One of the latest technology developments in lead batteries will undergo well-known automotive
testing standards in a research project collaboration between Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC)
and the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI).
Bipolar lead battery technology, which has been tipped to deliver improved dynamic charge
acceptance (DCA) performance, will be independently verified by ABC using specific global
automotive testing regimes verified by the scientific community.
Advanced Battery Concepts, a battery technology development company based in Michigan, US,
will test their own bipolar lead batteries which have thinner enhanced positive and negative
paste, specially developed for start-stop, micro and mild-hybrids. As a market estimated to
represent 80% of automotive vehicles by 2030, the ability of bipolar lead batteries to deliver
enhanced performance in these applications is ground-breaking.
This cutting-edge automotive battery research undertaken by ABC in conjunction with CBI aims
to verify the DCA performance benefits of this technology, which is the ability of a battery to
generate instantaneous energy in automotive applications, for example through regenerative
breaking.
Ed Shaffer, CEO of ABC, said: “We expect the micro and mild-hybrid market to grow substantially
in the coming years. We think bipolar is an exceptional technology for use in this market with
improved DCA performance, a key technical parameter for this application, and this project will
be key in demonstrating these capabilities”.
By benchmarking performance against known standards, this could be a starting point for this
technology to be rolled out across the lead battery industry as a proven technology and facilitate
new avenues of research in bipolar lead batteries.
The 9-month project will also include tests for partial state-of-charge (PSoC) performance, a key
requirement not only relevant for start-stop, micro and mild-hybrid vehicles, but will also provide
vital insight into the capabilities of bipolar lead batteries for storing energy from intermittent
renewable sources such as wind and solar applications.
“The dual nature of this research project delivers on the priority research targets set out by the
Consortium to improve the performance of lead batteries in both automotive and energy
storage applications to grasp future market opportunities in these sectors” said Dr Alistair
Davidson, Director of CBI.
