PowerGenix, a developer of nickel-zinc batteries, has entered into a contract with French carmaker giant Peugeot Citroen to develop nickel-zinc batteries for stop- start vehicles.
The contract will involve Peugeot evaluating the suitability of nickel-zinc as a replacement for lead-acid in its stop-start vehicles. Lead-acid batteries have widely been used for this application, but the promised high-sustained charge acceptance of nickel-zinc make could give it the edge. Peugeot will assess performance including the charge acceptance, weight savings and service life of the batteries as well as cost projections and safety considerations for use in its cars.
Bernard Sahut, Innovation Team Manager for PSA Peugeot Citroen, said: “Nickel-zinc holds the potential to provide an ideal replacement for lead-acid by reducing the weight and CO2 emissions of our stop-start engine vehicles. This study marks PSA Peugeot Citroen Automobiles’ interest in working closely with PowerGenix to validate the promise of nickel-zinc technology.”
