March 30, 2023: The US lead battery industry is worth nearly $33 billion annually to the country’s economy, according to latest analysis published on March 28 by Battery Council International.

The BCI study — ‘Economic Contribution of the US Lead Battery Industry in 2021’ — also shows the industry has a $13.7 billion impact every year on GDP, underlining the critical role the sector plays.

In addition, lead battery manufacturing supports more than 121,000 high-paying jobs in every major region of the country, while workers are paid an average wage of $81,000 a year across all lead battery sectors. BCI says this exceeds salaries paid in many other industries.

BCI executive vice president Roger Miksad said the study, prepared by consulting firm EBP, also highlighted the benefits of the industry’s unparalleled model of closed-loop manufacturing. “Our industry’s resilience, scalability and freedom from foreign influence supports national security, while providing significant economic benefits.”

BCI said the industry’s domestic infrastructure provides a prominent source of domestically sourced energy storage with an annual manufacturing capacity of more than 165GWh in the US and more than 206GWh across North America.

Advanced lead technology is a major source of energy storage for the electrification of transportation and renewable energy and lead batteries continue to provide critical functions required by almost all hybrid and fully-electric vehicles, BCI said.

In terms of R&D, the lead battery industry invests nearly $113 million annually as part of its commitment to help finance advancements in battery performance and energy storage applications.

According to a separate European study, published in April 2022, the lead battery industry was worth an estimated €15 billion ($16 billion) of value added or gross domestic product a year to the European economy.

BCI report image: Circular economy of lead batteries

BESB image: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels