g-f(2)106 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE, WSJ, The Battery Is Ready to Power the World

VIRAL KNOWLEDGE: The “genioux facts” knowledge news

Extra-condensed knowledge

After a decade of rapidly falling costs, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is poised to disrupt industries.

• After a decade of rapidly falling costs, the battery has reached a tipping point. No longer just for consumer products, it is poised to transform the way the world uses power.
• In the energy sector, affordable batteries are making it possible for companies to store electricity and harvest renewable power. 
• In the auto industry, they are set to challenge the gas-powered engine’s centurylong domination. 
• Costs have come down so far and so fast that most car makers expect that electric vehicles, which are currently more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts, will cost the same amount to build within the next five years.
• The battery boom could erode demand for crude oil and byproducts such as gasoline—as well as for natural gas, which is primarily used in power plants.
• The rise of rechargeable batteries is now a matter of national security and industrial policy. 

Genioux knowledge fact condensed as an image

Category 2: The Big Picture of the Digital Age

[genioux fact produced, deduced or extracted from WSJ]

Type of essential knowledge of this “genioux fact”: Essential Deduced and Extracted Knowledge (EDEK).

Type of validity of the "genioux fact". 

• Inherited from sources + Supported by the knowledge of one or more experts.

Authors of the genioux fact

Fernando Machuca

References

The Battery Is Ready to Power the World, Russell Gold and Ben Foldy, February 5, 2021, The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Russell Gold

Senior reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Russell Gold is a senior reporter for The Wall Street Journal focused on climate, business and energy. He is based in Texas. His coverage focuses on two topics: the global energy transition as well as the impact of climate change on business and of business on climate change.

Ben Foldy

Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Ben Foldy is an auto industry reporter for The Wall Street Journal based in Detroit. He covers auto-related policy and trade, emerging technologies and the U.S. operations of foreign automakers. Before joining the Journal, he wrote for Bloomberg News and the Financial Times. Mr. Foldy holds master’s degrees from the City University of New York and McGill University.