When I read a few years ago that the Tesla sports car used 17000 laptop batteries, I was quite incredulous. Jog forward five years and we might be seeing a significant event in the move to get the cost of battery storage down to a magic figure. Having announced plans to build a battery Gigafactory, Elon Musk of Tesla is moving on with his programme and looking for a site. The objective is to cut battery cost by 30%. I read that in reality, the material cost in Li-ion batteries is high, but I still think there is something quite serious here.

One implication is road transport, which could be exciting. If costs all stacked up, would I buy a Tesla sports car! Yes, I think I would! On a more mundane but relevant level to mobile hydraulics, where might significant development either on battery capacity or price take us?

Why has the move to battery hand tools for contractors seemed quite unstoppable? Obviously being independent of mains power is the starting point and whatever inconvenience there is though swapping out batteries or paying more for the tool, this is quite compelling. If you add on safety considerations in not having trailing leads and the security of not having stuff pinched whilst you are searching for a mains supply, you have more pluses. Move to mobile hydraulics and you have the same desire to work independently and safely. Where have manufacturers got to? Battery technology has advanced enormously and will continue to do so. Industry just feeds on advances in batteries and at some points, different classes of equipment and duty cycles will “buy in” to make a viable product.

For example, the Enerpac XC series battery power unit [PDF] seems to me to be a mould breaker. There seem to be so many applications for specific tools. Yes, there will be some jobs where you would be changing the battery too often and you have to stick with mains power or a gasoline engine. Yet, there are so many jobs which can be made dramatically safer and more productive with this unit and a spare battery. The lesson from battery powered tools for contractors is that users will put up with a degree of inconvenience if the rewards are there. Certainly some jobs are dramatically easier. The little Shaw Grip onion jack is designed around the XC unit and slashes the mass of the kit as well as eliminating the need for mains power in quite difficult work places.

As we see continuing improvements in battery technology with possibly a substantial cut in costs if the Gigafactory bears fruit, mobile hydraulics will benefit.