The International Lead Association (ILA) is calling on battery makers in Europe and the US to challenge and change misconceptions by some policymakers who think of lead-acid as “out-dated technology”.
The ILA’s director of products and sustainability, Alistair Davidson (pictured), told the annual Battery Council International Convention (BCI) and Power Mart Expo in Arizona, research showed some policymakers do not see lead acid “as a technology of the future”.
“We need to change that perception and position lead batteries as the technology of the future,” Davidson said. This can be achieved by stepping up research and innovation, he added.
Davidson highlighted the results of a recent BCI survey in which US-based policymakers were asked general questions about their thoughts on batteries. Some 75% of those surveyed thought lead batteries were “out-dated” compared to just 7% who disagreed, Davidson said. On innovation in the battery sector, just 7% of survey respondents thought lead batteries were innovative— compared to 85% who believed lithium-ion batteries were innovative.
“Realistically, if we are to reposition lead batteries as the technology of the future, we really need to up our game.” Davidson said that compared with R&D in lithium-ion, the lead industry “lags far behind in terms of budget, projects and the scope of their work”.
“If we’re really to be successful in positioning lead-acid as a technology of the future and moving to new applications, we need to really increase our research and innovation,” Davidson said.
