Innovations into lead-acid battery technology
It's likely that at some distant point in the future, lead-acid starter batteries will go the way of the dodo, at least in green cars. The fact is that newer technologies like nickel metal hydride and lithium ion are much lighter than the lead-acids currently underhood of nearly every car in the world. Still, advancements in lead-acid technology are being made, and as more and more vehicles begin demanding more from their batteries, the humble lead-acid battery is changing with the times. For instance, BMW's new efficient dynamics technology required a new battery capable of supporting high loads. Banner Batteries stepped up to the plate by offering a 90Ah AGM battery, which is capable of offering the necessary power for the stop/start micro-hybrid BMW.
Fortunately, nearly everything that goes into the lead-acid battery is recyclable. Over 95 percent of the lead-acids currently underhood will end up recycled, most likely into another battery. Europe takes up the slack for some other countries by recycling nearly 100 percent of their starter batteries. New sensors are also being added to lead-acid batteries in order to make them last longer. It's good to know that old dogs like lead-acid batteries are still learning new tricks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lad 6:11PM (5/01/2008)
I thought that "Firefly" would be fully into this market with their new carbon augmented lead batteries. They have made some great claims about the technology. Don't know why they're not selling unless the product was mostly vaporware and PR.
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Peter 7:15PM (5/01/2008)
Ever brought a product to market Lad? To do it right it takes a while. They are working with a truck company to run the heat/ac in the truck overnight with their batteries instead of the engine last I heard.
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KarenRei 7:59PM (5/01/2008)
Firefly, like all of the other lead-acid techs I've seen, promises to improve power density and lifespan significantly, but they promise very little in the way of energy density -- the big problem, IMHO.
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T2 8:14PM (5/01/2008)
I believe the reason Li-ion chemistry won't displace Pb-Acid is because of its relatively high self-discharge factor compared to lead.
T2
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Joseph 10:48PM (5/01/2008)
Lead-Acid maybe improving, but I think it's for certain that it won't be able to catch up with lithium batteries which are exponentially better.
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AndyH 4:15AM (5/02/2008)
The image - is it of an early ACP tzero?
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steven 9:56AM (5/02/2008)
WOW, I'd like to see the outcome of the side-impact testing on that vehicle!
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davewin 10:06AM (5/02/2008)
Lead-acid has much lower energy density (Wh/kg) than NimH or Lithium-anything but it does have a lot of other advantages such as the recycling infrastructure already in place, are currently much less expensive than other types, and are robust (especially AGM-types).
Li-Ion batteries are great but have some drawbacks with temperature sensitivity, which is a problem in underhood environments, non-linear recharge times if deep discharged, and I've heard that lifespan depends more on how old they are rather than the number of charge cycles.
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Tim 10:32AM (5/02/2008)
Which battery tech to use is all about application vs. cost.
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Michael 9:02AM (6/26/2008)
Interesting article, did you know that the lead-acid battery was invented by a French physician named Gaston Planté in 1859? Lead-Acid was the first commercial rechargeable battery. Ken wrote a few recent articles on the advantages and href="http://blog.batteryweb.com/batteries/reviews/lead-acid-battery-advantages/2008-04-03/"> disadvantages of the lead acid batteries.
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