USD 1471.75 million “The Global Hearing Aid Batteries Market Size was estimated at *USD 1471.75 million in 2021* and is projected to reach USD 2057.13 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.90% during the forecast period. ”
On Mon, Aug 1, 2022, 8:28 AM Jed Rothwell <jedrothw...@gmail.com> wrote: > Many researchers have said that experimental devices that produce only > milliwatts of power have no practical use. That is true, because these > devices are not reliable. Power is not constant, and it cannot be > controlled. If it could be controlled, and if the device could be > miniaturized, it would have enormous economic value, and many > practical applications. So, when you talk to venture capitalists, do not > sell yourself short. You should not think that the only > commercially valuable form of cold fusion will be in the kilowatt levels. > > Frankly, I wish the people at Brillouin and even Mizuno would grasp this > fact. There is no need to scale up at first. What we need is control. > Scaling down to microwatt levels might actually bring in a lot more money > at first. Billions of dollars! > > Frank Gordon has said that the present LEC is 9 orders away from producing > 1 kW, which he called a "practical" level of electricity. That's a lotta > orders! He thinks they can close that gap by a number of methods that he > discussed in the presentation. However, I quibble with the idea that 1 kW > is the lowest practical level. I think it is much lower. I wrote to him as > follows -- > > > A hearing aid battery produces the most expensive electricity > > Frank, > > You mentioned that you need to increase power by 9 orders of magnitude to > reach a "practical" level of 1 kW. That's not strictly true. Actually, far > lower power levels are not only practical, they are extremely valuable. The > most expensive electricity a person can buy is produced by a hearing aid > battery. This is around 5 or 10 mW. They last about 5 days, so that's 1200 > mWh, or 0.0012 kWh. You can buy that from the power company for $0.00017 > (0.017 cents), whereas a battery costs $0.50, I think. That's 2,900 times > more expensive per watt-hour. That is quite a heck of a market. > > A miniature LEC that produces 10 mW of electricity would sell like > hotcakes at a huge premium. If it lasts for 5 years -- which I think is > possible -- that would be the equivalent of 365 batteries, costing $183. > Granted, you can get rechargeable hearing aid batteries for $10 each, but a > LEC version would be more convenient and would probably last longer than > rechargeable batteries. I think you could get at least $100 for it. > > There is a similar market for wrist watch batteries. They consume 10 > microwatts. Your present LEC can almost reach that. > > There is a gigantic market for cell phone batteries. Cell phones consume 3 > W at peak. A thermoelectric chip with a heat-producing cold fusion reaction > would make the cell too hot to keep in your pocket. A LEC might be ideal. > > A cardiac pacemaker battery costs a fantastic sum of money. Power levels > are 10 to 50 microwatts. A LEC would be an ideal power source, because > replacing a pacemaker calls for surgery which is painful and can be > dangerous, so it is better to leave it in place indefinitely. Of course you > have to meet very high performance and safety standards, so it would take a > long time to develop this and have it approved, but it would be worth > millions. Over a million pacemakers are implanted per year. They cost > between $4,000 and $6,000 each. Much of the cost is probably for the > battery. I expect you are looking at a market worth $1 to $2 billion. > > So, anyway, when you present the LEC to venture capitalists, you should > not say that 1 kW is the lowest "practical" level of power. 10 microwatts > is a practical power level. Not only practical, but per watt, is it is > worth thousands to millions of times more than power company electricity. > > - Jed > >
