Innovations in design and production can come from major research initiatives within an organization, or industry-wide revolutions such as Lean or Industry 4.0. They may be inspired by listening to leaders in one’s field—and sometimes by leaders of other fields. And sometimes, just sometimes, they can be the result of seeing the right item while strolling the aisles of a trade show.
We suspect that more than 15,000 people would agree with that last notion: That’s roughly how many people attended Battery Show and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo North America last week, each of them open to finding new ways to improve their battery and/or EV work.
Along with a full slate of keynotes and panel discussions by industry leaders and educational conference sessions, the event featured more than 750 exhibitors. The list of them begins with battery component maker 6K Energy (booth 2001) and finishes with battery management system developer ZTS (booth 2447). Every company named on the list, in booths big and small, believed they had technology innovations worth sharing with the industry.
The editors of Battery Technology were there too, of course. What follows, sorted alphabetically by company, is just a small sample of developments that caught our eyes. Click through below—and maybe you’ll find an innovation to boost your own battery/EV work.
