17ELBC Showguide — Issue 1

September 22-24, 2020

17ELBC, Virtual

Introducing v-ELBC The joys of going virtual at the unmissable event of the year The ELBC story

Humble start to the must-attend forum for the battery industry

Behind the scenes

The virtual conference revealed for delegates and exhibitors

Full conference details

From abstracts to the networking we’ve got you covered!

Explosive pull-outs

Highlights of some of the most engaging presentations of 2020

Bringing the industry together

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17ELBC: EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@batteriesinternational.com

The new normal may not be half as bad as anticipated Conferences will never be the same again. That’s pretty much the conclusion we’re all reaching.

The sudden move in the battery business — indeed in all industries — from in-person meetings and trade shows to virtual conferences, workshops, webinars and even exhibitions is changing the entire meetings landscape.

Possibly forever … and maybe that’s not as bad as we first thought. But for certain we’re in a new and uncharted territory. It’s also clear that even when things return to normal, industry conferences and trade shows cannot be the same.

The new virtual format offers a new glimpse of a better way to communicate industry information — though we have yet to see how the equally important face-to-face contacts that accelerate business will work.

Those trade shows and conferences that can’t make the leap to an on-line format will struggle to survive. For the next year at least, those massive exhibitions that attracted 40,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors are over.

For an organization such as the ILA — a not-for profit — which has run the ELBC since setting it up in 1988, the conference and exhibition have been a vital part of its funding.

Although the organizers believe it part of their remit to act as the disseminator of the best technical papers and help facilitate industry dissemination, the meeting is also financially important for the ILA. The conference

it runs every other year provides funding for its main remit of defending and promoting the lead battery and lead industry. This is possibly even more needed given the rising clamour for alternative battery storage.

A US battery figure told us recently: “The Covid crisis has come at the worst time possible for us as an industry — our largest manufacturers are hit the hardest while many of the lithium ones have the funding to push forward with their gigafactories and the like since their profitability is not as yet predicated by immediate volumes of sales.”

Perhaps the most important lesson from the present is that there are three things that attendees look for in a program: content, business marketing opportunities and networking. How well an on-line conference and exhibition can deliver these benefits to attendees will be the measure of the quality of its virtual platform and will determine its overall success.

The ILA has already learnt many of the lessons from other virtual conferences where their success was challenged, for example, by beefing up the volumes of content to the detriment of the attendee.

So the ILA has adapted its live program to a maximum of three hours per day — no fears of so-called ‘Zoom fatigue’ here — and by letting delegates see the presentations well in advance, enable a considered program of questions when the live discussions start.

The two other important features of in-person conferences and trade shows — business marketing opportunities and networking—will together prove far too challenging for virtual anything to duplicate.

Attempts at networking — in a special place on the virtual ELBC platform where delegates can see other delegates within a ‘room’ — may provide something bordering on the satisfactory.

But however nothing can still meet the relaxed wander around a crowded reception with a chilled glass of white wine in hand …

We’ve come a long way very quickly, we may have a lot further to run in the virtual world of conferences. For the moment, let’s hope for everyone’s sake — not least the health of us all — that our need to do so will be only short-term.

Mike Halls, Editor

2 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

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17ELBC: CONTENTS

17ELBC: THE VIRTUAL ONE — THE FATE FOR LEAD BATTERIES IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD The 17th European Lead Battery Conference — the first to be held as a virtual conference — could well be the most influential lead event this side of the new millennium, even surpassing the spectacular meetings in Paris eight years ago.

This is the first iteration of a supplement that will be distributed electronically on August 10, a second larger edition will be released on August and a final version will be printed and distributed — yes by snail mail!— to every delegate registered in early September.

EDITORIAL

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Are virtual conferences about to become the new industry standard? Surely it’s time to take the good points and bad points of the present coronavirus situation to work out the way ahead? And that’s not to forget the plus and minus financial situation.

VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Mark Wallace, new Clarios CEO will deliver the keynote 10

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Andy Bush, head of ELBC organizer ILA, talks about the necessities of making this year’s ELBC a virtual one and how many of the presentations paint a future in a post-pandemic world. But not forgetting the technical content of other presentations!

THE PLENARY SESSIONS — INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

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After the live keynote speech by Clarios CEO , this year’s plenary sessions will also be held live on the opening day of the conference. These papers will look at the health of the lead battery industry in terms of products, applications, market volumes, materials and related recycling and geography within the context of a world that is in many parts still either gripped by the Covid pandemic or reeling in its aftermath.

A brief history of Europe’s most important lead conference 15 Effect of Carbon on Cycle Life and DCA

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Effect of Separator Profile on Cycle Life and DCA VW 17.5% Partial State of Charge (PSoC) Test (1)

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A glance through some of the abstracts

Editor Michael Halls editor@batteriesinternational.com, +44 7977 016 918

Reception Tel: +44 1 243 782 275 Fax: +44 1787 329 730

International advertising representation advertising@batteriesinternational.com

Researcher, journalist Hillary Christie hillary@batteriesinternational.com

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Electrical Resistance (ER) Drawing closer to 2022 CBISeparator Goals in Cycle Life and DCA

Production/design Antony Parselle, aparselledesign@me.com +44 1604 632 663

Deputy editor Debbie Mason debbie@batteriesinternational.com

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Finance administrator Juanita Anderson juanita@batteriesinternational.com +44 1 243 782 275

Advertising director Jade Beevor jade@batteriesinternational.com +44 1243 792 467

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Publisher Karen Hampton karen@batteriesinternational.com, +44 7792 852 337

Subscriptions, admin manager Claire Ronnie subscriptions@batteriesinternational.com admin@batteriesinternational.com +44 1 243 782 275

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Six big themes and scores of presentations around them! • Automotive Battery Advancements • Carbon Additives for Automotive Applications • Fundamental Science I • Lead Batteries in Energy Storage Applications • Fundamental Science II • Enhancemements in Industrial Applications.

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IN-DEPTH LISTINGS OF SELECTED ABSTRACTS

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It was 32 years ago today...and the LDA taught the industry to play! Why did ELBC emerge out of nowhere to become — with the Asian Battery Conference — the key event every two years to attend? What makes it special? Can it run with the times and still remain the leading lead forum in the 2020s and beyond?

VW 17.5% Partial State of Charge (PSoC) Test (1)

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME: THE ELBC STORY

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Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 3

17ELBC: VIEW FROM THE CHAIR Andy Bush, head of the International Lead Association and organizer of the European Lead Battery Conference, reflects on how this year’s event is going to be more important than ever.

ELBC: a conference for all seasons How the world is changing. If you had asked me last year if we would host a three-day conference, live from a studio, bringing together battery experts and companies from across the world — and doing it all online — I’d have laughed.

But that is exactly what we are doing.

And we are delighted with the response and the support we have had from the entire industry.

It was clear early on from my discussions with companies and delegates that the European Lead Battery Conference, with its long and proud history, is too important to cancel or delay.

This year, more than most, we have a lot to digest.

ELBC will be the first time the entire global value chain from manufacturers and suppliers, to researchers and policy makers will be able to review the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and consider the implications for the industry in the future.

To help us do this we have an impressive line-up of experts and industry commentators who will bring their insights and analysis to the first day of the event.

And, of course, we continue to focus on delivering our respected technical program where we have more than 60 presentations detailing many significant research and project developments, together with a panel of experts providing commentary and debate.

But while the program for this year’s ELBC is as impressive as ever, the format of the event is entirely new.

We will be hosting the event virtually, on a dedicated ELBC conference platform. The sessions will take place over three days from our ELBC studio and delegates will be able to enjoy the full ELBC experience, albeit in a different way.

Andy Bush: “It was clear early on from my discussions with companies and delegates that the European Lead Battery Conference, with its long and proud history, is too important to cancel or delay.”

I have been greatly impressed by the support we have had and the enthusiasm for the event from the industry.

Our gold sponsor ENTEK together with silver and bronze sponsors are backing the conference. We have an impressive virtual exhibition hall alongside the conference auditorium with more than 50 companies and suppliers sharing their product updates from brilliantly designed on-

line booths with 1-2-1 chat facilities and the ability to book meetings with delegates.

The program takes place in threehour slots over three days.

Day one is the plenary from our auditorium, with keynote speakers including new Clarios CEO Mark Wallace giving his first major conference address, and market analysis from CRU and Avicenne. I will be in the ELBC studio with colleagues hosting the discussion and Q&As following each presentation.

On days two and three, we’ll be hosting the technical presentations and discussions. In a new innovation each of the presentations will be available exclusively online and on-demand one week before the conference. This means that delegates can review them and then be ready to discuss and debate the findings in technical plenary sessions — again hosted from our studio with a panel of experts.

And all presentations and recordings of the live sessions will be available for three weeks after the event on the conference platform, together with the exhibition hall.

We are really looking forward to catching up with so many colleagues and ELBC supporters from around the world. And this year I’m delighted to be welcoming many more delegates who will be able to join because the event is virtual and it is easier to participate wherever you are.

So make sure you register soon, and book your place at ELBC. I look forward to seeing you there.

ELBC will be the first time the entire global value chain from manufacturers and suppliers, to researchers and policy makers will be able to review the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and consider the implications for the industry in the future.

6 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

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17ELBC PRESENTATIONS: DARAMIC

Polyethylene separators in EFBs — the next generation arrives Jörg Deiters,for Daramic in France, discusses how the firm’s research in 2020 is already achieving CBI goals for 2022 performance.

Prepare to be astonished! This presentation will show how Daramic has pushed back the boundaries of separator technology over the years and has beaten a path in the future.

Enhanced Flooded Batteries are a key area of development — they not only are economically well suited to the new generations of stop-start cars, but these improvements can be extended to other batteries.

This presentation will show that solid advances — and successes — have been made in achieving the goals of the Consortium for Battery Innovation.

Effect of Separator Profile on Cycle Life and DCA VW 17.5% Partial State of Charge (PSoC) Test (1) 13.5

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Separator profile change alone extends cycle life and DCA

Figure 1: Changing the separator profile extends the cycle life and DCA © 2020 Daramic, LLC.

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Effect of Separator Formula – Improved Battery Initials  DARAMIC® EFS™ for EFB batteries requiring high electrical loads

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*Daramic Proprietary IP

EFS

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Separator Electrical Resistance (ER)

The CBI aims to improve four key performance indicators, namely: cycle life when operating at a partial stage of charge @17.5% depth of discharge; dynamic charge acceptance; reduce water loss; and grid corrosion according to the J2801 life test.

Daramic has looked at three particular areas in boosting the performance of polyethylene separators: adjusting the separator profile; improving the separator formula; and how additives, notably carbon, boost performance. See charts below.

Briefly looking through the history of Daramic innovation, improving the separator profile was achieved by adjusting the ribs running through the separator.

Historically Daramic has produced two products for high performance batteries HP-X and DuraLife that use cross negative ribs. DuraLife, launched in 2014 in Asia, also mitigates water loss and grid corrosion. Daramic also has developed RipTide C which arranged 35 ribs in a serrated fashion rather than the standard 11. Figure 1 shows the benefits.

Improving the separator formula by lowering the battery’s internal resistance, and increasing the porosity were achieved in 2015 when Daramic developed EFS (enhanced flooded separators). The firm recently launched an update to its HD line called HD Plus which incorporates a new PE formulation that counteracts the effects of antimony migration.

Figure 2 shows the performance gains using an improved separator formula.

Additives to the separator are probably the most exciting area of research for Daramic — with the application of carbon being at the heart of it. Figure 3 shows the huge improvements in cycle life and DCA being made using different formulations of carbon added to the separator.

But the story doesn’t stop here.

Our key research revealed in the presentation will show that we are now able to do much more than this.

Prepare to be astonished.

Not only important for EFB starter batteries: Lower battery internal resistance

Figure 2: Lower battery internal resistance is not only important for EFB starter batteries © 2020 Daramic, LLC.

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Effect of Carbon on Cycle Life and DCA VW 17.5% Partial State of Charge (PSoC) Test (1)

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Drawing closer to 2022 CBI Goals in Cycle Life and DCA

Figure 3: Clearly this is drawing closer to 2022 CBI goals in terms of cycle life and DCA © 2020 Daramic, LLC.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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17

Jörg Deiters is the EMEA Technical Service Director for Daramic LLC, which he joined 26 years ago after graduating from the University of Hannover/Germany. He has a doctor of science in Chemistry from the University of Hannover. He is guiding and directing customer technical support and new product development efforts in EMEA and DARAK separators world-wide. Jörg started 1994 in Daramic’ s European R&D center, continued as a Technical Service Manager for EMEA, before he took over the EMEA director position to help the Sales team to commercialize new separator products.

Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 7

INNOVATION • PERFORMANCE • RELIABILITY World Class Battery Manufacturing Equipment & Technology

1970 Grid Mold Venting

1989 Leko is acquired by The Wirtz Group of Companies 1986 Rotary Plate Cutting

1932 Wirtz Manufacturing is established in the USA

1982 ConCast 1990 Plate Stacking

1955 Grid Casting Machine

1967 Lead Delivery Pump 1975 Lead Delivery Valve

1992 Oxmaster is acquired by The Wirtz Group of Companies 1985 Pasting Machines

SINCE1932 WWW.WIRTZUSA.COM +1 810 987 7600

2000 Conbro is acquired by The Wirtz Group of Companies

2008 Wirtz builds 20,000 sq ft. machine center at headquarters

2010 Strip Casting Rolling

1997 ConRoll

2002 BatteryRecycling Systems is acquired by The Wirtz Group of Companies

2011 Wirtz expands to India 2005 ConPunch

2006 Wirtz expands to China

2014 Wirtz granted patent for superior positive grid making process

2006 Industrial ConCast 2013 Wirtz developed the Combined Frame Steel Belt Rotary Plate Parter machine

THE PLENARY SESSIONS This year’s plenary sessions will be held live on the opening day of the conference.

These papers will mostly look at the health of the lead battery industry in terms of products, market volumes, materials, geography within the context of a world that is in many parts still gripped by the Covid pandemic or reeling in its aftermath.

The battery industry ... the shape of things to come The keynote paper will be given by Mark Wallace, the incoming head of Clarios. Wallace started his tenure as Clarios’ president and CEO and a director of the board of the company in May 2020. He joins Clarios with decades of leadership in the automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway and aftermarket industries.

Wallace was previously with Dana Inc, the leading supplier of integrated drivetrain and electrified propulsion systems for automotive applications. Wallace was most recently the executive vice president

and president, overseeing the commercial vehicle business units and the global aftermarket business.

He also led the low and high voltage class 4-8 electrification efforts and M&A initiatives supporting Dana’s electric/hybrid transportation business. Previous jobs at Dana included president of light vehicle, president of heavy vehicle and president of global operations, Wallace previously worked in several leadership roles for Webasto, a global automotive parts supplier, including as president and CEO at Webasto Product North America.

Battery market trends (20192030) for electronic devices, automotive and industrial applications Christophe Pillot (Avicenne, France) The main goal of this survey is to forecast the worldwide rechargeable battery market from 2019 to 2030: Areas of focus include: • The rechargeable battery market in 2019 — by technology, lead, NiCd, NiMH, Li-ion; by application, portable, industrial, automotive; and, by battery suppliers.

• xEV market in 2019 and forecasts up to 2030: automotive market forecasts; car makers’ strategies; lithium ion battery cell, module pack cost structure 2015-2025 • Advanced energy storage for industrial applications & ESS] • Rechargeable battery market forecasts up to 2030 Energy boost: how pioneering research is changing the shape of modern lead batteries Alistair Davidson, (Consortium for Battery Innovation (UK) Research and Innovation is essential to the future of the lead battery industry.

Current and future applications continue to require increased functionality from the lead battery, and it is essential that the technology can adapt and improve.

This presentation will discuss the work of the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI), the world’s only global lead battery research hub, in particular the exciting new research from the 2019-2020 Research program.

This includes study of how carbon, expanders and other materials can be used to optimise performance, how techniques such as overcharging can be used to improve performance for energy storage applications and the use of new techniques such as neutron diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Current and future applications continue to require increased functionality from the lead battery, and it is essential that the technology can adapt and improve.

10 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

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LOW PROFILE HIGH PERFORMANCE

www.froetek.com

THE PLENARY SESSIONS CBI is also involved in benchmarking the ability of next-generation batteries such as the bipolar battery, which is tipped to be a key technology of the future.

The presentation will also discuss the growing opportunities for lead batteries in energy storage systems, and a new tool developed by CBI called “CBI Battery Match” that will connect utility and renewable energy storage industry directly with the best lead battery for their system.

Lead prices to sink or swim in the 2020s?

Neil Hawkes, CRU, UK

Global market trends for industrial lead batteries Nick Starita, (Hollingsworth and Vose, USA) The global industrial battery market continues to evolve based on the changing needs of its diversified and demanding customer base.

This paper will use industry sales data as well as information gathered from industry experts to analyze both the global Stationary and Motive Power battery markets. We will examine the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the industry and other trends and market drivers for each of the markets by region, application, and product line to draw conclusions about the future business outlook for our industry. crucial in determining whether lead prices are looking up again or remain under pressure in this new decade of opportunities as well as challenges for lead.

While primary smelter underperformances provided some price lift last year, the path in lead values in the late 2010s was bumpy but ultimately downwards, driven by leadspecific and broader metal price drivers turning more negative, not least the slowdown in China.

The 2020s have had an eventful start, with the damaging impact of the coronavirus outbreak spreading from China around the world, impacting lead production as well as lead demand.

Looking beyond the coronavirus dip, is this price retreat just another downward leg in the medium-term price cycle, or are there longer-term issues at play that could sustain a more prolonged period of downward pressure on lead values?

The resilience of the lead-based battery sector, under threat from the rise of lithium-based batteries; will be a key factor that determines the lead price path in this new decade.

Can lead batteries respond to the threat and defend or even grow its share in some energy storage applications? In addition to the demand path ahead, the response of production, both in mining and recycling, will be

Peak China? Prospects for reshaping patterns of global lead supply and demand

Huw Roberts, CHR Metals, UK China emerged as the largest mine producer of lead in the late 1990s, overtaking Australia, the largest producer of refined lead (primary+secondary) in 2001, eclipsing the US and, in 2003, output across all of Europe and, in 2005, became the world’s largest consumer of lead accounting at that time for 22% of global demand. This was remarkable growth for a country that, 15

12 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

years earlier, represented only 6% of lead consumption.

By 2015, Chinese consumption of lead accounted for 43% of global demand and its share has increased further since then.

Developments in China, in both supply and demand, have been disruptive to earlier patterns of global lead production and consumption.

From the early 2000s, Chinese primary lead smelters became significant consumers of imported lead concentrate, undercutting the terms that could be offered by smelters elsewhere.

China’s move from being a major exporter of refined lead from the late 1990s to 2007, and then largescale importer in more recent years, has had an important impact on lead prices. Chinese lead-acid battery makers have also become large suppliers to overseas markets. This has helped to expand demand for lead in China while putting pressure on those previously active in those markets targeted

by Chinese manufacturers.

Changes in the Chinese market may reshape patterns of global lead supply and demand again.

While the growth of a motor vehicle fleet comprising an increasing share of electric vehicles, and thus posing a risk to lead’s principal use in SLI batteries, is not unique to China, there is extensive use of lead-acid batteries to power other forms of transportation in China which is not seen elsewhere.

New regulations governing the

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THE PLENARY SESSIONS manufacture and use of electric bicycles (e-bikes), electric tricycles and so-called low speed vehicles may initially cap lead demand in China and then result in its gradual decline.

A review of the lead battery industry in China

The lead butterfly effect: understanding the interconnected world of lead batteries Farid Ahmed (Wood McKenzie, UK)

address legislative overlaps that exist between the Batteries Directive, Endof-Life Vehicles Directive and REACH Regulation. We will summarize key EU policy developments and provide a forecast what’s ahead of us. It will show the measures the lead battery industry can take to convince EU policy-makers about the benefits of lead batteries.

Meeting the battery demands of an increasingly energystorage hungry automotive sector Carl Telford (Ricardo Strategic Consulting, Shoreham-by-Sea, (UK)

Dong Li (Leoch International, China)

It has often been said that lead is ‘a big industry but a small world’. The global interconnectivity of this vast sector means that events in a single segment or region often ripple out to be felt across the worldwide business.

In this paper, Farid will contextualise the global perspective, focusing on Europe, and demonstrating why, for example, constraints on the Chinese mining industry ultimately impact the competitiveness of battery producers in Europe, the US and other regions far-removed from China.

It will also reveal how the interlinked nature of the lead and battery industries can cause dependence on imports and a lack of self-sufficiency.

Finally, Farid will also explore some of the opportunities offering a long, positive future for lead batteries – and the issues threatening to snatch away this bright prospect.

Towards a new EU regulatory framework on batteries Rene Schroeder (EUROBAT, Brussels, Belgium) 2020 will be the year of the new EU Commission Work Programme with a strong focus on decarbonization, circular economy and industrial policy. All these policies are relevant for manufacturers of lead batteries

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This presentation briefly describes the global lead acid battery market in different regions. This includes detailed analysis of the China market, includes battery manufacturers in different applications such as network power, SLI, motive power, etc, as well as the top customers in each application. It also covers some market information for Asia, such as annual sales, exporting status, and an analysis of challenges and opportunities in the present and future. which are therefore very much in the spotlight of the EU policymakers.

This spring, EUROBAT presented its white paper “Battery Innovation Roadmap 2030”, which further builds on the “Election Manifesto”.

The white paper gave an overview of the market-oriented innovation potential of all battery technologies in the various applications.

From a legislative perspective, the new European Commission will start to work in 2020 on a new regulatory framework for batteries, which will further build on the launch of the European Battery Alliance.

The Batteries Directive and the Endof-Life Vehicles Directive are due for revision by the end of 2020, and the Commission already launched the work on sustainability criteria for batteries. The industry, together with other stakeholders, is now calling for the development of a Battery Package to work on these files coherently and from a broader perspective.

This will be a great opportunity for the European lead battery industry to

As we enter the 2020s, effective deployment of a suite of suitable battery technologies is paramount. This study assesses the short and medium-term technical requirements for low-voltage batteries; it provides an independent consideration of the relative merits of key commercial and emerging battery technologies.

From a technical perspective, this study has focused on the relative merits of battery technologies commercially significant in 12V applications through 2030. This means12V auxiliary battery applications will grow in importance through 2030. Autonomy will necessitate the use of at least two battery chemistries per vehicle.

While lithium technologies hold some performance advantages in 12V applications in comparison to leadbased batteries (high energy density, high charge acceptance, opportunity to lower weight), from an applications standpoint, lithium batteries do not fulfil all critical industry requirements for 12V applications. Conversely, lead batteries do fulfil all major requirements for 12V applications.

Therefore, maintaining access to lead-battery technology is essential for the foreseeable future. In short: An industry-wide transition to electrification is necessary; a successful transition will only be enabled by parallel deployment of lead and lithium-based battery technologies.

An industry wide transition to electrification is necessary; a successful transition will only be enabled by parallel development of lead and lithium based technologies

Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 13

THE PLENARY SESSIONS Matthew Raiford, technical director of the Consortium of Battery Innovation, will present on the CBI innovation roadmap and the technical program in the upcoming 17ELBC.

Have destination, will travel The CBI has produced an innovation roadmap describing the performance characteristics lead battery research should focus on to meet the future demands for batteries in all applications.

The technical program operates features projects in fundamental science, automotive battery improvement, and pathways to improve all lead batteries in energy storage for utility services.

The projects target specific key performance indicators outlined in the innovation roadmap.

Electron microscopy is being utilized like never before in an indepth imaging project using state-ofthe-art techniques at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The physicists at UCLA have pioneered a new technique that allows active investigation of liquid systems under an electrochemical potential, allowing for never-before-seen growth and dissolution of active surfaces.

CBI has partnered with UCLA to study the transformation of the negative and positive material in lead batteries during charge and discharge.

The goal is to understand how the expansion and change in crystals over time negatively impacts the constitution of lead battery materials in key duty cycles, such as partialstate-of-charge operation common

in micro-hybrid and dynamic utility applications.

Similarly, CBI has partnered with the Instituto Ciencias Materiales de Aragón (ICMA) in Azuqueca, Spain in a demonstration project to understand the capabilities of neutron diffraction in monitoring lead battery electrodes during operation. Initial results indicate there is potential for the technique to monitor the surface during operation.

The physicists at UCLA have pioneered a new technique that allows active investigation of liquid systems under an electrochemical potential, allowing for neverbefore-seen growth and dissolution of active surfaces.

Automobiles have become an important avenue for decarbonization, and lead batteries provide a cost-effective, simple pathway to decrease automotive CO2 emissions. As described in the roadmap, increasing DCA is imperative and would result in an increased contribution of lead batteries to hybridization.

CBI has partnered with a team consisting of East Penn

Indicator

2018 2022 2025

DCA. A/Ah

0.4

2.0

2.0

PSoC, 17.5% DoD

1500 EFB

2000 EFB

3000 EFB

Water loss, g/Ah

< 3

< 3

<3

Corrosion, J2801, Units

12

18

22

CBI innovation targets and timeline 2018-2025

14 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

CBI priority areas in red

Manufacturing, Lignotech USA, Cabot, and Hammond to optimize and study common lead battery additives (barium sulfate, carbon, and lignosulfonate). The goal of the project is to find the optimum ratio of these additives for DCA and PSoC (EN MHT) cycle life.

CBI is also exploring the performance of bipolar batteries in automotive applications. A small demonstration project is underway with Advanced Battery Concepts. The aim of this work is to benchmark the performance of this new lead battery technology in well known testing standards, such as the EN MHT test and run-in DCA test.

The management and monitoring of overcharge of lead battery strings and systems in energy storage systems for utility services may provide a route to improving lifetime of the technology is these applications.

Electric Applications Inc (EAI) and CBI are studying the control and effects of inhibiting overcharge in lead batteries for ESS, and how overcharge control can increase the cycle life and energy throughput for all types of lead batteries. The charge control methods in this project could be utilized for any lead battery system.

The future for energy storage has never been so bright, with automotive hybridization and the decarbonization of energy generation providing ample market opportunities for batteries.

It is important for the industry to address not only the concerns of today, but to innovate toward the future needs of our society. CBI is driving innovation, aiming to maximize the potential of lead batteries as a sustainable, reliable, and high performing energy storage technology.

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ELBC: 1988-2020

From humble beginnings to virtual must-attends

The ELBC’s peripatetic travels around Europe have provided the industry with magnificent locations as well as great events — think of palaces in Istanbul, castles in Malta and 19th century fairground museums in Paris.

But mostly it has been at the heart of bringing an industry together and, as a consequence, resolving some of the toughest scientific and technical questions challenging the lead battery world.

The European Lead Battery Conference has had a remarkable and often colourful history — but its importance to the development of lead batteries since the first event in Paris in 1988 cannot be underestimated.

It is equally remarkable not just for the way it has created intellectual debate when little had existed before but just how affectionately both the pioneers and seasoned attendees speak of the event.

Before the first ELBC in 1988, it was rare for technical personnel and sometimes senior management in the battery industry to attend conferences. Adversaries from other companies rarely met. Publications were discouraged and even prohibited in some companies. www.batteriesinternational.com

Clearly, they also associate the ELBC with forming long and important friendships and they have enjoyed the social side, which has sometimes been quite extraordinary; but they are also quick to praise the technical advancements that have often resulted from the meetings of minds at the event.

And these have helped shape the entire global lead battery community.

Secrecy and paranoia

The ELBC also led the way in terms of helping open a forum where the lead battery industry could talk to each

Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 15

ELBC: 1988-2020 The ABC acted as a catalyst for the European event’s formation, with positive feedback and a good response to the seminars prompting the LDA and key industry figures to turn Mayer’s planning into the solid reality of the European Lead Battery Conference. other. The sharing of information and ideas in such an open way has not always been encouraged by the battery sector — for a long time many companies positively protected their ideas and baulked at the idea of speaking freely on technical issues.

The ELBC was a pioneering and controversial idea when it first set out to bring senior battery executives together. Before the first ELBC in 1988, it was rare for technical personnel and sometimes senior management in the battery industry to attend conferences.

Adversaries from other companies rarely met. Publications were discouraged and even prohibited in some companies.

That said, there were some small battery workshops and symposia that proved exceptions to this attitude, such as those held at meetings of the International Power Sources Symposium (UK), the Electrochemical Society (USA) and The Faraday Society. But these were involved in pure research, very academic and rarely attended by engineers, chemists or metallurgists from industry.

This mentality was understandable in a sense.

At that time, the industry was dominated by a small number of big battery companies including Exide, Varta, JCI, Chloride, GM, Delco, Tungstone, and the Swedish, French and Spanish Tudors.

But in reality, the first four of these, with their worldwide subsidiaries, effectively controlled the global lead battery industry.

The manufacturers were protective of their work and any research that could give them a competitive advantage.

Their cautious confidentiality was

16 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

understandable since they all developed, produced and tested new materials — such as alloys, additives, separators — and new manufacturing processes extensively before using them in their products. They were seeking improved, more reliable, performance and durability.

Even as the industry started to change and more third-party suppliers emerged, the battery industry retained a suspicion of sharing information and giving away trade secrets.

Only a few years before the first ELBC meeting, independent supplies of separators, additives and alloys became available but most had specifications defined by the battery companies and a restriction on who they could supply.

Consequently, companies were suspicious of conferences and the exchange of technical information.”

A game changer in Asia

The idea of what would eventually become the ELBC was conceived against this backdrop of secrecy by Michael Mayer, who working for the Lead Development Association (LDA) — now the ILA — was maintaining regular communication with the main battery companies through providing information and assistance where possible.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he started organizing half-day informal seminars at the LDA’s offices in Berkeley Square, London, to which he invited representatives from European battery companies. Around 40 to 50 people would attend and discuss a wide range of topics such as dry charging, wrought grids and alloys.

“Held every few months they were affable and useful without confidenti-

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ELBC: 1988-2020 1988: Paris

1990: Brussels

2000: Dublin

2008: Warsaw

2014: Edinburgh

2018: Vienna

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: THE CHOICE OF VENUE Since the first ELBC in Paris, the event has visited many European cities, developed an exhibition — and a quite special gala dinner — that has gone from strength to strength.

The credit for much of the work in this area goes to Maura McDermott, the conference organizer through thick and thin.

“The numbers of delegates grew and there was great competition and interest in the choice of venue, which was handled by Maura and her team,” one attendee said. “Then a highly successful exhibition was organized by Allan Cooper and demand for exhibition space has grown ever since.”

McDermott has been fully involved since the second ELBC in Brussels in 1990. She undertakes all the administration on the event: coordinating speakers, exhibitors — and making that tough decision each year as to where to host the event.

McDermott admits that her greatest challenge every year is finding a suitable venue to host the event.

While it is too small for some of the bespoke exhibition centres around Europe, designed to host thousands of delegates, it is too large for many hotels.

“And we like to have a certain layout, with everything on one level,” she says.

She estimates that whereas the first event in Paris attracted around 200 attendees, Brussels increased this to around 220. To put this number in context, the 16ELBC in Vienna in September 2018 set

a new record with more than 900 delegates in attendance.

An important development for the ELBC was the addition of an exhibition, which has also enjoyed strong growth. She says that from around 19 booths in its first year the event has now reached more than 100 exhibitors.

“In the early days it was very academic in its focus; while much of the content still is, one of the big changes has been the exhibition we now do and that has meant a lot more networking and face-to-face time for people,” she says.

As more exhibitors and suppliers attended, many started hosting their own dinners and entertainment external to the event itself. With the increasing attendance, the supply companies sought local castles, palaces or well known local hostelries to entertain their customers.

“It is a case of just going to see what is available in different cities in Europe. We would get lost in a venue that is too spacious,” says McDermott. “And, of course when we do find a venue, getting the right dates can be difficult. We book two to three years in advance, but even then it can be difficult to get the dates we want.”

The conference did originally experiment with putting on activities for the spouses and partners of delegates — city tours and other social activities. But these were scrapped after it became apparent these individuals preferred to

organize themselves.

“We did a few in the early days but there was not much take up and it became apparent that a lot of the ladies who were attending already knew each other and preferred to organize themselves,” she says.

“They were used to seeing each other at events and so would be quite happy catching up and organizing themselves.”

ELBC locations through the years

1988 Paris 1990 Brussels 1992 Geneva 1994 Munich 1996 Sitges/Barcelona 1998 Prague 2000 Dublin 2002 Rome 2004 Berlin 2006 Athens 2008 Warsaw 2010 Istanbul 2012 Paris 2014 Edinburgh

the 16ELBC in Vienna in September 2018 set a new record with more than 900 delegates in attendance.

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2016 Valletta 2018 Vienna

Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 17

ELBC: 1988-2020 Since those early and very heady days, the event has grown in terms of its sophistication and number of delegates. Nevertheless, its technical focus and format in many ways has remained little changed.

SOLVING THE PCL PROBLEM

Some of the various Alpha-Beta members in Berlin at 9ELBC

The ELBC — or at least some of its founders and attendees — also played a pivotal role in solving one of the industry’s great challenges.

At the first LABAT Conference in June 1989, Ernst Voss (Varta) and David Rand founded the AlphaBeta PbO2 Society.

The object: ‘for lead battery scientists to collaborate in grappling with the ever-emerging demands that new applications place upon the science of lead batteries’.

To this day, the members often meet for dinner parties at ELBC, ABC and LABAT meetings.

In the 1990s, it had become clear that premature capacity loss (PCL), whereby the life of a lead battery is drastically shortened under deep cycling, was becoming a major concern for the lead battery industry and was holding back its growth.

The issue proved more prevalent in designs that used grids made from antimony-free or lead-calcium alloys to reduce water loss.

Moreover, it was independent of plate design or how the paste was applied.

The problem occurred with both flooded batteries and then with

the new wave of VRLA technology developed in the early 1980s.

Recognizing the seriousness of PCL, a number of key industry figures, all heavily associated with the ELBC and predominantly members of the Alpha-Beta Society, including Kathryn Bullock, Ian Dyson, Frank Fleming, Herbert Geiss, Michael Mayer, Eberhard Meissner, Pat Moseley, Bob Nelson, Ken Peters, David Prengaman and David Rand, formed a study group to attempt to solve this challenge.

Prompted by this action the ALABC instituted the World Study Group into Premature Capacity Loss of Lead-Acid Batteries in 1993, chaired by Rand.

Solving the problem was no easy task, it took many years and involved many individuals but it is now widely acknowledged that the work of the ALABC and the uninhibited ad hoc discussions at ELBC gatherings were key factors in ultimately solving this puzzle.

“The final piece of the puzzle was ‘compression’. This parameter was pointed out by Alpha-Beta Society member Paul [Rüetschi] and gave us ways to defeat PCL,” Rand said.

18 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

ality being breeched or being contentious,” said one attendee.

But it took another catalyst for the concept of the ELBC to truly emerge.

In August 1986, the first Asian Battery Conference (1ABC) took place in Hong Kong. Industry veteran David Rand says that in May 1985, Jerry McAuliffe, director of the Zinc and Lead Asian Service, and John Manders and Pasminco Metals, invited him to help in setting it up. Some 180 delegates attended the event.

The ABC acted as a catalyst for the European event’s formation, with positive feedback and a good response to the seminars prompting the LDA and key industry figures to turn Mayer’s planning into the solid reality of the European Lead Battery Conference.

Rand had some years earlier already met Mayer, who was promoting lead batteries at a BCI conference in Munich. He invited Rand to speak at one of the LDA events in London. They also both attended 2ABC in Singapore in August 1987.

“It was there that Michael invited me to help him and Ken Peters form the first European Lead Battery Conference (1ELBC),” says Rand. “This was held in France in September 1988 and some 220 delegates attended.”

The three conspirators became lifelong friends and in discussing topics and themes for discussion at ELBCs enjoyed many escapades together, especially when it involved an atmosphere of warm British ales and steam trains.

On the back of the 1ELBC success, an early organizing committee of sorts started meeting to review offers for papers and consider programmes for future meetings.

Some of those individuals included Ken Peters, Michael Mayer, Maura McDermott — still the conference organizer today — and industry veteran David Rand.

“It was obvious from the number of offers of papers received that there was great interest in discussing common problems and experiences and, moreover, confidentiality could be maintained,” Rand says. “Some meetings later, a more formal selection committee was formed to put the programme together.”

In those days, the proceedings from such events were published in the Journal of Power Sources and also distributed in book form by Pasminco Metals. This biennial practice, which continued up to 11ABC in 2005, stopped in 2007 after the journal pub-

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ELBC: 1988-2020 THE GALA DINNER: REASONS TO GET BOISTEROUS, PARTS ELBC1 TO ELBC16 Maura McDermott, the ELBC chief organizer, is also responsible for what is arguably the highlight of the event — the closing dinner of the ELBC, which has only gained in status in the eyes of delegates over the years.

She admits there is pressure to ensure the gala night is delivered to a high standard every year and that everyone enjoys it — and, of course, it is delivered within budget.

“This event has very much changed over the years but we work with local companies to see what is possible. But they always seem to go well and people seem to enjoy them regardless,” she says.

The gala dinner has become a focal point of the event, but it has changed drastically in its nature; in its early days, delegates were often persuaded to perform — something that many say they no longer miss!

“The highlight of the week was the conference dinner when everybody let their hair down,” says one conference attendee. “For some years it was common practice for teams from countries to take part in a sing-song on the stage but these became repetitive and tedious and from about 5ELBC, professional entertainers were engaged to perform a cabaret.”

One group made an impression for many years, often dressing up in ‘Australian national dress’ — a cowboy hat with dangling bottle corks to ward off the flies — to lead a sing-song. It was a difficult act to do as in reality only one of them was Australian.

“One year,” he recalls, “the wives of the ELBC organizing team got involved with a group of them singing the ‘(Seven Little Girls) Sitting in the Back Seat’ with accompaniment.”

Geoffrey May, director of FOCUS Consulting, says the social

events of ELBC have always been memorable — and some especially so. “In Istanbul we had a dinner on the James Bond island and sang the ‘Wheels on the Bus’ on the boat back to the mainland to the puzzlement of many non-English delegates,” May says.

“In Edinburgh the Programme Committee all wore kilts, which was a spectacle — especially Boris Monahov in a kilt!”

One Edinburgh delegate said: “Dave Prengaman, Mark Stevenson and Ralf Beckers looked even better

in their kilts! Mark claimed he had Scottish roots — presumably his family had been deported from there a century beforehand — and I guess Dave and Ralf just liked the look of the check pattern.”

Moderation in excess And there have been times that, despite the efforts of the organizers, the events of the gala dinner have gone too far.

One industry speaker recalls how events took an unfortunate turn after the gala dinner at Warsaw.

“The other tables had left and then suddenly the waiters brought out enough vodka shots for all the delegates … but there were barely 40 remaining.

“The result was mayhem an hour later,” he says. “But it was all good in the end. Friendships can be forged in the most ridiculous circumstances!”

Another recalled a memorable night at the closing evening of 15ELBC in Malta. “It was magical.

Dining outside at night. Stars above and opera singers wandering among the tables belting out the most amazing songs. It was unforgettable.”

Above top: Scotsmen of dubious ancestry 14ELBC, Edinburgh. Above: A grand entrance and a magical night dining under the stars at 15ELBC, Malta

20 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

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ELBC: 1988-2020 lisher decided that the papers were not attracting sufficient citations, especially when compared with other battery chemistries.

It’s not surprising that many today would advocate a return to the status quo of yesteryear.

Keeping focus despite growth

Since those early and very heady days, the event has grown in terms of its sophistication and number of delegates.

Nevertheless, its technical focus and format in many ways has remained little changed.

Demand for papers reached the point that the decision had to be made where necessary to run two sessions in parallel to enable more content and more speakers to participate, while allowing delegates to choose the topics in which they were most interested.

“There was no theme as such but similar topics were grouped in the five half-day sessions and holding these in parallel, or having several halls at the same time, was contentious,” Peters said much later.

“The compromise, which was very successful, was to have two sessions dedicated to the suppliers and equipment manufacturers in parallel with two sessions which mostly covered more basic research and technical work.

Both were uniformly well attended.”

The initial concerns of the battery manufacturers with respect to confidentiality were eventually allayed as they understood the advantages of such an event — and started to see its increasing popularity globally.

The event pioneered the way for similar conferences launched later, perhaps the most notable being the creation of LABAT in Bulgaria and the start of other conferences in India and China.

Must-attend events

But the increasing attendance and willingness to present some details of

their work demonstrated their popularity and opportunity for discussing common problems without revealing confidential details. ABC became an instant must-attend event, ELBC followed in its footsteps.

“Programmes tended to follow industry changes and trends. Delegates welcomed the opportunity to hear about other people’s problems and successes and, hopefully, came away with helpful ideas for their work,” Peters said much later. “In this respect the concept of ABC and ELBC and the following successful series was new and created a template for industry conferences worldwide.”

But these conferences were more than just a template for others. They became a hugely useful forum for the entire industry.

Neil Hawkes, lead analyst at CRU, the commodity analysis firm, has attended ELBC for almost a quarter of a century — he went to the first one in 1996. He says he likes the consistency the event has maintained in terms of its structure and the real value for him is securing face-to-face time with a high number of senior executives in a short space of time.

“The conference hasn’t really changed in terms of its ethos and structure,” he says. “The format usually has people like me on the first morning presenting on the market more generally — the big themes of the moment — and then it goes to much more technical content after that.

“But it has grown into a huge event using that formula and has become more formal by necessity as a result.

In the early days, it was a more relaxed atmosphere with fewer people, now I sometimes feel like I am speed dating with the meetings there!

“But the real value has always been meeting the lead producers that go there. I find it a very friendly conference from that perspective. It is very sociable compared with comparable conferences I attend.”

Geoffrey May, director of FOCUS Consulting, who has only missed a couple of events since the start, says the conference’s commitment to staying true to its roots has stood it in good stead.

Now, with its steady growth over the years both in numbers and stature, May believes ELBC is an unmissable event.

“In an era where conferences are produced rather like stage shows and marketed to the audience to attract delegates and exhibitors, ELBC is organized on more traditional lines with a call for papers and only the keynote speakers are invited by the organizing committee,” he says.

“The call for papers brings in a large number of offers of papers and the Technical Programme Committee has to sift through the offers. New research is given a high priority and the quality of the work, the reputation of the authors and the relevance to current issues is important in selecting the papers.”

In an era where conferences are produced rather like stage shows and marketed to the audience to attract delegates and exhibitors, ELBC is organized on more traditional lines with a call for papers and only the keynote speakers are invited by the organizing committee

Networking in Vienna 2018

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Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 21

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY ADVANCEMENTS Improved test methods for European tandards to judge water consumption and corrosion effects of lead batteries in modern applications Torsten Hildebrandt, (Clarios EMEA, Secretary CENELEC TC 21X, Germany) and Jörn Albers, (Clarios EMEA, Germany)

European Standard EN 503426, published in 2015, defines test procedures and requirements for lead-acid batteries in start-stop applications.

This document has been widely accepted and an international standardization project of IEC TC21 took over the well-established procedures of dynamic charge-acceptance (DCA) and Micro cycling performance (MHT) for the new document IEC 60095-6.

As there has been further changes in the usage of advanced leadacid batteries in modern vehicle architectures in recent years, further improvements and validation of test procedures and requirements are required to reflect this development.

Based on three scientific workshops with participants from the vehicle and battery industries, universities and suppliers, members of the technical committee 21X of European Standardization body CENELEC continued to work on these questions and developed the following proposals for new and improved test procedures.

These are the new proposed areas: • New Micro Hybrid Test procedure (New MHT). An improved version of the micro cycling test to simulate start-stop applications has been developed. The main differences are an increased test temperature of 40°C, shortened rest times and a greater total number of cycles to reflect real-life battery duty in regard of charge throughput and operating conditions.

• New Key Life Test (nKLT). A test procedure at 75°C that simulates drive cycles including start-stop and recuperation with limited overcharge to judge water consumption and corrosion effects.

The target is to judge even ‘highDCA’ batteries in a fair way that otherwise usually shows poor results in classical water consumption overcharge tests.

• Dynamic charge acceptance, Improvements continue to go on to simplify the current test procedure for easier implementation and higher robustness in the test laboratories.

First draft versions of these procedures are available and validation testing with different battery types of different manufacturers has commenced.

The new test procedures with their details and evaluation schemes will be presented as well as the first results of validation testing. The timeline to implement the new approaches into a next version of CENELEC EN 503426 will be discussed.

LHVs require the battery not only to provide additional energy to the on-board electronic devices during idling-stop and power for starting the engine, but also to accept power from regenerative braking. requirements is low-voltage hybrids which are provided iwith dling-stop and regenerative braking features.

LHVs require the battery not only to provide additional energy to the on-board electronic devices during idling-stop and power for starting the engine, but also to accept power from regenerative braking.

Thus, the factors which could hold back the widespread of LHVs are the performance and cost of the energy storage device. As shown in this presentation, the UltraBattery — a combined lead-acid and supercapacitor hybrid energy-storage device — promises excellent performance for short-distance collection and delivery trucks operating as LHVs. The improvements are: (i) a positive active-material of higher density to increase the durability and (ii) a change in the conductive carbon in the negative electrode to improve the charge-acceptance.

An in-vehicle durability test of the new UltraBattery technology is underway.

Improvements of the flooded-type Ultrabattery for short distance collection and delivery truck as a low voltage hybrid application Hiroya Kaido, Jun Furukawa, Tokunori Honma and Satoshi Shibata (Furukawa Battery Co, Hoshikawa, Japan)

Torsten Hidebrandt, Clarios EMEA

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption from the transport sector is a major problem for governments worldwide. In Europe, for example, various governments demand automakers to decrease CO2 emissions from the current value of about 140g for every 1km driven to 95g by 2020 and this is expected to decrease further to 75g km-1 by 2025.

One of the solutions to meet these

22 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Hiroya Kaido, Furukawa Battery

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY ADVANCEMENTS To date, the battery life has more than doubled — and even expected to treble — that of the conventional battery. The life-extension effect and mechanism of new positive additives will also be discussed.

Development of a new hightemperature durability test for automotive lead batteries Jonathan Wirth (RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany)

This presentation is based on recent studies that have shown little to no correlation between established steadystate water consumption tests and dynamic driving cycle tests which both aim to reproduce real-word urban and highway driving in hot climate.

This observation is of high importance in the context of increasing the dynamic charge-acceptance through adding extra amounts of carbon additives in innovative designs of the negative plate.

This practice often results in increased water consumption in established steady-state overcharging tests, but not necessarily in simulated driving. Therefore, in cooperation with the CENELEC TC21X WG3 that is now under evaluation, a new key life test candidate has been developed using data from the abovementioned studies.

The results of simulated real-world

Jonathan Wirth, RWTH Aachen University

urban and highway driving in hot climate will be compared with those of steady-state overcharging tests. The validity of the new key life test for water loss and corrosion testing will be demonstrated in respect to established steady-state overcharging tests and the simulated real-world driving.

Test results will include both gas and weight-loss measurements.

Finally, the test bench results will be validated with weight-loss and gassing measurements taken in field on two different types of battery.

Lead batteries for dash cam applications: experiences and lab test development Joern Albers and Ingo Koch (Clarios Germany GmbH & Co. KGaA, Hanover, Germany) and Young Kug Lee, Jong Dae Kim, Jae Eun Jin and KiSun Ryu (Hyundai Motor Company, Seoul, South Korea)

In some countries, dash cams in passenger cars are becoming more and more popular to record possible damages or bumps to the cars. Some insurance companies even grant discounts on their premiums for cars equipped with dash cams.

Nevertheless, such devices require a significant portion of electrical power at a time when the car is not being operated.

As the automotive lead-acid starter

YoungKug Lee, Hyundau Motor Co

24 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

battery is the only power source available in the vehicle during stand-still, the dash cam’s energy demand may result in severe deterioration of the battery.

In some cases, even the enginecranking capability is compromised.

The presentation provides field data analyses of two test vehicles as well as the development of battery laboratory tests, which reflect the dash cam operation in Hyundai and Kia cars.

The results clearly indicate that not all lead-acid battery technologies are able to withstand the additional load generated by the dash cam.

Batteries using AGM technology have proved to be best suited for the avoidance of detrimental effects and to ensure full functionality during battery lifetime.

Ultimate developments on a lead-acid battery system: A new vision and manufacture of longest life-span of advanced lead-carbon (ALC) battery for industrial revolution Ho-Young Jung, Gun-O Moon, HeeJung Kim (Energy Planet, Republic of Korea) and Sadhasivam Thangarasu, Pham Tan Thong, Sandip Mandol (Chonnam National University, Republic of Korea) (tbc)

Globally, the lead-acid battery has gained more consideration in realworld applications and environmental concerns because of its low manufacturing cost compared to other battery systems, higher safety, higher market share in secondary batteries (>60%) and effectively recycled (>97%) at end of-life.

Commercialized lead-acid batteries at present have fulfilled certain requirements such as higher safety, reasonable energy density and cycle life.

However, the conventional lead-acid battery is not suitable for the recent developments of Idle Stop and Go vehicles based technologies, where the lead-acid battery showed higher hydrogen gas evolution, inferior cycle life and poor charge acceptance performances.

To address this concern, we approached many new technologies to solve the existing problems in the conventional lead-acid batteries.

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY ADVANCEMENTS In the lead-carbon battery developments, we believe that our new technology will be more promising for future electric vehicles to achieve the targets in the context of cycle-life and hydrogen gas inhibition.

Our company (Energy Planet Co) has developed novel and advanced lead-carbon batteries (2V to 20V) through a low cost manufacturing process with (i) highest suppression of hydrogen gas evolution (10 times lower than the conventional leadcarbon batteries), (ii) superior charge acceptance and (iii) highest cycle life (10 times higher performance (in HRPSoC test) and two times higher performance (in DoD 50% cycle test) than the conventional lead-acid battery) under identical conditions.

Our advanced lead carbon battery showed an excellent performance in the real devices (modern four-wheeler car). Our present technologies are highly scalable for producing the new kind of batteries because of facile manufacturing process with existing equipment facilities.

In the lead-carbon battery developments, we believe that our new technology will be more promising for future electric vehicles to achieve the targets in the context of cycle-life and hydrogen gas inhibition.

batteries on other standard tests of automotive batteries — there are no technical ‘red flags’.

The technology is now approaching the market-entry phase. This presentation will review the technology in terms of the performance levels and manufacturing processes that have been developed to achieve high-volume manufacturing throughput.

Development of battery model for automotive simulation — with less prior data for more practical simulations Sato Katsuyuki, Muhammad Syahid, Masashi Watanabe, Taisuke Takeuchi and Takao Ohmae (GS Yuasa International Ltd., Kyoto, Japan)

The evolution of mobility through the pursuit of high safety, low environmental impact, high comfort, etc., is supported by the innovation of advanced control technology. Modelbased development is an effective method for more comprehensive and rapid verification of the complicated control technology.

In particular, a highly reliable battery model is essential for the development of the automotive control system. An equivalent-circuit model for the leadacid battery that can simulate the charge and discharge behaviour of a battery has been disclosed by JSAE (Society of Automotive Engineers of

Japan, Inc.).

This model, however, only contains parameters obtained from limited battery behaviour and consequently sufficient accuracy cannot be obtained as dictated by the simulation conditions.

In a previous study based on the battery model proposed by JSAE, an attempt was made to improve the accuracy by focusing on the following two characteristics of the battery: (i) the behaviour of current and voltage immediately after charge and discharge; (ii) the changes of polarization as the battery approaches full charge or discharge.

The results confirmed a significant improvement in accuracy.

For the further development of the model, several original tests were required. Therefore, this presentation describes simplifying the development process by replacing part of the original test conditions with standard tests as published in JIS, European (EN) standard, etc. It has been confirmed that the newly developed model has excellent estimation accuracy compared with the conventional JSAE model.

In particular, a highly reliable battery model is essential for the development of the automotive control system.

ArcActive’s novel carbon fibre structured negative electrode for high DCA and low water consumption. An update on performance and manufacturing developments Stuart McKenzie, Shane Christie, Hassan Wong and Richard Trudgian (Arc Active, Christchurch, New Zealand)

ArcActive has been developing a novel carbon fibre based negative electrode for the past nine years.

The key attraction is that batteries using this technology achieve high and sustained DCA with the added advantage of very low consumption of water. ArcActive batteries also display similar performance to traditional

Stuart McKenzie, Arc Active

26 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Katsuyuki Sato, GS Yuasa International

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS CARBON ADDITIVES FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS MOLECULAR REBAR Solutions for Enhanced Performance and Corrosion Resistance Paul Everill (Black Diamond Structures, LLC, USA)

MOLECULAR REBAR enhances the electrical and mechanical performance of your battery by strengthening and controlling crystal structure to change the “DNA” of your active material.

These enhancements allow customers to achieve their testing goals, introduce higher-tier products, lower warranty returns, reduce active material masses, and gain new aftermarket/ OEM/OES business.

Our discussion will provide updates on our present product portfolio with independent testimonials from our customers to support our technical data. We will also share the latest developments from our product development pipelines with support from our development partners.

Automotive applications, such as Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB), will be one of the focal points of our discussion.

We will show evidence that our Pb1200 series of products in combination with our PbAC series can support battery manufacturers as they strive to transcend the goals of the updated EN-50342-6 testing specifications and achieve the Consortium for Battery Innovation key performance indicators. Dynamic

Paul Everill, Black Diamond Structures

Charge Acceptance, micro-hybrid cycle life, and corrosion-centric studies will be shared.

Aspects regarding the mechanism by which our performance additives provide their benefits in the positive and negative active masses will also be shared.

Progress towards high DCA lead batteries with formulated carbon blends Paolina Atanassova, Yu-Hua Kao, David Miller, Clayton Summit, Aurelien Du Pasquier, Persefoni Kechagia (Cabot Corporation, Billerica, MA, United States)

In the drive towards reduced CO2 emissions, lead-acid batteries with enhanced dynamic charge acceptance are essential to meet regulation requirements. Incorporation of carbon additives into the negative active mass has been demonstrated to increase the DCA and cycle life by two-to-three times under high-rate state-of-charge (HRPSoC) conditions.

To enable next-generation batteries with DCA of 1.5/Ah-2.0/Ah, formulated blends of carbon additives with different morphology have been explored.

A hypothesis on the structureperformance relationship between carbon type and DCA improvements has been developed and tested at

Paolina Atanassova, Cabot Coporation

28 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

the cell level under various service conditions.

Further refinement of a model of the role of carbons in the negative-active mass will be presented.

Chemically-modified carbon additives for increased dynamic charge acceptance in lead based batteries Begüm Bozkaya, Jochen Settelein, Guinevere Giffin and Gerhard Sextl (Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Wurzburg, Germany)

Previous studies have shown that the inclusion of carbon as an additive in the negative active-material can improve the electrochemical performance of lead-acid batteries, especially under the critical application of high-rate partial-state-of-charge cycling.

Besides the beneficial effects of carbon, its incorporation in the NAM can enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction at the negative electrode during charging which, in turn, can lead to enhanced water consumption that may shorten the lifetime of the battery.

To date, the key chemical and physical properties of carbon that are necessary to enhance the performance of lead-acid batteries without increasing the water consumption remain unknown.

For further optimization, the effect

Begüm Bozkaya, Fraunhofer

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS CARBON ADDITIVES FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS To date, the key chemical and physical properties of carbon that are necessary to enhance the performance of lead-acid batteries without increasing the water consumption remain unknown. of different carbon parameters on the electrochemical activity needs to be studied in detail to find and explain possible correlations between various carbon properties and the performance of lead-carbon electrodes.

From other electrochemical applications such as supercapacitors, surface chemistry is recognized to be one of the important parameters that determine the electrochemical activity of carbon and therefore should be considered in lead-acid batteries as well.

This presentation examines the influence of surface functional groups by doping the carbon materials with different heteroatoms such as nitrogen and oxygen.

The research shows that the DCA of batteries, as well as the HER activity of the negative plate, is strongly influenced by the pH of the carbon additives.

In order to obtain a better understanding, a comprehensive study that includes materials analysis, electrochemical analysis and battery tests will be reported.

tion of suitable carbon products and the development of new ones.

Imerys Graphite & Carbon — a worldwide leader in supplying highly specialized carbons for several battery chemistries — is committed to offering a diversified range of additives that can fulfil all the requirements of advanced lead-acid batteries.

The company’s proprietary technologies produce graphite and carbon materials that are easily incorporated in the negative paste without dusting or segregation and with negligible water uptake while processing.

Carbon additives need to be highly reactive in the lead environment and able to impart conductivity to the plate.

In this respect the Imerys Graphite & Carbon TIMREX CyPbrid product family has been especially designed for usage in advanced leadacid batteries.

These products combine high surface-area (typical of carbon blacks) with high conductivity and apparent density (typical of graphite).

Their unique surface properties and high conductivity cause a significant increase in charge-acceptance at any state of charge when compared with the typical low surface-area, nonconductive carbon black.

The presentation will deliver the findings and conclusions regarding the performance of a broad range of additives in applicative test

Substantially improved battery performance by the addition of multi-wall carbon nanotubes Tomer Zimrin (Salvation Battery, Ramat Gan, Israel)

Salvation Battery has developed a unique and simple process to improve lead-acid battery performance. Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are introduced to the positive activematerial without deterioration of properties such as length, surface chemistry and the like.

A stabilization process enables the carbon-rich MWCNTs to avoid oxidation at the positive electrode. Consequently, the problems encountered by other development teams using carbon nanotubes have been overcome.

The MWCNTs affect the positive electrode by: (i) reducing the PAM impedance and thereby enabling increased homogeneity of charge/ discharge along and within the active mass, ie reducing the formation of high depth-of-discharge in low impedance areas; (ii) elimination of non-rechargeable areas caused by highly non-conductive PbSO4 holes; (iii) reinforcing the PAM matrix.

These three effects alter the existing failure mechanisms (sulfation and paste softening) to a new less egregious crumbling mechanism. The result is a remarkable seven-fold improvement in cycling as compared with reference cells.

Functional carbon additives for advanced lead based batteries Pascual García Pérez, Flavio Mornaghini, Yiseop Ahn and Dario Cericola (Imerys Graphite & Carbon, Bodio, Switzerland)

The addition of carbon additives can improve the charge-acceptance at high-rate partial-state-of-charge cycling as well as the cycling performance of lead-acid batteries.

Attempts are being made to understand the specific properties of the carbons that invoke these improvements.

Such knowledge enables the selec-

Pascual García Pérez, Imerys Graphite & Carbon

30 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Tomer Zimrin, Bar-Ilan University

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE I The role of lug preheating, melt pool temperature and lug entrance delay in the cast-onstrap joining process for leadacid batteries Aliasghar Alagheband Hosseini, Sohrab Pahlavan, Saman Nikpour, Mostafa Mirjalili, Mohamadyousef Azimi, and Iman Taji — Sarv sanat toos (SST), Iran

This presentation examines the caston-strap (COS) process by which grid lugs of a lead-acid battery are joined together by a strap. To investigate the quality of the joint, several parameters were used to provide good comparison between the procedures investigated.

The parameters and their method of measurement are explained, for example, the relative contact length between the lugs and the strap (RCL) and the length of existing voids at the lug-strap interfaces that is subtracted from the determined contact length.

The individual influence of preheating the lug, melt pool temperature and lug entrance delay on the quality of the joints and casting defects was investigated. Lug preheating was found to be advantageous in reducing internal voids in the joints. The melt pool temperature gave a two-sided effect that depended on the process conditions.

Raising the temperature increased the strap melt fluidity and improved the joint contact area, by had a deleterious effect on lug wettability by promoting flux evaporation. Moreover, higher temperatures caused more lug backmelting and, hence, lower relative contact lengths. Consequently, an intermediate temperature of 683 K (410 °C) was found to provide the most favourable condition. The best joint quality was obtained when the lugs entered the mold coincident with melt.

lowering of CO2 emissions of new vehicles. Meanwhile, new electric functions to increase safety and comfort are also supplemented.

These trends impose an ever-increasing performance from energy-storage devices with respect to reliability, energy throughput (shallow-cycle life), dynamic charge acceptance particularly for regenerative braking, and robust service life in sustained partial state-of-charge operation.

Various investigations have shown that several innovative negative electrode technologies, such as carbon additives in the negative active material, enable up to three times higher stabilized DCA after several months of operation.

This presentation reports the investigation of two types of battery, as well as cells with different layouts, that have DCA improving additives in the negative electrode (EFB+C). After a longterm run-in, the charge-acceptance is tested under European Standards and a single-pulse test. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which is widely employed as a standard characterization technique for materials, applications and processes, is used as characterization tool to identify non-linear processes.

The EIS can be used for generating an equivalent circuit model of the negative half-cell. An outline will be given of the correlation between DCA results of different testing methods and the parametrization of the impedance spectra.

Dynamic charge acceptance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy — comparability, influence of cell design and carbon additives Sophia Matthies and Julia Kowal (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)

The car industry is confronted with a strong demand for continuous improvement in fuel economy and a

Sophia Matthies, Technische Universität Berlin

32 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Interaction of main reactions and side reactions at positive and negative electrodes — a view at PSoC operation comprising shallow cycling, dynamic transients, and stand periods Eberhard Meissner (Eberhard Meissner Battery Specialist, Hanover, Germany)

In many Stationary and Automotive applications, lead-acid batteries undergo shallow cycling in partial stateof-charge duty. Periods of discharge and recharge may be undertaken at regular intervals or at random and are often interrupted by dynamic transients and/or stand periods. Full state-of-charge (SoC) is rarely or ever reached.

At partial state-of-charge, both charged and discharged active materials are present.

As both electrodes undergo dissolution-precipitation main reactions, the shapes and sizes of the composite particles, ie, the actual morphologies of the electrodes at the micro-level, are ‘inherited’ from the previous operating conditions.

The mechanisms of main and side reactions are different at both electrode polarities, with different kinetics and different time constants.

Therefore, both half-cell potentials scarcely ever reach even quasi-equilibrated states. Consequently, at any time — even during stand periods — the electrodes’ morphologies are changing.

Such activity causes the electrical behaviour of the cell to be complex, and formal state-of-charge is insufficient to describe cell status. In the presentation, the interaction of main and side reactions will be elucidated as processes taking place at the micro-level at electrodes with and without external electrical current flow.

The dependency of main reaction kinetics on micro-structural changes will also be analysed.

Experimental data from electrical transients and dynamic charge-acceptance are interpreted in terms of mathematical models of micro-structures. This approach may define key experiments for the optimization of lead-acid battery performance in PSoC operation.

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17ELBC ABSTRACTS PRESENTATION FOCUS

George Brilmyer and David Mihara from Microporous discuss the role of separator design in boosting battery performance.

Better EFB separator design for partial state of charge cycling Start/Stop automotive systems are being marketed as a simple method to improve fuel economy. What is not generally publicized are the deleterious effects that this type of vehicle operation has on the life and performance of the conventional Pb battery. Therefore an improved battery design has been introduced by the industry known as the Enhanced Flooded Battery.

Through a number of improvements over standard flooded batteries such as compression and modified expander packages, the EFB is designed to better handle partial state of charge operation. Nonetheless,

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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relative to its more expensive cousin, AGM, the EFB battery still has its limitations.

One of these limitations is “acid stratification”. This is the formation of layers of differing acid concentration in the cell as a result of constant undercharging. Though difficult to control and minimize, acid stratification, when uncontrolled will accelerate battery failure.

This paper will describe efforts to utilize the battery separator to mitigate this phenomena through the novel use of scrims and rib designs.

As a battery separator manufacturer, Microporous has studied the effect of separator design on acid stratification when subjected to the EN-50342 Endurance Test at 17.5% depth of discharge test.

Figure 1 shows how the spacing or “pitch” of the ribs of a conventional polyethylene battery separator may (or may not) effect acid stratification in both a static battery or one that is being subjected to a continuous slow (1 Hz) rocking motion (+/- 13 degrees), while cycling with the 17.5% DoD endurance test.

All tests below were done using a flooded SLI battery design. After only 20 test cycles (~24 hours) the 17.5% DoD test typically is found to create approximately “75 points” of acid stratification in the static mode.

Note, that compared to AGM (4mm thick AGM was our benchmark in this flooded battery design), that the separator rib pitch does very little to alter the course of the

acid. Static or Rocking tests show no significant improvement.

In a similar but different set of experiments, we developed a method to quickly compare the effect of different rib designs in the static and rocking test. In Figure 2 are some of our unconventional rib designs that were 3D printed using polypropylene filament on to a flat sheet of polyethylene separator. Surprisingly, the different ribs and unique shapes did very little to affect the stratification of the acid.

We have not found the right combination of rib design and pitch but we did not give up.

Research has since moved on to exploring the effect of scrims and mattes.

In this series of tests shown in Figure 3 we show some impressive results that were obtained using a type of AGM pasting paper (thickness ~0.3mm).

First we determined that when employing AGM pasting paper on a ribbed separator this combination had minimal effect on acid stratification. Then we determined that the best response was found when the AGM scrim was used in conjunction with a non-ribbed sheet of PE separator material.

The effect was dramatic!

Also notice that applying the AGM to both the positive and negative plates were not significantly better than when used only on the positive plate! This was not unexpected because the positive produces 2X the acid of the negative during charging.

In our ELBC conference presentation we plan to present similar data on new and varied combinations of non-ribbed separator sheet in combination with other scrims. Our ultimate intent is to offer the battery manufacturer a hybrid separator product for EFB that produces AGM-like performance, but that can be assembled on conventional SLI separator stacker enveloping equipment.

Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 33

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE I

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS LEAD BATTERIES IN ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS Benchmark of the cycling performance of high purity Pb in a wind farm cycle Travis Hesterberg, Tim Ellis, Pietro Papa Lopez, Timothy Fister (RSR Technologies, Dallas, TX USA)

The lead-acid battery industry suffers from a paucity of comparative data on the influence of trace elements in the lead selected for oxide production. In this study, four grades of high-purity lead were tested against a simple wind farm cycle, namely: LME Grade, SUPERSOFT-ULTRA, electrolytic and zone refined.

The impurity profiles of these materials allow for the investigation of low levels of trace elements on performance. In situ XRD and ICPMS are employed to resolve chemical state and trace element dynamics during charge-discharge, while ex situ imaging methods such as SEM provide images of PbSO4 and how the morphology is influenced by lead purity.

Graphite/Carbon materials used in the lead-carbon battery for energy storage applications Joseph Li, Francois Henry and Carsten Wehling (Superior Graphite, Chicago, IL, USA)

Lead-acid batteries are used for

Travis Hesterberg, RSR Technologies

energy storage in a variety of gridconnected and remote power supply systems. Advancement in the battery technology for industrial applications has not progressed to the same degree as that for automotive service, but over time VRLA batteries have consolidated their position for standby duty.

There are important new opportunities for industrial batteries for utility energy storage in association with renewables and grid services.

These require longer cycle life under conditions that put the battery under greater stress, and improvements in this sector will substantially benefit industrial batteries.

This presentation will discuss the use of graphite/carbon materials in a lead-carbon battery as well as their applications in energy storage.

Assessing UltraBattery strings for state of health using electrochemical techniques Michael Glenn, Lawrence Chan, Ian Wilson, Brian McKean and Scott Donne (Ecoult, Sydney, Australia)

Lead-acid batteries employed to store renewable energy must be usable in a partial state-of-charge (PSoC) to maximise their utility. This practice, however, leads to quasireversible electrolyte precipitation on the negative electrode. Described as

Joseph Li, Superior Graphite

34 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

‘sulfation’, it is the main failure mode.

Hence, assessment of the state-ofsulfation (SoS) is critical to extending the life of battery strings, which are limited by the most heavily sulfated cell.

The SoS can be determined in several ways, namely: teardown analysis, settled open-circuit voltage, capacity testing or measuring the electrolyte density.

These tests do not, however, permit a quick analysis and are either invasive or harmful to the battery.

Alternatively, several studies have demonstrated that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy can assess the SoS in lead acid batteries.

This technique involves measuring an impedance response using an excitation signal which, in turn, is fitted to an equivalent circuit. Step potential electrochemical spectroscopy (SPECS) has also been used to investigate electrolyte precipitation.

The approach involves stepping the potential in small increments and fitting curves to the decaying current to differentiate current contributions; ie, double-layer capacitance and Faradaic processes.

This study employs EIS and SPECS to produce a sulfation metric for UltraBattery strings undergoing a PSoC schedule applicable to service in the field.

The information gained can be used as part of a battery management system to predict battery life and

Michael Glenn, Ecoult

www.batteriesinternational.com

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS LEAD BATTERIES IN ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS advise appropriate action, for example, limit depth-of-discharge, overcharge trigger, or replacement of a sulfated battery.

The design and testing of a hybrid electric boat powered from VRLA batteries Joseph Cilia, Eryl Vella, Neville Azzopardi, Diane Cassar (University of Malta and Abertax Technologies, Malta)

Many European countries are currently placing a greater focus on the use of renewable energy sources (RES) and electric transport, particularly in view of the EU 2020 targets. The increasing uptake of RES needs to be complemented by a greater use of motive battery applications and battery energy-storage systems that will provide significant advantages to grid operators at the different levels of the electrical system.

Small watercraft create both noise

In the interest of environmental protection, a large number of small and medium-size boats can be easily powered by an electric drive. Some boats also have design-integrated solar panels which can support the batteries during daytime.

and air pollution. In the interest of environmental protection, a large number of small and medium-size boats can be easily powered by an electric drive. Some boats also have design-integrated solar panels which can support the batteries during daytime.

One of the concerns — especially in open seas — is the possibility of running out of charge. To address this problem, this presentation reports the integration of a micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP) system that will provide both the charging of the batteries and heating /cooling of the boat cabin.

The hybrid electric system will allow operation of the boat with and without the battery to ensure safety when out to sea. Invariably, these boats are idle for most of the time — especially during the winter season — and therefore the batteries are heavily underutilised and can be easily integrated with the utility grid to augment the decentralised energystorage capacity. An electric-powered catamaran has been built and tested.

A 4kW electric motor is used for propulsion and can be powered from one of the two 200Ah VRLA battery banks installed. These have proved to be sufficient for the required catamaran performance.

Advanced lead battery management for low-TCO stationary storage systems

Traditional energy management leads to roundtrip efficiencies of around 70%, this smart management approach can achieve 80% roundtrip efficiency management, lead-acid batteries can become a very competitive solution to the implementation of high-efficiency storage systems. This presentation will describe innovative energy management to optimize the roundtrip efficiency of lead-acid batteries used for stationary storage.

The approach is based on an intelligent technology for the dynamic characterization of the acceptance and the efficiency characteristics of the battery in both charge and discharge phases to set in real-time the most suitable charge/discharge current to achieve efficiency maximization.

The successful outcome will be proven by results obtained for a commercial 8.9kWh lead-acid energy storage system coupled to a photovoltaic system.

Whereas traditional energy management leads to roundtrip efficiencies of around 70%, the smart management approach can achieve 80% roundtrip efficiency, thus unlocking the full potential of leadacid batteries for the implementation of low-TCO stationary energy.

Francesco Amoroso and Gregorio Cappuccino (CalBatt, Rende, Italy) (tbc)

Joseph Cilia, Abertax

The introduction of stationary energystorage systems is forecast to have a rapid growth in the support of both the diffusion of renewable energy technology and the implementation of ancillary services for distribution grids.

In this scenario, battery chargedischarge efficiency is a key factor to implement storage systems that are characterized by a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and thus viable for end-users and utilities. Lithiumion technology is often considered as the natural choice to increase battery efficiency.

Nevertheless, with intelligent

36 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Francesco Amoroso, CalBatt

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The Battery and Energy Storage

CONFERENCE WATCH MONTHLY The definitive guide to battery energy storage conferences and meetings for the year ahead

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Contact Jade Beevor jade@energystoragejournal.com

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Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020 • 37

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE II A model for oxygen evolution impact on the top-of-charge behaviour of the lead-acid positive electrode Brian McKeon, Michael Glenn and Ian Wilson (Ecoult Energy Storage Solution, Sydney, Australia) and Ralph Fegely (East Penn Manufacturing, Lyons, PA, USA)

Whereas characterisation of the primary reactions of the positive electrode of lead-acid batteries has been extensively studied, the region towards top-of-charge has been neglected as it is significantly complicated by interactions with secondary reactions.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand this region of operation as it is a major factor in the selection of charge current profiles to charge efficiently both positive and negative electrodes and thereby manage cell longevity.

The present study describes a model based on the premise that oxygen evolution causes a restriction of electrolyte pathways to the positive electrode active interface.

The present study describes a model based on the premise that oxygen evolution causes a restriction of electrolyte pathways to the positive electrode active interface.

Brian McKeon, Ecoult

This restriction is proposed to be occurring mainly at the micropore level and leads to an effective decrease in the active electrode area that, in turn, delivers an impact on both the electrochemical reactions and the double-layer capacitance.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) has been used to determine the change in capacitance of the positive electrode during charge.

This feature is seen as a proxy for the change in the effective active area of the electrode. Reference electrode measurements during different charge profiles indicate the contribution of the positive electrode.

A finite element simulation of a VRLA cell is then used to evaluate gas-flow models and comment on the effectiveness of different refresh charge profiles.

New formation connector design and new working practices dramatically reduce costs for lead battery manufacturers Mike McDonagh (Ecotech Energy Solutions Ltd, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom) and Mark Rigby (UK Powertech, Lancashire, United Kingdom)

Current shop-floor practices in formation and standard connector designs for lead-acid batteries can be responsible for battery damage, high

Mike McDonagh, Ecotech Energy Solutions

38 â&#x20AC;˘ Batteries International â&#x20AC;˘ 17ELBC Show Guide â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2020

After a two-year programme that involved detailed chemical analysis of used formation connectors, UK Powertech, Digatron and ESPL have identified a unique corrosion layer on the connector head surface as the cause of high resistance. manufacturing costs and poor battery performance that cost individual factories hundreds of thousands of euros a year.

Recent developments to speed up this process (water-bath cooling and acid circulation) have lowered the time to hours. Because of this, however, charging currents have greatly increased to ensure that sufficient Ah are delivered to the batteries.

This action, combined with highresistant joints of corroded and damaged connectors, not only wastes great quantities of energy, but also damages batteries and increases fire risk.

After a two-year programme that involved detailed chemical analysis of used formation connectors, UK Powertech, Digatron and ESPL have identified a unique corrosion layer on the connector head surface as the cause of high resistance.

Using Digatron formation equipment, ergonomic simulation tests, analytical laboratories and factory trials with major international companies, new formation practices and a new connector design have been developed to eliminate the corrosion problem.

The results from one factory alone, over one year, returned real energy savings of $300,000.

Reduced scrap and less formation time will double this sum. Current factory trials over four international sites show the new connector design and working practices are already giving consistent, substantial cost benefits.

The team are now developing efficient formation algorithms to reduce kWh, heat, water and time losses.

Total estimated savings from current factory trials are $200,000 per million batteries produced.

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BRINGING THE INDUSTRY TOGETHER FOR BETTER BATTERIES The GreenSeal® Alliance is a group of companies with a common objective: to promote and improve lead batteries throughout the world using GreenSeal® Technology.

This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE II Growth mechanisms of nanoto micron-sized lead sulfate particles Michael Wall, Jesse Smith, Matthew Carl, Marcus L Young (University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States) and Travis Hesterberg and Tim Ellis (RSR Technologies, Dallas, TX, United States)

Lead sulfate, a key component in the operation of lead-acid batteries, is a poor conductor that forms on the positive and negative electrodes during discharging and dissolves during charging. Over time, there is a buildup of lead sulfate on the electrodes that reduces the efficiency of the battery.

This study aims to determine the nucleation and growth mechanisms of lead sulfate nanoparticles. The time dependence of particle morphology has been observed using various reaction conditions. The particles were created using premixed solutions at various times of reaction. Ethanol, acetone, methanol, or isopropanol was used to ‘freeze’ the development of the particles.

The structure of the nanoparticles was characterized via transmission

This study aims to determine the nucleation and growth mechanisms of lead sulfate nanoparticles.

Michael Wall, University of North Texas

electron microscopy, high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, and selected area electron diffraction. The results have provided an insight into the mechanism by which lead sulfate forms.

Battery separators — oxidation pathways and thermomechanical properties Richard W Pekala, Robert Waterhouse, Chi La, Kaylee Duchateau, Cory Rogers, Wyatt Self, Eric Hostetler and Weston Wood (Entek International LLC, United States) and Joe Moore and Bartosz Szumielewicz (Entek International, Newcastle-uponTyne, United Kingdom)

Lead-acid battery separators are traditionally manufactured from the extrusion and extraction of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/silica/ oil mixtures to form microporous ribbed sheets. The separator morphology and pore structure are determined by: (i) the phase separation of the oil and polymer during the calendaring process, and (ii)) the capillary forces associated with evaporation of the extraction solvent.

Silica aggregates distributed throughout the separator help to promote wettability of the pore structure and thereby impact electrical (ionic) resistance, but it is the organic matrix, which consists of the UHMWPE poly-

Richard Pekala, ENTEK

40 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

mer and residual oil, that is responsible for oxidation resistance and mechanical properties.

This presentation investigates changes in the amount and composition of the oil when undergoing various chemical and electrochemical oxidation tests to gain a better understanding of how to protect the polymer from chain scission or crosslinking.

Finally, thermomechanical analysis has been used for closer examination of the changes in mechanical properties as a function of the degree of oxidation.

Effect of graphene oxide for the inhibition of sulfation on lead carbon interfaces Shu-Huei Hsieh, Kai-Yi Song (National Formosa University, Huwei Taiwan) and Yi-Ren Tzeng, (Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taiwan)

This presentation reports a low-cost method to form a lead graphene oxide (GO) interface to inhibit the sulfation of lead-acid batteries. The lead-GO interfaces are formed by applying GO solutions on lead surfaces that are predecorated with a layer of lead nitrate.

Scanning electronic images of samples were taken after 400 cycles of electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests. It was found that the size of lead sulfate particles formed on the GO-coated lead plates was in the range of 200nm to 500nm, whereas particles on lead plates were larger, namely, in the range of 2μm to 5μm.

The nanosized lead sulfate particles can be easily reduced to lead metals during the charge-discharge process and thereby endow the battery with high energy efficiency and long cyclelife.

This presentation reports a low-cost method to form a lead graphene oxide (GO) interface to inhibit the sulfation of lead-acid batteries. The leadGO interfaces are formed by applying GO solutions on lead surfaces that are pre-decorated with a layer of lead nitrate. www.batteriesinternational.com

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS ENHANCEMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS Silicon Joule bipolar battery technology and its benefits Esteban Hinojosa and Colin Mui (Gridtential, Santa Clara, CA, USA)

Gridtential Energy has developed an advanced technology that integrates silicon bipolar current-collectors with contemporary AGM cell design to deliver improved energy and power performances.

Through collaboration with its licensed partners, Gridtential has developed a reference design — a drop-in replacement for existing U1-sized battery systems — to deliver high power and high dynamic charge-acceptance for SLI service in start-stop automobiles.

The presentation introduces the Silicon Joule technology platform, specifically its manufacturability, design and performance advantages. There follows information on the characteristics and properties of deep-discharge and thinplate reference designs. Finally, the discussion looks at scalability of the platform to 48V monobloc applications.

Electrochemical behaviour of carbon nanomaterials in the positive plate Francisco Trinidad, Fernando de la Fuente (Exide Technologies, Spain) and Angel Larrea and Alodia Orera (ICMA, Spain)

New nanostructured positive activematerials have been prepared by modifying the microstructure of the positive paste (surface area, particle size, conductivity) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and tetrabasic lead sulfate (4BS) additives.

Electrochemical studies with laboratory cells show that certain metallic impurities coming from the catalyzers may be leached into the sulfuric acid, thereby affecting the hydrogen evolution reaction.

However, CNT particles can be observed in SEM images and Raman spectra, after the curing process, but disappear after plate formation. It is concluded that CNTs (alone or in combination with 4BS) improve formation efficiency as a result of the increased surface area of the active material.

After cycling, the positive activematerial microstructure is found to be unaffected by the additives and the

electrical performance does not exhibit any remarkable difference. In addition, accelerated life tests at high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) cycling cause no detrimental effect on cyclelife for up to more than 1000 cycles.

These results indicate that, even though not being fully stable in the highly oxidizing conditions of the positive plate, CNTs help to create a conductive network in the active material that improves formation efficiency. New nanomaterials able to resist the highly oxidative conditions of the positive plate should be further investigated.

A successful outcome will allow the lead industry to achieve the goals established by the Consortium for Battery Innovation with regards to energy storage systems, namely, to improve performance and cycle-life of industrial batteries under PSoC conditions.

EcoSlag: A green process to recycle slags from secondary lead smelters Almir Trindade and Rodrico Pimenta Giacomini (Antares Recycling, Apucarana, Brazil) and ISI PM — Instituto SENAI de Inovação em Processamento Mineral, Instituto Senai de Tecnologia em Construção Civil

Brazil has the fifth largest lead-acid battery market in the world. This large market raises a major economic and

environmental concern, namely, a lead smelter slag containing heavy metals that is generated in the lead recycling process and then disposed at high cost in controlled industrial landfills.

In early 2016, 12 of Brazil’s largest battery-recycling companies, which recycle 36,000 tonnes per month of scrap, teamed up to find an eco-sustainable solution for slag disposal that would stop the metals from ending up in landfills. Antares, with the Brazilian Federal University of Technology (UTFPR) and the SENAI Innovation Institute (ISI), began a technical study of the recycling and reuse of slag.

The name given to the project was Eco Slag II. The first part of the work involved surveying the process used by battery recyclers and the technical sampling of the generated slag according to international standards.

All the samples were first sent to specialized laboratories for chemical and mineralogical characterization, and then to the UTFPR and ISI for chemical physical tests, with the objective of segregating the slag constituents, for example, iron, lead and others.

After exhaustive testing of the separation of the constituents by means of grinding, gravimetry, magnetism and chemical leaching, a beneficiation route was defined, which met the legal parameters for the use of treated slag as an iron source for producing clinker for cement.

Improving rechargeability through use of organic type, organic dopant and carbon loading Marco Robotti, Maureen Murphy, Stephanie Luken, Gordon Beckley, Martin Ho and Steven Barnes (Hammond Group, Hammond, IN, USA)

Almir Trindade, Antares Recycling

42 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

In recent years, negative electrodes of lead-acid batteries have been increasingly challenged by new operating conditions at different states-of-charge.

Modern battery applications such as energy storage, golf cars, traction and floor cleaners require lead-acid batteries to accept and deliver charge over a wide range of currents and SOCs and consequently the negative active-material has to work harder.

Traditional battery chemistries often fail under such challenging operating

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This is a redacted and reduced version of the complete abstracts which can be found with biographies on the website: 17elbc.ila-lead.org/programme/sessions/

17ELBC ABSTRACTS ENHANCEMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS conditions. Negative expanders introduced in NAM offer several advantages, for example, less formation of a passivating layer of lead sulfate and a higher volume of NAM involved in the electrochemical reactions.

These improvements enable batteries to meet the demands coming from the market. This presentation describes research that focuses on the effect of organic type, carbon loading and organic dopant on the rechargeability of laboratory-built industrial lead-acid cells.

A Taguchi DOE has been used with organic type material as factor 1, carbon loading as factor 2 and dopant presence as factor 3. During the preparation of negative pastes, the ratio between sulfuric acid and lead oxide has been kept constant. The curing conditions of the plates have also remained unchanged.

Five plates cells have been assembled and tested electrically. The rechargeability performances of cells during both partial state-of-charge and deep cycling have been investigated by analysing the amount of recharge observed both in current charging step and the voltage charging step (IE charging). The time for recharge has been limited to 12 hours.

Building better batteries at scale; GreenSeal Technology on the factory floor

side-by-side metrics compared with traditional manufacturing.

Data will show evidence of lower factory labour and capital costs along with quantifiable environment, health and safety benefits that include the avoidance of the cost of worker-related impacts associated with the lead factory of yesterday.

This cost-effective precise manufacturing methodology and the better batteries it produces provides a clear path for the lead battery industry to remain a vital energy storage technology for decades to come.

The presentation closes with details of a commercial-scale production line that has been delivered to customers.

Adaptive charging of lead batteries for maximum efficiency and cycle lifetime Gregorio Cappucino and Francesco Amoroso (CalBatt, Rende, Italy)

Battery-powered forklifts are becoming more and more popular worldwide.

Unfortunately, because of the need for lower total cost of ownership, the industrial mobility sector is driven by the ever-increasing demands by endusers for batteries with higher cyclelife time, greater energy efficiency and faster charging.

Accordingly, the position of leadacid is being threatened by the ag-

gressive arrival of alternative battery technologies.

Although battery manufacturers are devoting considerable effort towards the improvement of lead-acid, charging is still performed using standard methods which are mainly based on a certain sequence of phases with prefixed voltage and current parameters.

This presentation will describe an innovative charging method based on the real-time characterization of battery acceptance and its efficiency for the dynamic setting of charge parameters.

Given its embedded advanced characterization algorithms, the method also takes account of unpredictable variations in the battery performance that arise from its operating parameters, for example, temperature, stateof-charge, charge/discharge history, and rest time.

Real-case results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, namely: (i) increasing charge efficiency by up to 15% compared with standard ‘conventional’ charging, (ii) a significant extension of cycle-life time due to a cell temperature reduction of 3°C-4°C during the entire charging process.

These findings demonstrate the ability of lead-acid to raise both its efficiency and cycle-life to levels that question the justification of employing more expensive alternative battery technologies for lower total cost of ownership.

Michael Everett and David Hartner (Advanced Battery Concepts, Clare, MI, USA)

A new order for manufacturing lead batteries has arrived and, predictably, a better battery comes as part of this new order.

GreenSeal bipolar technology reinvents the manufacturing of lead batteries by bringing order-of-magnitude improvements in every area that plays into cost, reliability or manufacturability of traditional lead batteries.

The precision of GreenSeal battery manufacturing will be examined and proof of how that precision manifests itself into a better performing battery will be shared.

Current-collector fabrication, plate pasting, battery curing and stuffing the case will all be described with

Michael Everett, Advanced Battery Concepts

44 • Batteries International • 17ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2020

Gregorio Cappuccino, CalBatt

www.batteriesinternational.com