A global battery consortium will pave the way for a “raft of new research” into developing next-generation lead battery technology at a workshop in China tomorrow.
The Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI), formerly the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium, will hold its first workshop of the year in Shanghai on 5 March— ahead of unveiling a “new technical roadmap designed to extend both the performance and lifetime of the core battery technology”.
The CBI said the programme would fund projects designed to increase the cycle life of advanced lead batteries and further improve their ability to operate in applications such as start-stop and micro-hybrid applications.
Other areas highlighted for future study include research into the addition of elements such as carbon, aimed at extending both lifetime and performance.
CBI director Dr Alistair Davidson said: “I expect worldwide demand for energy storage to jump significantly in the next decade. In Europe alone, demand is set to jump by up to 10 times by 2050. So advanced lead batteries will be critical to meeting that requirement, which is over and above existing uses such as start-stop batteries and back-up for mobile networks and emergency power.”
“Lead batteries are now becoming more common as energy storage for renewables, such as solar and wind, as local grids and independent electricity systems come on line. Cost, recycling, safety and reliability, as well as performance, are all important factors for these systems, which play to the strengths of lead batteries.”
One CBI study already under way in the US, in partnership with the Argonne National Laboratory, uses the lab’s synchrotron x-ray source to study the chemical changes occurring during charge and discharge reactions in real time— something not previously conducted with lead batteries.