When will batteries take over the world?
David Schroeder, CTO of Volta Energy Technologies, argues that EV batteries have reached an inflection point, with global market share doubling to 9%, driven by early adopters and cost reductions from $1,100/kWh to $140/kWh. He critiques 'range anxiety' as a product deficiency rather than a customer issue, highlighting the need for fast-charging infrastructure and silicon anodes to improve charge rates without sacrificing safety. For grid storage, Schroeder dismisses 'long duration' as a technology category, asserting that lithium-ion remains the cost-effective null hypothesis for most applications, though he explores flow batteries, thermal storage, and Energy Vault's concrete block lifting as niche alternatives.