The case for bi-polar lead-acid technology and the fortunes of US firm Advanced Battery Concepts received a considerable boost when it agreed a non-exclusive licensing deal with Johnson Controls.
The pioneering bi-polar lead-acid developer based in Clare, Michigan, announced the deal with JCI, arguably the largest battery manufacturer in the world, last week.
The non-exclusive global licensing deal is for ABC’s GreenSeal technology— to date the most effective way of constructing a bipolar battery— where no so called ‘top lead’ is used to make connections between battery cells.
By connecting cells together directly in this way, lead-acid technology gets an immediate gain in energy density, cycle life and overall performance.
With this technology, it is possible for higher voltage cell stacks to be built simply— paving the way for easy adoption for applications including stop-start and large-scale energy storage.
CEO and founder Ed Shaffer started ABC nearly a decade ago using his retirement funds as seed capital. He was previously employed with Atraverda, an early developer of bi polar technology based in Wales, but which went into liquidation in 2013.
Shaffer told BEST: “We are very proud to be working with JCI. I believe that not only have we created an excellent bi polar plate design but also a low cost manufacturing process for better lead-acid batteries, which can be used in plants large and small.”
There will be a full report on ABC’s manufacturing process in the winter issue of BEST, published next week. Make sure you have a paid subscription by clicking here https://esp.secure.force.com/Subscription
