The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) will join forces with the International Lead Association (ILA) after its members unanimously approved the collaboration.
The ALABC membership agreed to the new relationship with ILA, as well as the Prospectus for the 2016-18 ALABC research programme, at its semi-annual Steering Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 8th.
ALABC will remain a research body of the association, focusing strictly on fundamental research and battery science.
It provides a mechanism by which all members of ILA will fund ALABC activities via ILA membership fees.
It means all ALABC funding goes directly to battery research rather than splitting moneys between R&D and costly (yet successful) demonstration projects, said an ALABC spokesman.
The move allows for pre-competitive lead battery research and innovation to be conducted under a singular management structure.
The prospectus was launched in June (read more about the story here) to collate the major research areas determined by ALABC membership (through recent ILAB meetings in North America and Europe).
The ALABC is now inviting all lead producers, battery manufacturers, component suppliers, carbon producers, application providers, research institutions and any other entities with an interest in the lead battery market to join its 2016-18 program.