Ironing out the issues around scaling can take years, and investors are skittish to back projects that might reach well into the 100’s of $millions, and there’s so much other development in the market that it’s hard to pick the winning horse. Innovations gained during R&D might also be picked up by competitors, or they might rely on some complementary licensing that makes the whole thing unprofitable.

I’d expect there to be more and more interest and investment in this space over the coming years, given the latest developments around energy security.

(Interestingly, the Back Bay Battery Company simulation maintained by Harvard is commonly used as a case study in MBA programs.)