While they face competition from newer battery technologies such as lithium-ion, lead-acid batteries remain popular due to their low cost, durability, and ability to work efficiently at subfreezing.
What is a lead acid battery?
A lead acid battery is a kind of rechargeable battery that stores electrical energy by using chemical reactions between lead, water, and sulfuric acid. The technology behind these batteries is over 160 years old, but the reason they're still so popular is because they're robust, reliable, and cheap to make and use.
It is estimated that between 40-60% of the weight of an average lead acid battery is directly attributed to the lead plates (that is why the battery is so heavy). Lead plates are suspended in electrolyte (water and sulphuric acid solution) within a plastic battery casing.
Why are lead acid batteries becoming more popular?
Lead acid batteries are predicted to witness an increase in demand owing to their expanding use across key industries, such as gas turbines, oil and gas, electricity generation, nuclear power, hospitality, transportation infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, mining, and off-grid renewable energy.
Are lead-acid based batteries still a key role in the future?
Another key reason why lead-acid based batteries may still have a key role to play in the future is their place in the circular economy. Lead is a true recycling champion. Of the 12 million tonne lead market, only 4.5 million tonnes come from primary production, with the rest coming from recycling. This is mainly due to battery recycling.
Are lead batteries the future of EV battery technology?
While there are other battery technologies that are better suited to the powertrains of EVs, and there are future developments which will compete with lead-acid technology for low voltage applications, lead batteries still have a significant role to play in the green energy revolution.
How has the lead-acid battery changed over the years?
Over the years, the lead-acid battery has undergone a number of technological changes, leading to improved performance, lower weight, durability, use of newer materials, high recyclability, etc. Lead-acid batteries were originally used in the lamps on miners' caps, and later in automobiles, defence, communications, power and railways.