The car as we know it is on the verge of a transformative change not seen since it was invented.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this transformation of the car industry — one aspect of what I call Transportation 2.0 — will lead to trillions of dollars sloshing around in the coming decades.
It all starts with the electric vehicle (EV). And sales of these cars are accelerating.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), sales of battery-powered cars topped 2.1 million globally last year. They made up only 2.6% of all car sales, which is 40% more than the year before!
Part of this is because governments around the world are stepping in to ensure EVs’ future.
In Europe, where carmakers have been mandated to cut carbon dioxide emissions by one-third over the next decade, electric vehicles sales jumped 50% from 2018.
China has also mandated subsidies for EVs in an effort to improve its air quality, and it just extended that program through 2022. That’s a big reason why the IEA expects electric vehicles will keep gaining popularity, totaling 3% of global car sales by the end of this year.
We’re still early in the trend, but you can see where it’s going. Everywhere you look these days, a different auto manufacturer is unveiling plans for a new electric car — many of which are expected on the market this year and next. Over the next five years, automakers plan to debut 200 new EV models, many of which will be electric sport utility vehicles.
And by 2025, UBS predicts that one in six cars sold around the world will be electric. That would be 5X growth in five years.
But we can’t just snap our fingers and magically get these cars on the road. We need the infrastructure and the technologies to make them run properly. At the forefront of that list is the next generation of batteries.
Currently, most EVs use the same battery technology that was developed back in the 1980s — lithium-ion. This is the same battery you can find in your laptops, smartphones, e-readers, remote controls, small appliances, you name it.
But these batteries limit our capabilities significantly. In fact, without better technology that allows for longer driving ranges, more charges, and increased safety, it would be difficult — if not impossible — for EVs to replace gas-powered vehicles.
One of the major problems with today’s lithium-ion batteries is that the liquid electrolyte inside can leak or worse — like catch fire. I’m sure you remember the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which would randomly catch fire. Flight attendants had to go around and make sure no one brought them onboard planes!
This extremely dangerous obstacle has kept the automotive industry on the hunt for new battery — the next generation of this technology …
And they’ve found it in the solid state battery.
I believe the solid state battery will be the big winner in this space thanks to its smaller size, lighter weight, and increased stability.
This technology doubles the current range of a vehicle after just a 15-minute charge. Plus, they’re a lot safer. Solid state batteries don’t have a liquid electrolyte. Their centers are solid — as their name implies. And therefore, there is no concern about it bursting into flames.
Automakers from General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Ford (NYSE:F) to Honda (NYSE:HMC), Hyundai (OTCMKTS:HYMTF), Audi (OTCMKTS:AUDVF), and more are inking blockbuster deals to get this next-generation battery into their fleets as soon as possible.
Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Panasonic (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) are working with the Japanese government on solid state batteries. In fact, Toyota could be close to releasing its first solid state battery-powered electric vehicle.
Samsung has said that its first solid state battery could provide up to 500 miles of range per charge, which blows the current average range of 181 miles out of the water!
Volkswagen Group (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) recently invested an additional $200 million in a solid state battery startup called QuantumScape.
And Mercedes announced that it will deliver its new eCitaro G electric bus this year. It will include an option for a solid state battery, which will be used to store energy. Mercedes said that customers in six cities have already ordered 60 units.
In the meantime, researchers are continuing to discover new ways to bring solid state batteries to the mass market by making them even safer. Investigators at Brown University just doubled the toughness of a ceramic material used to make solid state batteries by adding graphene, a carbon-based nanomaterial.
Step-by-step, solid state batteries are pushing transportation into the future …
With so much at stake, here’s my prediction:
Investors who get in on this breakthrough now — before it’s rolled out on a mass scale — have the opportunity to be a part of perhaps one of the single largest creators of wealth of the last 25 years.
This isn’t something that might or might not happen. This IS happening, and the time to get in is now.
Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors — by getting them into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), just to name a few. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now. Matt does not directly own the aforementioned securities.
