Gigaboom: Obama Adds One More Reason to Like Tesla's Battery Factories
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The world is on the brink of a serious surge in batteries -- and not just the kind that powers mobile phones, laptops and sports cars. Batteries of the near future will power homes and hospitals and even provide relief for the grid, with in an industry that may be worth $200 billion in 2020.
The battery boom got an extra boost from the Environmental Protection Agency, with new regulations proposed this month to limit power-plant pollution. In a departure from previous rules, the EPA leaves it to individual states to determine how they will cut emissions. Some states will build more efficient buildings, others will shift from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas. An often-overlooked beneficiary is battery makers.