Forecasting the future of electrification five years from now reinforces just how far the industry has already matured. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly prioritizing the technologies, partners, and solutions that best fit their specific applications rather than simply determining what is technically feasible. During the panel discussion, The Realities of Battery Technology in Modern Electrification, at the 2026 Future of Electrification (FOE) Conference, Joe DeCarlo, Director of Sales and New Business Development at Panasonic Energy, shared his perspective on this evolution and the factors shaping the next phase of electrification.
The following Q&A highlights DeCarlo’s views on battery technology, application-driven design, strategic partnerships, and the trends influencing the future of electrified equipment.
Q: Are there any new chemistries that you foresee traction past any lithium-based chemistry solutions?
Joe DeCarlo: Excitement around solid-state technologies continues growing, but for the foreseeable future, most of what we’ll see will still be lithium-based. Panasonic and other OEMs’ roadmaps put solid-state batteries five years or so out. Commonly adopted lithium chemistries will continue to see incremental improvements, and innovations with less-common lithium chemistries should see their costs decrease.
OEMs must monitor and understand these ongoing battery chemistry innovations to determine which characteristics provide the best fit, as each battery chemistry naturally aligns with specific applications. For example, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) batteries provide high capacity and high power. However, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries are safer and may be better suited for platforms operating in hazardous environments.
Q: How do you see the development of LTO versions in the future?
Joe DeCarlo: Lithium Titanate (LTO) chemistries will be a great fit for some applications. Operations that require fast charging times, wide temperature cycles, and really long duty cycles will benefit significantly from LTO-powered platforms. But those advantages come with a hefty price tag, and total cost of ownership (TCO) for an LTO fleet remains high.
There’s a reason very few LTO suppliers exist. However, because LTO’s costs come from its extensive manufacturing processes rather than the materials used, production innovations could lead to wider adoption.
Q: Given current battery limitations, how should companies evaluate whether electrification is truly viable for their specific application?
Joe DeCarlo: Electrification viability comes down to a fairly straightforward math problem, but operations first need to thoroughly evaluate real-life duty cycles and TCO. Product sheets and peak specifications won’t be sufficient for planning. This analysis will determine whether electrification will lower a fleet’s TCO, and if it does, electrifying that application makes sense. While electric vehicles and equipment will generally require greater investments upfront, they generally provide better TCO because of the reduction in fuel or energy costs and maintenance.
Q: What are the most common performance or reliability challenges that you are seeing in real-world deployments?
Joe DeCarlo: Real-world deployment challenges often emerge from incomplete understandings of an application, its duty cycles, and its environment. Additionally, the misconception that the highest energy density equals the best performance remains common. It’s crucial that OEMs and partners pursue ‘best fit’ engineering, such as choosing a battery chemistry suited for the application, determining unacceptable trade-offs, and exploring system integrations.
In practice, performance depends on durability, thermal stability, and the way that the product behaves differently in the field, especially within very harsh industrial environments.
Q: Any final comments?
Joe DeCarlo: Moving forward, electrification success will increasingly depend on understanding how real-world duty cycle demands align with different battery chemistries, systems, and components. OEMs that can optimize platforms to deliver the combined ‘best fit’ for a given application will establish market leadership more easily.
Learn More About Panasonic Energy
Panasonic Energy supports OEMs with advanced battery technologies designed to meet the evolving demands of electrification across a wide range of applications. Through a focus on performance, quality, safety, and long-term reliability, Panasonic Energy helps customers develop solutions that are tailored to their specific operational requirements.
To learn more about Panasonic Energy’s battery technologies, electrification expertise, and approach to supporting OEM innovation, visit https://energy.na.panasonic.com/
