The bipolar lead acid battery at Johnson Controls Inc

A sealed lead acid bipolar battery is under development at Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI). Recent progress in the lead acid bipolar battery development at JCI is discussed. The work at JCI has combined the general principles laid out by Bennion for bipolar batteries with state of the art lead acid automotive battery technology. In addition to the bipolar arrangement of the cells, the battery design incorporates three other key features: the electrolyte system, the container, and the paste formulation. Three and six cell bipolar laboratory test batteries containing all of the key features of the final multi-cell batteries have been constructed. The plates used in the test batteries are full-size. Simultaneously with laboratory tests, a mathematical model simulation of the battery was run which has accurately predicted battery discharge test results. Using the model as an adjunct to the laboratory testing, many discharges can be simulated accurately. Simulation results are presented