The growing popularity of electric vehicles is one of the main drivers of battery industry transformation. Words like “transport system decarbonization”, “electromobility”, and “environmental-friendly society” are very popular today, but questions remain as to how to measure electric vehicles’ adoption progress and how this transition changes the battery industry. This perspective paper provides a review of the electric cars and buses market, estimates the production volumes of some other electric vehicle types, and discusses the role of traction batteries in the global battery market. A simple estimation of the sales rate allows us to evaluate the prospects of electric vehicle adoption in leading countries. Finally, the application of the main battery chemistries is reviewed and topical issues to the research society are addressed and formulated.

In the context of the growing popularity of electric cars, it is important to track the sustainability of this emerging industry. This work presents the results of electric vehicle sales up to and including 2021, proposes volatility assessment and short-term forecasting using normalized monthly sales analysis, and discusses why quantitative long-term forecasting is impossible. In cases where authorities and regulators are the main driving forces of change, the electric car market does not need forecasting, but instead requires proper goal setting and timely published market data with open access.

We have studied the ferroelectric nanodomain formation in single crystals of strontium barium niobate Sr_0.61Ba_0.39Nb₂O₆ using piezoelectric force microscopy and Raman confocal microscopy. The nanodomain structures have been created by application of the uniform electric field at room temperature. Four variants of nanodomain structure formation have been revealed: (1) discrete switching, (2) incomplete domain merging, (3) spontaneous backswitching, and (4) enlarging of nanodomain ensembles. Kinetics of the observed micro- and nanodomain structures has been explained on the basis of approach developed for lithium niobate and lithium tantalate crystals.

Lithium manganese-based cathodes are widely used in rechargeable batteries due to their low cost, safety, and ecological stability. On the other hand, fast capacity fade occurs in LiMn₂O₄ mainly because of the induced manganese dissolution and formation of additional phases. Confocal Raman microscopy provides many opportunities for sensitive and spatially resolved structural studies of micro- and nanoscale phenomena. Here, we demonstrate advantages of confocal Raman spectroscopy approach for uncovering the mechanisms of lithiation/delithiation and degradation in LiMn₂O₄ commercial cathodes. The analysis of Raman spectra for inspecting local lithiation state and phase composition is proposed and exploited for the visualization of the inhomogeneous distribution of lithium ions. The cycling of cathodes is shown to be followed by the formation and dissolution of the Mn₃O₄ phase and local disturbance of the lithiation state. These processes are believed to be responsible for the capacity fade in the commercial batteries.