A change in direction influenced by Sally Miksiewicz has led to lead-acid company Hammond Group winning an innovation award named in honour of the late East Penn stalwart.
Hammond was named the first recipient of the Sally Miksiewicz Innovation Award during the Battery Council International annual conference today (Monday).
The US firm took the award for its K2 Expanders and Lead-Acid Battery Lab (LAB)2 which is investigating ways to boost lead-acid battery cycle life and charge acceptance.
Opened last year, the lab aims to develop an advanced lead-acid battery to compete with lithium-ion’s performance at a fifth of the cost, which is important if lead is to gain ground in the industry as global emission regulations herald in a new era for hybrid vehicles.
Hammond CEO Terry Murphy said: “The problem of advanced energy storage—power generation or hybrid vehicles—is simply that lithium-ion batteries meet most of the technical requirements, but are too expensive.
“While lead-acid batteries are inexpensive and 100% recyclable, they don’t have the necessary cycle life.
“Sally understood these emerging lead-acid battery markets better than anyone, which is why East Penn invested in the Ultra Battery.
“She was certainly a major influence on Hammond’s decision to invest in our Lead Acid Battery Lab (LAB)2.”
Hammond’s centre was opened last year to allow for the ongoing development of additives, with the firm claiming its K2 expander can boost a lead-acid battery’s cycle life and dynamic charge acceptance.
The company’s new high-capacity expander production plant should be completed by the middle of this year.
Judging criteria focused on sustainability, safety cost, performance, detail, uniqueness, value and quantifiable data.
Sally Miksiewicz was the CEO and Vice Chairman of lead-acid company East Penn before her untimely death on June 20, 2014.
BCI executive Mark Thorsby said Sally had been a person of constant innovation and leadership and was known as someone who made the lead-acid industry exciting.
On launching the award last year, Thorsby said the award was devised in Sally’s honour because she was always thinking of new ideas and ways of using lead-acid.
