#isothermal

“Isothermal lines of January & July in the Northern Hemisphere.” The ocean, atmosphere, and life. 1873.

It is highly unlikely that the demand for energy will ever decrease. The way the population around the globe is increasing, the energy requirement will only increase. However, the conventional ways of generating energy are now unable to fulfil this rapidly growing need for power. In addition to this, the excessive utilization of non-renewable resources has resulted in global warming. The International Energy Association has estimated that for keeping global warming below 2 degree Celsius, about 266 GW of energy is required to be stored by 2030, globally, rising from 176.5 GW in 2017.

It is due to these factors that the demand for alternative ways of generating and storing clean energy is increasing day by day, which, in turn, is resulting in the growth of the global compressed air energy storage market. The dependence on renewable sources for generating energy is rising across the globe. Different form of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, are largely dependent on energy storage systems, owing to which, the need for adopting different types of storage systems is rising as well. One of such systems is the compressed air energy storage, which is based on gas turbine cycle.

Excessive power is utilized for compressing air by making use of a rotary compressor, which is then stores in an underground chamber. In case power is needed, the compressed air is released from the chamber and is passed through an air turbine, which produces electricity from the flowing high-pressure air. Different types of compressed air energy storage are diabatic, adiabatic, and isothermal. Out of all these, the demand for diabatic type is predicted to increase considerably in the years to come. This is majorly ascribed to the simple design and lower operating cost of this type, as compared to isothermal and adiabatic compressed air energy storage systems.

In addition to this, isothermal and adiabatic compressed air energy storage systems are still in the developmental phase, which is why, the industry is dominated by diabatic compressed air energy storage systems. When geography is taken into consideration, North America is predicted to emerge as a major compressed air energy storage market in the near future, which is primarily due to the surging requirement for electricity storage systems in the region. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the U.S. produced 4 billion megawatt-hours of electricity, however only 431 megawatt-hours of power was stored in 2017.

From simple spears and axes, carved from stone by early humans, tools have come a long way. Earlier majorly used for hunting and lighting fires, tools are now being used for almost everything that humans generally do with their hands: construction, cooking, gardening, manufacturing, etc. The invention of electricity really revolutionized such devices, as, now, the effort of humans which went into performing routine tasks was significantly reduced. For instance, instead of running a handheld saw back and forth through a metal sheet or log, people simply had to switch on the electric saw and gently slide it on the surface, or the surface into it.

But, with electric wires, there emerged several hazards, the most prominent one being the constant danger of electrocution! Any faulty or exposed wire part or junction put people at risk of nasty electric shocks. Plus, with the wire acting as a distance constraint, the portability of tools is a bit of a problem, as they can only be taken as far as the wire length allows. Further, people can get their feet entangled in the wire and experience a fall. Thus, over time, cordless power tools started becoming popular, but they still need an electricity source, which is essentially a battery.

As per a recent report by P&S Intelligence, the power tool batteries market is predicted to grow significantly in the coming years. Power tools are popularly equipped with nickel–metal hydride, nickel–cadmium, and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Of them, Li-ion batteries are the most popular, as they have a comparatively higher energy density, which helps them accommodate a higher charge per unit volume. This is why Li-ion batteries last longer, which reduces the requirement to charge them frequently. Moreover, their price is declining continuously, which is making power tools integrated with such batteries affordable.

Battery-equipped power tools are extensively used in industrial, residential, and commercial applications. Here, the usage of such equipment is quite significant for drilling, driving (fasteners), shaping, cutting, grinding, sanding, routing, metalworking, painting, polishing, and heating purposes. This is why the demand for power tools and their batteries is highest in commercial and industrial activities. Moreover, with the growing trend of do-it-yourself (DIY) tasks, the requirement for batteries in the residential sector is also increasing. With labor costing a lot, people are now preferring to do their home improvement tasks themselves.

The usage of power tools is quite high in North America, as manufacturing activities and sale of vehicles are rising rapidly here. But, in the coming years, the demand for power tool batteries is expected to increase massively in Asia-Pacific (APAC), as countries in the region are witnessing a swift increase in construction and infrastructure development activities. The population in the region is extremely high, which creates a high demand for commercial, residential, and industrial infratructure.