone XS is a modern marvel.
You’re also sure to see technological achievement #2: The Tesla Model S.
One of the world’s most impressive electric cars, the Model S can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds. Car critics gush over Elon Musk’s creation. They say the Model S has disrupted the transportation industry more than any other car since the days of Henry Ford. A fully appointed Model S will set you back more than $130,000.
Most would agree the phones of today are light years ahead of the phones from 20 years ago.
Most would agree Tesla’s Model S is light years ahead of the cars from 20 years ago.
And in just about every way, today’s phones and cars are light years ahead of where they were in 1999.
However… in one critical way, today’s amazing new phones and cars are using relatively outdated technology… one that limits their use, causes big user headaches, and makes them archaic in an important sense.
Today’s phones and cars – and all the other amazing electric devices in the world – use batteries that are in the Stone Age in comparison to their computing power, wireless connectivity, and software.
Despite all the advances people like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs have made, this frustrating sight is all too common:
Over the past 10 years, smartphones and tablets have taken over the world. Research firm Statista estimates that more than 1.54 billion smartphones were sold from 2007 to 2017. After the iPad was introduced in 2010, worldwide tablet shipments jumped from 31.5 million to 230 million in just four years. Electric cars like Tesla’s Model S are set to transform the car industry and create trillion-dollar ripple effects in the future.
Medical devices, sensors, and clean energy usage are all giant industries and heavy users of batteries. And then there is the Internet of Things (IoT). Almost everything we own will be connected to the internet – from thermostats to automobiles to streetlights. This is a massive trend in its own right… and all of those devices need to be powered.
That’s why the next big breakthrough in battery technology will be huge. It’s an innovation that will have multi-trillion dollar economic implications. Think of a world with electric cars that have massive ranges. Think of an iPhone that needs charging just once per month! Think of mass adoption of clean solar and wind energy. Think of airplanes that run on batteries. Think of the eventual demise of the oil and gas industry.
Over the past year, I’ve spent an enormous amount of time studying the battery industry. I can tell you this mega innovation isn’t a matter of “if,” it’s a matter of “when.” I believe the next big battery breakthrough will go down as one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century.
Of course, there are huge investment implications here. Those on the right side of this innovation stand to build incredible wealth… just like people did from the creation of the internet and the smartphone.
You need to know about this, and I want to help.
“The Battery That Could Change the World”
That’s how Forbes magazine describes the coming battery breakthrough… “the battery that could change the world.”
An evolutionary leap in technology so profound – so transformative – it will likely change everything about your life… from how you get around, to how you communicate with others, even the way you think about the world.
Which is why the world’s richest corporations and investors are scrambling to stake a claim in this technology…
Apple, Samsung, Panasonic, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen… even leading oil corporations like BP and Exxon are all getting on board.
So are visionary billionaires like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos…
Even the renowned inventor of the lithium-ion battery himself, Dr. John Goodenough, is throwing his full endorsement at the technology behind the groundbreaking solid state battery!
This is the guy who invented the battery inside everything we use today.
Now, he’s dropped it all to focus solely on driving forward a technology insiders say could finally set the world free from the scourge of fossil fuels.
For early investors, this presents the kind of moneymaking opportunity that could turn a tiny initial stake into an absolute fortune.
Here’s my prediction: Folks who get in on this breakthrough now, BEFORE it’s rolled out on a mass scale, will have the chance to be a part of the single-largest legal creation of wealth of the last 25 years…
The Key Breakthrough
Without getting too wonky, let me help you understand what’s special about solid state batteries so you can also understand the potential.
The biggest breakthrough is that solid state batteries use solid electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes. This change from liquid to solid will improve nearly every aspect of the battery technology of today.
Solid state batteries are smaller, lighter, and can store a lot more energy than what is currently available. On top of the operational benefits, the battery is less likely to catch fire or explode. It also has less impact on the environment.
A lithium-ion battery (on the left below) is made of four main parts: cathode, anode, electrolytes, and a separator. The ions pass back and forth from the anode to the cathode through the liquid electrolytes and separator.
A solid state battery (on the right) has the same components, but as you can see, the electrolytes are solid (the blue middle), not liquid or polymer. Replacing the liquid with the solid results in all of the benefits I mentioned along with lower potential for fire or overheating.
Saving Lives and Money
We all remember the issue a few years ago with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The lithium-ion batteries inside were catching fire, and the phone became a hazard. The problem got so worrisome that if you flew on a plane around that time, you heard announcements from flight attendants about the Note smartphone when boarding.
In early 2018, HP recalled the lithium-ion batteries in 50,000 of its laptop computers due to a fire risk.
And it could get even worse. The future of transportation will rely heavily on batteries. Imagine a lithium-ion battery exploding as you are cruising down the highway at 70 MPH. Or worse yet, flying at 35,000 feet. Below is a picture of a lithium-ion battery from a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 that caught fire before takeoff in 2013.
Solid state batteries go a long way to eliminating these safety concerns.
If you’re skeptical, let me tell you about a test that blew me away. It involved shooting a solid state battery with a .22 caliber Remington bullet. Not only did the battery take three bullets and not catch fire, it kept working. And… it was still charging a phone 24 hours later!
That battery is shown in the picture below, bullet holes and all, still powering the phone plugged into it.
By being almost fireproof, the solid state battery could literally be a lifesaver in electric vehicles, planes, self-driving cars, power grids, and more.
There are two very important words in the world of batteries: energy density.
This refers to the amount of power in a small and lightweight space. The more power a battery can store, the lighter its weight and the less energy it needs. The improved energy density of a solid state battery is what is needed for the next generation of electric vehicles and the mass adoption of autonomous vehicles. Better energy density will allow vehicles to travel further without a charge. Plus, the batteries will be smaller than the current lithium-ion models.
Not only will solid state batteries push vehicles into the future, but also planes and drones. Already, large sums of money are going into the future of air travel, and this is backed by the biggest companies in the industry.
Another big benefit of solid state batteries over time will be cost. Once they are mass produced, they will have a higher density capacity with a lower cost. The chart below shows the dramatically higher performance/cost of a solid state battery (the green dotted line)… and once again, it highlights the safety as well.
The bottom line is that solid state batteries are safer, offer better battery life, have better energy density, and eventually will be much less expensive than the current technology.
Any disrupting technology that can offer benefits like that is typically a good investment in my book. And that’s why solid state batteries can’t be ignored.
In my next essay, I’ll go through the numbers to demonstrate the size of the opportunity.
Regards,
Matt McCall
