Innovative valve-regulated battery designs rekindle excitement inlead/acid battery technology

Recent innovative approaches to the extension of valve-regulated lead/acid (VRLA) technology have led to thedevelopment of several unique products that possess performance attributes not previously achieved in lead/acid technologies, namely: (i)starting, lighting, ignition (SLI) VRLA batteries; (ii) StackPack™ foil batteries, and (iii) spiral-wound Thin Metal Film (TMF ™) batteries.TheVRLA automotive product has been demonstrated to be capable of improving on the durability of conventional flooded designs in extreme high-temperature climate and extreme drive-cycle operating conditions. In uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications, the StackPack™ battery, at a 15-min discharge rate has delivered 23.3 Wh kg−1 and 1090 Wh 1−1 as compared with 16.0 Wh kg−1 and 595 Wh 1−1 for traditional designs. TMF™ prototypes have exhibited power capability of an order of magnitude higher than conventional VRLA designs and have been utilized successfully in a vehicle for seven months and over 31 000 km (19 200 miles).