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Issue 76 Spring/Summer 2010 Bringing the industry together www.batteriesinternational.com Can this separator outsmart the lithium nail penetration test? The EV conundrum: time to make the numbers stand up Tributes as BCI's Moe Desmarais moves on Molten salt batteries show potential again Optimism unbounded: AABC Orlando review and exhibition special Exide’s Cheeseman: ‘confident we can reinvent lead acid’ Ba eries International Putting the va-va-voom into customer service North American supplier profiles

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Page 1: Batteries International

Issue 76 Spring/Summer 2010

Bringing the industry togetherwww.batteriesinternational.com

Can this separator outsmart the lithium

nail penetration test?

The EV conundrum: time to make the numbers stand up

Tributes as BCI's Moe Desmarais moves on

Molten salt batteries show potential again

Optimism unbounded:AABC Orlando reviewand exhibition special

Exide’s Cheeseman: ‘confident we can reinvent lead acid’

Ba eriesInternational

Putting the va-va-voom into customer service

North American supplier profiles

Page 2: Batteries International

ST

IBY

&S

TIB

Y

www.intertek.com/energy-storage

Email: [email protected]

Europe: +46 8 750 00 00

North America: +1 800 967-5352

Asia Pacific: +86 21 6127-8200

Over 50 years evaluating power sources. Applications ranging from hybrid vehicle to

cellular phone and medical devices.

We can. And our experts can help you identify the difference between a product that performs and one that renders you powerless. Intertek, which now includes world-renown Sagentia Catella, offers industry-leading, independent consulting and testing for batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. We assess more than 20,000 batteries each year, covering all chemistries and sizes. Manufacturers, retailers and application experts benefit from our more than 50 years of experience, including:

Independent battery performance- and safety testing

Assessment and selection of best fit solutions for OEM devices

Reliability, safety and failure analysis

Power performance is such a critical factor in today’s product designs. Don’t leave your brand’s reputation to guesswork.

Can you tell the difference?

Page 3: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 1

CONTENTS

PUTTING THE VA-VA-VOOM INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE 31Batteries International took a sample of leading North American suppliers and asked them for their take on the present business environment. What are the main trends? What changes have most affected their business after the economic downturn? And what are their prospects?

EDITORIAL 2

PETERSENWelcome to our new columnist, John L Petersen, the scourge of lazy thinking about the battery business 6

PEOPLE NEWS 12BCI says fond farewell to Moe Desmarais, Craig becomes new president • McShane joins as EVP for International Battery • Axion Power adds Trego as CFO, Baker as CEO, Shindle as VP • Bolch takes over from Ulsh, O’Leary as Exide chief exec and president • PowerGenix hires Xu Gang

NEWS 17FIAMM joins forces with MES-DEA in ringing endorsement of SMC • Sodium metal halide to fore as GE releases Durathon battery • HOMER Energy releases design software • Corvus in NMC lithium tug boat venture • Nexeon signs material evaluation agreement • e-Spark arrival delayed • New US rules on SLABs • Additional production lines for China Ritar as it moves into testing mode • Bidding war comes close to end as Chloride accepts ABB price • New lead recovery technology to shift from smelting to chemical extraction • Axion to provide new BMS for train sets • Exide expands in Brazil, ups UK brand presence • Johnson expands in China, GM to roll out new EVs • Asia UPS sales surge in first quarter • NYSERDA, where the hot technologies are

26Groundbreaking Li-ion separator set for market • Abertax releases another version of GRS VRLA valve • Battery chargers for agricultural use • Dual input, dual output battery charge controller • Trojan updates deep cycle renewable range of RE series • Exide launches industrial VRLA high frequency charger

PROFILE: PAUL CHEESEMAN 40How advanced is advanced lead acid? And why is one of the largest battery manufacturers devoting resources to reinventing the humble lead acid battery. Batteries International meets Exide’s top technologist

WEIBULL ANALYSIS 30Knowing the approximate life characteristics of a number of battery technologies based on Weibull statistics can be a useful predictive tool.

CONFERENCE IN PRINT 47Profile: Abertax and finding the perfect design mix Better engineering and better engineering management offer a way ahead for battery industry suppliers. Batteries International visited Abertax’s headquarters in Malta.

Optimism unboundedThe great and the good (and some of the others) of the battery and electric vehicle world descended on the 10th International Advanced Automotive Battery and EC Capacitor Conference in Orlando, Florida in mid-May. The conference was packed. The mood upbeat.The conclusions debatable

Spray drying by rotary atomization of lithium ion battery materials

UNSUNG HEROES 61Jungner and the unchangeable electrolyteBy the time the inventor of the nickel cadmium battery, Waldmar Jungner, died aged 55 he had provoked a complete rethink of many of the ways we look at battery chemistry.

Publisher: Don Cleary, [email protected], +44 (0) 1580 712 323Editor: Michael Halls, [email protected], +44 (0) 1798 839 338Advertising manager Americas: Bob Schacht, [email protected] +1 314 324 7494Americas editor: Lynnda Greene, [email protected], +1 314 727-3893Subscriptions manager: Paula Mills, [email protected] +44 (0) 1403 741 844Assistant editor: Philip Moorcroft Staff reporters: Michael BowProduction/design: Antony Parselle, [email protected] advertising representation: [email protected] contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No unauthorised translation orreproduction is permitted. ISSN 1462-6322 (c) 2010 Mustard Seed Publishing,UK company no: 5976361. Printed in the UK via ThisismethodUK

Reasons to be anxious: the next resource crisis of the 21st century 2

Petersen: Electric vehicles and the fixed cost conundrum 6

All change at the top at Exide as Bolch takes over from Ulsh, O’Leary 15

Ground-breaking lithium battery separator moves to manufacturing 26

Jungner: was there better EV chemistry in 1900 than in 2010? 61

Paul Cheeseman: the next new master of new lead acid technologies 40

NEW PRODUCT NEWS

Volume Energy Density – kWh / m3

Wei

ght E

nerg

y De

nsity

– k

Wh

/ ton

1010

30

100

300

1000

30 100 300 1000

Output Energy Density(Input Energy ensity x Efficiency

Metal-AirBatteries

(Not rechargeable electricity)

Li-ionNaS Battery

Ni-Cd

Lead-AcidBatteriesFlow

Batteries

E.C. Capacitors

Fly Wheels Zinc-Air RechargeableSmaller

Ligh

ter

SoNickcomplete battery

Page 4: Batteries International

2 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

EDITORIAL

The next resource crisis of the 21st century“There’s oil in the Middle East — but there are rare earths in China. We must take full advantage of this resource.”

An odd phrase at first sight, especially given its origins.

It was penned in 1992 by Deng Xiaoping the then-Chinese leader — a visionary, who helped take China from a peasant society to an industrial superpower in a generation.

Deng’s point is a simple one when expanded.

The world’s traditional energy supplies of oil come from the Middle East, a region that has dominated the global economy since the 1970s. Where the price of oil goes — here read the cost of energy — so does the health and wealth of nations.

And when alternative, more expensive to extract, sources of oil become affordable — think the bitumen sands of Alberta that give Canada the second largest reserves of oil in the world — these same producers have tried their hardest to stop their oil coming to the petrol pump.

Feast to famineThe easiest way has been to flood the market with cheap oil. The oil price tanks. The multi-billion dollar cost of developing such reserves becomes uneconomical again. Oil firms pull away. The primacy of those in control is preserved.

Deng — who died in 1997 well before he could see the truth of his forecast — understood that the future world economy was moving on from raw materials. Old sources of energy would need to be replaced by

newer ones. Technology was on the march.

And so to now. Rare earth elements with names that sound like laxatives — Neodymium, Dysprosium, Lanthanum, Yttrium or Europium, for instance — are about to prove desperately important in the way that the future energy and electronic economy of the world will function.

Questions over the availability of lithium are mere distractions in comparison.

Next generation motorsThe most important of these rare earths is probably the metal Neodymium. Neodymium is essential for so-called “permanent magnets” — the top of the range magnets that are used in generating electricity by wind turbines or running electric motors.

Without decent electric motors, it doesn’t matter what battery chemistry is being used, the world’s future shift to electric vehicles or hybrids will be handicapped.

Some of our dependence on these rare earths is new to us all.

Others isn’t. The battery industry has known for years that progress using NiMH chemistry was seriously constrained by the availability of the rare earth metal Lanthanum. The first generation Prius car for example needed 12kg of Lanthanum per battery. Talk is that the latest Prius models will need twice that.

The trouble is the only current producer of Lanthanum is China. And that’s pretty much the case for Neodymium, Dysprosium, Yttrium, Europium

One general rule of publishing is don’t blow your own trumpet. Or not too loudly anway! And we’d heartily agree with that.

But all rules are there to be broken.

For us, the exception is the re-launch of BIG 2010, our Battery Industry Guide whose second edi-

tion will shortly be out. It contains a complete listing of the great, the good (and the rest of us) in the energy storage industry.

For us this is very much a work in progress. So each issue — we provide two a year — should get

better as time goes by and we receive corrections and amendments to the directory. So if you find your company information is not as accurate as should be, let us know.

We sincerely want this to be useful to our readers and we’ve priced it accordingly. Unlike the general directory trend of charging hundreds of dollars —we can’t see how such inflated prices can help anyone (apart from the publishers) — we’re charg-ing just $25 plus p&p — a trivial amount that can be taken out of petty cash!.

Subscribers to Batteries International, of course, get this free. To everyone else email: [email protected]

BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL GUIDE 2010

Everything Batteries In

One Easy Reference Guide

Ba eriesInternational

2010 DIRECTORY

• FULL DIRECTORY LISTINGS

• LISTINGS BY SECTOR

• TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

• INDUSTRY REVIEWS

• NEWS ROUND-UP

Published twice yearly

$25, £20, €20

www.batteriesinternational.com

Issue 6 • January 2010

BIGThe BIG Batteries Industry Guide

Page 5: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Winter 2010 3

EDITORIAL

and the other unspellables.

That situation is relatively new. Go back a generation and the US mined half of the world’s rare earths. By 2002 this had slumped to zero as its last specialist miner shut its doors.

Adding to the problem is the fact while there are some mines that do produce rare earth ores and oxides, China is the only country on earth where these can be refined into rare earth metals. All roads lead to China here. Or put it another way, all production lines flow through (and are controlled) by China.

If you’re of a cynical or suspicious disposition one wonders if the western world might be about to suffer from a new style variant of the Alberta oil sands scam.

Because just before the US found it uneconomical to mine rare earths a glut of them had flooded the market, rendering their diggings uneconomic.

And the origin of the rare earths? China.

Since then the price has been heading up.

China recently slapped an export tax on rare earth exports. The country is now warning that it might need all its rare earths for itself in the future.

But that’s not all. China has set its sights on green energy manufacturing. It can use its near-monopoly on rare earths to require foreign companies seeking access to them to locate their factories in China. And, of course, it can build and operate these factories themselves.

It’s far-fetched to think China plans to hold the world to ransom over these metals. But it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to reason that China will want to insist that its own needs for electric vehicles or wind turbines should take precedence over the rest of the planet. They have the history of the US as an example/

In effect, Chinese factories could become the manufacturing centre for the energy storage infrastructure and vehicles for the future.

China, as per their next five year plan, plans to do two things — promote its own resources to benefit its own citizens rather than push everything towards export markets. It is also keen to make its own use of its

resources more environmentally friendly. Something, to date, it’s not been good at and which has made its citizens angry. China’s move to renewable energy, for example, will almost certainly be placed ahead of foreigners.

But even if there is no reason to assume that China is planning to hold the earth to ransom, the fact that it can do so has to be a major concern for large swathes of the batteries industry.

Finding a strategyIf a car manufacturer such as Toyota has to worry — and there are reports that it has been deeply concerned by this — about resourcing the basic chemicals operating in the next generation of electric vehicles then we have another complicating factor as we struggle to a new and better world of energy storage.

Time is running out. At some point in the next two to five years Chinese domestic rare earth demand will surpass supply. The fan could be well and truly hit.

We need to deal with this intelligently without anti-China barrel-thumping or whining and whinging à la Michigan manufacturers. To misquote US president Barack Obama on another issue — this is the time we should match strategy to resources and not put the resource question before the one of strategy.

Mike Halls, [email protected]

Page 6: Batteries International
Page 7: Batteries International
Page 8: Batteries International

6 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

PETERSEN

John Petersen says it’s time to critically examine the economics of electric vehicles and consider how cheaper disruptive technologies — a classic consequence of rapid technological change — could change the landscape.

I’m an unrepentant EV critic because HEVs are more efficient users of bat-teries, save five to six times more fuel per kWh of battery capacity than EVs and have lower CO2 emissions than EVs plugged into a coal-fired grid.

More importantly, nobody has built a decent sized fleet of EVs, put them into the hands of normal people and run them for several years to find out how they’ll perform in the real world.

When I look at the broader picture, I can’t classify EVs as more than an experiment that will treat buyers like lab rats — and make them pay for the privilege.

While there are plenty of reasons to criticize EVs, my biggest problems arise from the trade-off between fixed and variable costs.

In a conventional car with an inter-nal combustion engine, the fixed cost of the fuel tank is low and the variable cost of fuel is high. In EVs the dynamic is reversed. The fixed cost of the bat-tery pack is high and the variable cost of electricity is low.

At current US gasoline prices of $3 a gallon, a car that gets 25 mpg has a fuel cost of $0.12 per mile. At current EU prices of $6 a gallon, the fuel cost

is $0.24 per mile. The numbers will move up and down with fuel prices, but they won’t change because of a buyer's driving habits.

In an EV, the cost calculation is more complicated because there is a fixed cost for the battery and a variable cost for the electricity. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Nissan’s cost of making a 100-mile battery pack for the Leaf is about $18,000. When you add Nissan’s normal 25% gross profit, the cost at the end user level is $24,000, or $1,000 per kWh.

AssumptionsUsing some charitable assumptions including a 10-year battery life, no loss of capacity over time, no cycle-life limitations and a $4,000 end of life value, straight-line depreciation on the battery pack is $2,000 a year, which means:

• For a cabbie who drives 50,000 miles a year, the fixed cost is $0.04 per mile;

• For a route salesman who drives 25,000 miles a year, the fixed cost is $0.08 per mile;

• For an average Joe who drives

12,500 miles a year, the fixed cost is $0.16 per mile; and

• For an urbanite who drives 6,250 miles a year, the fixed cost is $0.32 per mile.

To calculate total cost of ownership, we need to add $0.03 per mile for the cost of electricity in the US and $0.04 per mile for the cost of electricity in the EU. The graph compares the effec-tive cost per mile of ICE vehicles and EVs in the US and the EU based on miles driven per year.

While many assume future electricity prices will remain stable, I think that assumption is deeply flawed because the cost of carbon taxes and capital investments in renewable energy and the smart grid must ultimately be paid by consumers. The rate of change in electricity prices may be slower than the rate of change in oil prices, but it will still be substantial under every reasonable scenario.

A more frightening unknown is serv-ice life.

Batteries are easily damaged by misuse and they degrade over time whether they’re used or not. Human beings are not as predictable as com-puter test racks. Most of us don’t read owner’s manuals from cover to cover and even if we do we rarely follow instructions because the temptation to push the limits "just this once" is just too strong to resist.

Since it doesn’t take many excep-tions to cause a lot of battery damage, I’d give long odds that lithium-ion battery packs will not last 10 years in an automobile.

Second life value is anybody’s guess. I don’t expect rapid advances in

battery technology, but even improve-ments of 5% a year would reduce the cost of new battery pack to $14,500 by 2020. Since new batteries in 2020 will presumably offer better perform-

EVs and the fixed cost conundrum

All-in Cost Per Mile Driven

$0.40

6,250 12,500 18,750

Miles Driven per Year

– US ICE

– US EV

– EU ICE

– EU EV

25,000 31,250 37,500

$0.35

$0.30

$0.25

$0.20

$0.15

$0.10

$0.05

$0.00

Cost

per

Mile

Page 9: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 7

PETERSEN

ance, it seems unlikely that a future buyer would pay more than scrap value for a used pack based on 2010 technology that has lost 20% or 30% of its capacity.

The bottom line is that EVs are only economical when you buy no more battery than you need and you use the battery pack heavily.

That leads to a life and death struggle between range anxiety and affordability. When you factor in the other uncertainties, I have to believe that plans to electrify passenger cars are doomed until a better answer emerges.

Disruptive technologiesDespite the challenges facing EVs and lithium-ion batteries, the mainstream media seems convinced that the new-wonder-batteries will make all other batteries obsolete and store energy for everything from iPads to windmills. It makes for a great story, but it won’t happen in our lifetimes.

Most of us are familiar with the con-cept of disruptive technologies, a term coined by Clayton M Christensen to describe simple, low-cost technologies that displace established technologies as they mature.

According to Dr Christensen, dis-ruptive technologies often lack refine-ment and have performance problems because they’re new, appeal to an underserved market, and may not yet have a proven application; but their low cost creates new markets that induce network effects and pro-vide an incentive to enhance them to match or even surpass the prevailing technology.

The following graph illustrates the phenomenon.

Reduced to basics, the public believes the battery industry can take tech-nologies that were developed for the most demanding uses and make them cheap enough for low quality uses that require huge amounts of storage.

The belief flies in the face of time-proven realities that technological advances always lead to new appli-cations the developers never con-

templated and that modest users of quality products are the fiercest price competitors.

The table at the top of the page is a simple hierarchy of possible lithium-ion battery applications from the high-est value per watt-hour to the lowest value per watt-hour.

I see a bright future for lithium-ion batteries in high value applications that need modest battery capacity, but think it’s naive to suggest that they’ll become a dominant technology for EVs and stationary applications that are incredibly price sensitive.

Every reasonable battery producer will sell its products to the custom-ers that offer the highest margins. With rapidly growing markets for high value uses, nothing but surplus and seconds will be left for use in plug-in vehicles and utility applica-tions.

Current developmentsR&D spending on lead-acid bat-teries was curtailed in the mid-70s after VRLA batteries were brought to market. While lead-acid research was being curtailed, the emergence of portable electronics led to rapid and sustained growth of R&D spending on advanced batteries, and a host of new materials.

The dynamic didn’t change until recently, when new large-scale energy storage needs gave researchers reason to go back and investigate the impact of new manufacturing methods and materials on old-line chemistries.

Once the work got started, the result was almost magical.

A key development in the lead-acid world was Axion Power's PbC battery, an asymmetric lead-carbon capacitor that was discussed at length in a recent report from the US Naval Research Laboratory which concluded that the PbC and similar electrochemical capaci-tors have the inherent potential to:

• deliver higher energy densities than supercapacitors and faster charge-discharge response than batteries;

• offer longer cycle life and lower maintenance;

• significantly reduce the weight and volume of power systems;

• facilitate deployment of hybrid-elec-tric military vehicles; and

• facilitate regenerative power systems for cranes and other applications.

At last month’s Advanced Automo-tive Battery Conference in Orlando Axion unveiled graphs (see top of next page) that compare the dynamic charge acceptance of the PbC battery with conventional VRLA.

Equally important research has been progressing at companies like General Electric, which is developing a molten salt battery for use in hybrid locomo-tives and stationary applications, and Italy’s FIAMM, which joined forces with Switzerland’s MES-DEA to speed commercialization of the Zebra bat-tery through a newly formed company named FZ Sonick.

Over the next year FZ Sonick plans to triple production capacity

Competitive users for advanced batteries

Device type Battery capacity

Cellphones and MP3 players 5 watt-hours

Portable medical devices 10 to 50 watt-hours

Laptop computers 10 to 50 watt-hours

Electric bicycles and scooters 500 to 1,000 watt-hours

Hybrid electric vehicles 1,000 to 1,500 watt-hours

Uninterruptible power systems 2,000 to 8,000 watt-hours

Plug-in hybrid vehicles 10,000 to 16,000 watt-hours

Pure electric vehicles 24,000 to 50,000 watt-hours

Utility applications 500,000+ watt-hours

I see a bright future for lithium-ion batteries in high value applications that need modest battery capacity, but think it’s naive to suggest that they’ll become a dominant technology for EVs and stationary applications that are incredibly price sensitive.

Most demanding use

High quality use

Medium quality use

Low quality use

Disrup

tive tec

hnolo

gy

Perf

orm

ance

Time

Page 10: Batteries International

BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL 2010 BUYERS GUIDE AND DIRECTORY January and June issuesPayment, please send $50. Both issues to be paid for in advance. We accept all debit and visa cards — Cirrus, Maestro Visa and Mastercard.

We will need the following details (I can call by arrangement to collect this if you prefer): Card number:Start date Expiry date Debit card issue numberName of cardholder Number on back of card (CVV)Cardholder name Signature Cardholder address: NB, not the firm’s address but where the credit card bills go to (FOR SECURITY — we enter the house no and postcode into the system as part of the confirmation process)

The internet may be a wonderful tool, on that we all agree, but our previous on-the-desk and comprehensive International Battery Guide is by far the most convenient way to access directory information.

B.I.G. Batteries International Guide 2010 (January Issue), is now available. Place your order now — see below.

B.I.G. Batteries International Guide 2010 (June Issue), available end-June.

The thought of people searching through pages of battery supplier information had our advertisers responding to the prospect of a decent opportunity to get their message across in one easy reference. The end result is an-above expectations successful re-launch for our B.I.G. Guide and directory.

Moreover we intend to provide added value by promoting the guide beyond the battery industry and are looking at distributing it to areas that commission battery systems — in transport, government, IT, agriculture, shipping, and the like.

We will achieve this distribution by slashing the cover price to $25 (covering just print and postage), making it an easy, out-of-petty-cash purchase decision.

If paying by bank transfer payments in sterling:Batteries InternationalNational Westminster Direct Business BankingAccount No: 18470505Sort Code: 60-24-77

If paying by bank transfer payments in euros:Euro IBAN: GB93 NWBK 6072 2020 5259 23Euro IBAN BIC: NWBK GB 2L

If paying by bank transfer payments in dollars:US$ IBAN GB71 NWBK 6073 0120 5259 66US$ IBAN BIC: NWBK GB 2L

Everything Batteries In One Easy Reference Guide

Ba eriesInternational2010 DIRECTORY Published twice yearly$25, £20, 20www.batteriesinternational.com

BIGThe BIG Batteries Industry Guide

Now the B.I.G. Guide is back. It will be published every six months to ensure regular up-dates and detail the latest news and developments as well as further buying information.

Page 11: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 9

PETERSEN

to 300MWh and offer high energy systems at prices that are competitive with lithium-ion.

Given MES-DEA’s 12-year operating history that has put thousands of elec-tric cars, trucks and buses on the road and subjected them to rigorous testing in challenging conditions throughout Europe, I expect FZ Sonick to become a strong competitor in the energy stor-age sector.

The graph at the bottom of the page shows where electrochemical capaci-tors and sodium batteries fall in the hierarchy of output energy densities. Both will improve with time, but molten salt could improve to a point where it eclipses metal-air for the energy density crown.

The PbC is basically a power tech-nology that is best suited to repetitive charge discharge cycling, like you find in automotive stop-start systems. In comparison, molten salt batteries are best suited to storing large amounts of energy.

My cloudy crystal ballThe key features that PbC and molten salt batteries have in common are that neither is a silver bullet, both are old-line chemistries that use cheap and plentiful raw materials, both can be easily recycled in existing facilities and both can be dramatically improved by using new manufacturing methods and materials.

Those common features leave both technologies in a position where they have substantial disruptive poten-tial because there is ample room for improved performance and reduced cost without reinventing the wheel.

In a July 2008 report for its Solar

Energy Grid Integration Program, San-dia National Laboratories predicted that the cost of asymmetric lead-car-bon capacitors like the PbC would fall by at least 50% over the next decade and the cost of molten salt batteries would fall by almost 80%.

The price declines won’t come from fundamental changes in battery chem-istry.

Instead they’ll come from the normal learning process that occurs whenever a new technology is introduced to the market and improved by profit-motivated manufacturers.

I have no doubt that lithium-ion chemistry will continue to advance and that lithium batteries will be the technology of choice when size and weight are critical, and price is not a priority. But I can’t buy the sugestion that they’ll defy economic gravity and supplant cheaper technologies like the PbC, which is better suited to low value power applications, and molten salt, which is better suited to low value energy applications.

Every industrial revolution in his-tory has sprouted from innovation that delivered more economic value at a lower economic cost. Government intervention to force suboptimal eco-nomic solutions has invariably failed.

Mark Twain taught us that history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme. It is never wise to ignore the lessons of history. ■

Dynamic charge acceptance graphs

Mark Twain taught us that history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme. It is never wise to ignore the lessons of history.

John L Petersen, is a US lawyer

based in Switzerland who works

as a partner in the law firm of Fefer

Petersen & Cie and represents

North American, European and

Asian clients, principally in the

energy and alternative energy sec-

tors. More of his thoughts can be

found on http://seekingalpha.com

20 20

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0

1101009080706050403020100

1101009080706050403020100

0 02000 20004000 40006000 6000Vo

ltage

(V)

Volta

ge (V

)

Standard Lead-Acid Battery (LAB)Dynamic HEV Cycling @ 80% SOC, PDRV Setpoint=12.60V, Channel 7/8C

Axion PbC® Hybrid Battery/SupercapacitorDynamic HEV Cycling @ 80% SOC, PDRV Setpoint=10.00V, Channel 1/2C

Cycle Number

Volume Energy Density – kWh / m3

Wei

ght E

nerg

y De

nsity

– k

Wh

/ ton

1010

30

100

300

1000

30 100 300 1000

Cycle Number

Char

ge T

ime

(s) a

nd C

urre

nt (A

)

Char

ge T

ime

(s) a

nd C

urre

nt (A

)

Charge TimeTOC CurrentTOCVPCRVPDRVEODV

Charge TimeTOC CurrentTOCVPCRVPDRVEODV

Output Energy Density(Input Energy ensity x Efficiency

Metal-AirBatteries

(Not rechargeable electricity)

Li-ionNaS Battery

Ni-Cd

Lead-AcidBatteriesFlow

Batteries

E.C. Capacitors

Fly Wheels Zinc-Air RechargeableSmaller

Ligh

ter

SoNickcomplete battery

Page 12: Batteries International

• Self-contained and independent modules - to be supplied only with concentrated acid, water, compressed air, electric power

• Production capacity grows step-by-step with the customers’ requirements

• Controlled conditions guarantee a repeatable and consistent quality of the formed battery

• High productivity: Short formation times and concentrated production

• Reliable and proven technology with more than 100 formation systems in operation worldwide

Page 13: Batteries International

• Battery / cell type Traction, Stationary

• Module capacity 320 cells per cycle Up to 100000 cells p.a.

• Formation time Down to 15 hours

• Length of module 8.0 m

• Width of module 2.0 m

• Height of module 5.0m

• Required energy per cell 30 W

• Sulphuric acid exhaust less 1 mg per m3

• Modules in operation > 100 worldwide

• Module includes acid mixing / preparation / storage

• Module includes acid cooling and cleaning

• Module includes exhaust fan / exhaust cleaning

• No electrical powered chiller required

• No excess acid with this process!

• Battery type Truck A, B, C / Gel bloc

• Module capacity 120 batteries per cycle Up to 120000 batt. p.a.

• Formation time Down to 8 hours (C-type) Down to 6 hours (B-type)

• Length of module 12.0 m

• Width of module 2.2 m

• Height of module 0.9m (conveyor)

• Required energy per battery 125 W

• Sulphuric acid exhaust less 1 mg per m3

• Modules in operation > 20 worldwide

• Module includes acid mixing / preparation / storage

• Module includes acid cooling and cleaning

• Module includes exhaust fan / exhaust cleaning

• No electrical powered chiller required

• No excess acid with this process!

Page 14: Batteries International

12 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

PEOPLE NEWS

It’s the end of an era. Moe Desmarais, executive vice president at the Battery Council International — and the face of the organi-zation for a decade — has stepped down.

“I’ve enjoyed my time working for the BCI,” says Moe. “It’s been a privilege working with so many in the industry but the relent-less travel — including the commuting to downturn Chicago — has proved too much for me. You can only enjoy life on the road for so long. In my new job I’ll be more based from home and it’ll be good to spend more time with my family.”

Moe’s swansong was prob-

ably organizing the BCI’s last conference in May in Austin, Texas which was widely acclaimed as being the best yet.

Moe started working for the BCI in 2000 under the

auspices of Smith Bucklin, a management company that looks after the interests of associations such as the BCI. Under Moe’s watch the number of lead acid

manufacturers has stead-ily climbed from just over 150, when he started to 235 nowadays.

Hal Hawk, who served as president of the board from 2007 through 2008, and

has known him for more than a decade said: “By the time I took over we had a pretty sizeable contingency of lead acid battery mak-ers,” he says, “but Moe,

quarterbacking the Smith Bucklin staff, did a formi-dable job of assisting me during my two years as BCI president.

“Through it all, Moe was absolutely crucial to keep-ing everybody right-sided and focused on moving for-ward,” he says.

“It was his idea to initiate a relationship with China, and we went there twice to speak on lead acid bat-tery issues. We did a lot of lobbying together on vari-ous issues demanding sup-port, and he really helped me, as membership chair, to increase our membership numbers, which, I’m happy to say, we’ve kept through tough times since.”

Don Langdon, retiring chairman of the BCI board for the last two years, is similarly enthusiastic about Moe. “He guided the organization through a period of tremendous change. Consolidation, regulation, and of course the financial downturn, and

It’s all change at Battery Council International, the lead battery association. However, the bi-annual changes made at board level have been eclipsed by the departure of the much-loved Moe Desmarais.

BCI says fond farewell to Moe

It was uncanny,” said a colleague. “One moment you’d be walking next to Moe, the ground would be

flat — not a molehill or banana skin in sight — the next he’d be flat on his back, he’d be rushed to hospital and come back in a cast. It was a feature of regular life at the BCI office.

“It happened so often we called it the Curse of Moe.”

Some even believed Moe was an undercover activist for shareholders in plaster of Paris companies.

It started innocently enough a few years back. One sunny afternoon Moe was strolling down Michigan Avenue, the next he’d broken his knee and was in a cast for weeks.

Perhaps it was the sun in his eyes that caused the fall?

An unlikely story. Just months later on a rainy day, he gets on a bus. The next thing the same knee — Moe always had favourites in these things — is broken and he

remains in a cast for weeks. The more kindly in the office said

it was a knee thing. His long-time assistant Ann Noll knew better, cashing in her investments to buy Gypsum futures.

In any event Moe soon set them straight.

Summer sunshine. Gentle breezes and blue, blue sea over Cape Cod. What could possibly go wrong?

No need to say the rest. This time it’s the arm that receives the plaster of Paris.

“I think his insurance finally cut him off for all those therapy ses-sions he was required to take,” said a close colleague.

“The good news is that he’s been unhurt for the last year or so — maybe the curse has worn off. Any-how, we all wish him the best for his new job.” ■

THE CURSE OF MOE — BEWARE LEVEL GROUND AHEAD!

“Through it all, Moe was absolutely crucial to keeping everybody right-sided and focused on moving forward”

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PEOPLE NEWS

all the pressures that put on all organizations. Moe was just great, just terrific for our organization, very professional — amiable and unflappable, no matter what the pressure.

“I will miss him person-ally as a friend, and the organization will definitely miss his genial presence and leadership.”

Desmarais’s considerable people-skills, says Hawk, were largely responsible for carrying the organization so successfully through a dec-ade of profound changes, including the rise of Asia, the proliferation of electronic technology and media and communication, and the globalization of markets, workforces and risks result-ing economic upheaval.

Though he would prob-ably blush to hear him-self described as a gifted networker, the modest Desmarais expanded the council through the addi-tions of two significant industry organizations: the Energy Battery Group in 2007, and the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries in 2009.

Both have helped the lead acid industry claim a right-ful place in the growing pan-theon of nominally green and clean energy sources.

Succeeding Desmarais is Jim Kendzel who has over 20 years’ experience work-ing for associations such as the BCI.

Kendzel says he is aware of the very large shoes he must fill, but he’s eager to continue Desmarais’ legacy in matters of both growth and image. A top priority, he says, will be expanding The Facts About Lead—The Energy Solution, the promotional programme Desmarais helped launch earlier this year.

“Moe is a tremendous tal-ent in both the industry and association management,” he says. “He understood that one of our greatest challenges is to find new ways to reframe lead acid’s profile to both the industry

and the public as a bat-tery that is safe, recyclable, reliable and efficient — all attributes too few realize in an increasingly fragmented mediascape.”

Desmarais’ contributions to the Council and lead acid, however — expanding its membership, supporting research and development, building relationships across

markets, nations and even cultures, and of course, pre-siding over informative con-ferences that facilitate good business for members — in the midst of warp-speed change, speaks volumes not only about his devotion to the field, but his immense personal skills.

“He will be sorely missed, I can tell you,” says Hawk.

“He made the council what it is, and he made us look fantastic.”

“I loved his patience, and of course his unwavering commitment to lead acid. He was always willing to help, he would do anything to con-nect people. A kind, kind man!,” says Laura Schacht, sales director at Bitrode Corporation. ■

And of course there have been major changes at board level at Battery Coun-cil International.

John Craig, (above) chairman, presi-dent and chief executive of EnerSys has been appointed the next president of the BCI board of directors. His predecessor Dan Langdon, chief executive at East Penn, steps down after two successful years in the job.

Under BCI rules, new presidents are elected annually but in practice their re-appointment after their first year of office is rubberstamped. They typically stand down at the end of the second year.

Craig has been the chairman, presi-dent and CEO of EnerSys since 2000. From 1998 to October 2000, he was president and chief operating officer of Yuasa the predecessor company to EnerSys. He joined Yuasa in 1994. He is recognised as a man with extensive knowledge of the lead acid battery industry and the battery industry as a whole.

EnerSys is a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applica-tions with sales and service locations throughout the world.

Craig has served on the BCI board of directors since 2001.

Alex Molinaroli, president, Power Solu-tions, Johnson Controls, was elected as vice-president of the BCI board of direc-tors. Molinaroli was elected a corporate officer of Johnson Controls in May 2004 and has been president of the Power Solutions business unit since January 2007.

Johnson Controls is a global provider of lead-acid, hybrid and electric batteries for vehicles, supplying energy storage solutions to major automakers, aftermar-ket retailers and distributors worldwide.

Molinaroli was previously vice presi-dent and general manager for the North American Systems Building Efficiency business and joined Johnson Controls in 1983. Molinaroli has served on the BCI board of directors since 2007.

Jeffrey Graves, president and chief executive of C&D Technologies has been elected treasurer of the BCI board of directors. Graves has been a director of C&D Technologies and its head since July 2005.

Before this he was the chief execu-tive of Kemet Electronics Corporation, a manufacturer of high-performance capacitor solutions.

C&D Technologies is a technology company that produces and markets systems for the power conversion and storage of electrical power, including industrial batteries and electronics. Dr. Graves has served on the BCI board since 2006.

Jim Kendzel, was chosen as the exec-utive vice president of the BCI, replac-ing Moe Desmarais. The executive vice president serves as the lead staff person reporting to the BCI board of directors.

Kendzel comes to BCI with over 20 years of working at a senior level for associations and other not-for-profit organizations. His career includes expe-rience in the development of national and international products and system standards related to public health and safety as well as extensive knowledge in quality system development and product testing. ■

BCI LEADERSHIP — THOSE CHANGES AT THE TOP

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14 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

PEOPLE

Three senior executives started at the beginning of April at Axion Power, a US developer of advanced lead-carbon batteries.

Charles Trego, 59, became the new chief finan-cial officer; Philip Baker, 62, becomes chief operat-ing officer, a new posi-tion; and Jack Shindle, 40, became vice president for engineering. All appoint-ments will be effective as of April 1st.

Trego most recently was an executive vice president and chief financial officer of Minrad International, an Amex-listed pharma-ceutical and medical device company. Minrad was acquired by India’s Piramal Healthcare in early 2009, and Trego was an inte-gral part of the acquisition strategy and managed the bridge financing through the transition.

From 2005 to 2008, he was chief financial officer of Hardinge Inc, a Nasdaq-listed global machine tool company. From 2003 to 2005 he was chief finan-cial officer and treasurer of Latham International, a privately held manu-

facturer and marketer of swimming pool compo-nents. He started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Whinney.

As an indication of where the firm expects to grow in the coming years, Axion said: “Trego is experienced in M&A activities, sup-ply chain processes, infor-mation systems, business partnering, team building, capital markets and risk management, as well as financial management best practices.:

Baker comes from Trojan Battery Company where he worked from 1997 to 2009. From 2006 to 2009 he was senior vice presi-dent and general manager of a new battery facility for which he led all the phases of development and operations in.

Axion said: “Baker guided the lead-acid battery plant from negotiations and per-mitting forward, and is considered to be an expert in quality control and doc-umentation, productivity and the maximization of uptime, automation and the management of envi-ronmental issues.”

Between 2001 and 2005 he worked at the Trojan plant in Georgia as sen-ior vice president and general manager, where introduced Kaizen events and Six-Sigma tools and improved productive out-put by 20% in critical bot-tleneck areas.

Before Trojan he worked at Glen-Gery Corporation, a manufacturer of build-ing materials where 700 employees reported upstream to him. He began his career at the Houston Brick & Tile Company.

Shindle joins from CTP-Hydrogen Corp, which was developing a hydro-gen generator for fuel cells. He worked as opera-tions and ceramic manager from mid-2005 until 2009 when he joined Axion as a consultant.

From 2001 to 2005 he worked at CellTechPower where he directly super-vised a team of scientists, engineers, technicians and operators in the develop-ment of a liquid metal anode solid oxide fuel cell. Before that he was a senior manufacturing engineer Saint-Gobain Industrial

Ceramics Company from 1993 to 2001.

Shindle has several pat-ents issued and pending, and has co-authored sev-eral articles on hydrogen generation.

Thomas Granville, chair-man of Axion said: “As we advance toward com-mercialization of our tech-nology, it is time to right-size our management, to maintain our forward momentum.

“All three individuals are seasoned business veterans and we believe their con-tributions will help propel us to our goals in 2010 and beyond.” ■

Axion Power adds Trego as CFO, Baker as CEO, Shindle as VP

David McShane has joined International Battery as an executive vice president for business development and engineering.

McShane’s professional background is in the com-mercialization of early-stage technology-based businesses.

Most recently as chief executive of Wellington Drive Technologies US he gained the market leading position for high-efficiency fractional horse-power elec-tric motors.

McShane has held sen-ior management posi-tions at Capstone Turbine Corporation, a manufac-turer of small gas-turbine systems for distributed gen-eration, and Wavedriver Ltd. (a UK developer of electric and hybrid-electric drive-train technology).

McShane is chartered elec-trical engineer and inven-tor with specializations in power electronics & con-trols and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET). ■

McShane joins as EVP for International Battery

Gys makes appointments as part of UK expansion planGYS Ltd, the French welding equipment and battery charger manufac-turer has announced four appointments.

Cédric Ouguergouz has been promoted to UK sales manager responsible for sales of all welding equipment, battery chargers as well as ancillary equip-ment to an expanding network of distributors. Meanwhile Phil Styles has been appointed an area sales manager cov-ering the West Midlands and Wales.

David Deventer has been appointed business development consult-ant with the mandate to introduce the GYS brand and products to the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. He has over 20 years’ experi-ence working within the industry

Anthony Pierre joins from GYS in France as sales office manager bringing with him the experience of setting up the GYS subsidiary in Germany. ■

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PEOPLE

PowerGenix, a manufac-turer of rechargeable nickel-zinc batteries has recruited Xu Gang, a senior figure in the Chinese lithium-ion rechargeable battery indus-try, as managing direc-tor of PowerGenix’s Asia operations.

The firm says its operations will focus on using nickel zinc chemistry for both transportation and stationary power. “Nickel-zinc offers several inherent advantages for hybrid electric vehicles, including high energy den-sity, low cost, and safety,” says the company.

“The technology is well positioned to be a high performance alternative to lead-acid batteries for micro-hybrids and to nickel-metal hydride for mild/full HEVs.

“In an industry increas-ingly focused on cost and performance, NiZn batteries are perfectly suited for the needs of hybrid vehicles,” said Xu.

Xu has more than 10 years’ experience overseeing battery product development, engi-neering, and manufacturing. Xu has been a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Israel Technology. He received his PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“Dr. Xu has an impressive background and reputation in the battery industry. With his addition, PowerGenix can launch its technology into more demanding appli-cations,” said PowerGenix chief executive Dan Squiller. “We are ready to take our high performance batteries to new markets and embark on the company’s next stage of growth.”

Xu previously oversaw technology development at Tianjin Lishen Battery. He helped grow the manufac-turer to becoming a key sup-plier of lithium battery prod-ucts to western power tool, electronics, and transporta-tion customers. ■

Bolch takes over from Ulsh, O’Leary as Exide chief exec and president

Exide Technologies has appointed James Bolch as its new president and CEO, replacing Gordon Ulsh as CEO who is retiring. Ulsh was the key figure in the transformation and turn around of the troubled company’s fortunes after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2004.

Bolch, who starts on July 26, joins from Ingersoll Rand Company, where he was senior vice president and president of the indus-trial technologies sector.

Ulsh, who is 64, was to have stepped down at the end of June but difficul-ties in finding his successor prompted the delay.

Bolch takes over as presi-dent from Edward O’Leary — better known as ‘EJ’ and one of Ulsh’s key recruits

in Exide’s transformation in the mid-2000s — who resigned as president and chief operating officer on June 16. He had announced his intention to quit on June 2.

The resignation occurred at the same time as the battery manufacturer — which had been hurt by

the economic downturn — announced a loss for its fiscal 2010 year of $11.8 million. This was its second consecutive annual loss. Analysts said that this was far less than the $69.5 mil-lion of the year before.

“The board of directors conducted a comprehen-sive review of a strong field of candidates and has the utmost confidence in Jim Bolch,” said John Reilly, chairman of the board of Exide Technologies. “He is the ideal leader for Exide, combining deep operational acumen with a proven track record of driving innova-tion and strategic growth.”

Bolch has spent 29 years in global industrial busi-nesses working in a vari-ety of customer segments. Since 2005, he has led the

$2.2 billion industrial tech-nologies sector of Ingersoll Rand, which includes air compressors, tools, materi-als handling, fluid handling and compact vehicles.

Before this he worked as executive vice presi-dent of the service busi-ness for Schindler Elevator Corporation, where he led the North American serv-ices functions, including sales, marketing and service delivery.

Bolch also spent 21 years with United Technologies Corporation most latterly as vice president, opera-tions, for the UTC Power Division, where he created and implemented business strategies to commercial-ize fuel cell production for distributed generation and transportation markets. ■

PowerGenix hires Xu Gang to advance product development

Page 18: Batteries International

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www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 17

NEWS

FIAMM, the Europe-based battery manufacturing giant and Switzerland-based MES-DEA, one of the two pro-ducers of industrial quantity sodium nickel chloride bat-teries worldwide, announced in May that the two had formed a new company called FZ Sonick to market molten salt batteries.

The move is important for the development of the elec-tric vehicle market. It pro-vides an alternative energy chemistry to lithium ion bat-teries — but one already been proven extensively across Europe.

Its importance for the future electric vehicle market is partly because FIAMM’s existing operations in Waynesboro, Georgia in the US may be expanded to include sodium metal chlo-ride (SMC) production — although this has yet to be confirmed.

It is also a fuller endorse-ment of it as a valid battery chemistry beyond the scope of stationary applications.

Capacity expansion FIAMM says there are also plans to double capacity of SMC batteries at its plant in Stabio, in the south of Switzerland.

Based on projected market demand for energy storage solutions, FZ Sonick says it hopes to increase annual production to 170MW annu-ally from the 90MW level achieved by MES-DEA.

This will help with the over-load where demand has out-stripped supply. (Although this has apparently been in part due to quality problems in the cells’ manufacture which resulted in some pre-mature failures.)

“After more than 10 years of steady testing and growth in the transportation sector, we are ready to also focus on the stationary applications of

this innovative energy stor-age technology,” says Cesare Sinigaglia, former general manager of MES-DEA and FZ Sonick’s new managing co-director.

MES-DEA has been pro-ducing sodium-nickel-chlo-ride batteries since 1998, when it acquired the technol-ogy from AEG and Daimler while FIAMM has been test-ing and developing sodium metal chloride batteries since 2005.

Its antecedent is sodium sulphur chemistry which has a distinguished, if often unno-ticed pedigree. Ford Motor Company, for example, tri-alled NaS batteries in a multi-million dollar electric vehicle fleet in the early 1990s, called ECOSTAR.

The ECOSTAR project — which ultimately was unsuc-cessful — included exten-sive fleet testing of over 100 cars. These were operated by Ford in the US, the UK and Germany.

The ECOSTAR fleet of sodium sulphur batteries used were able to deliver 37kWh — substantially more two decades ago than the bulk of electric vehicles being pro-posed in the next two years.

Sodium nickel chloride“Our SONICK sodium-nickel-chloride technology enables a wider range of applications than sodium sul-fur (NaS) technology, which has received attention as an emerging alternative energy source,” says a FZ Sonick spokesperson.

He said the addition of advanced battery technol-ogy complements FIAMM’s existing line of industrial

lead-acid batteries tradition-ally used in telecoms, elec-tric utilities, data centers and manufacturing sites.

FZ Sonick will be head-quartered in MES-DEA’s Stabio plant where it employ-ees some 190 staff.

Research and develop-ment efforts will take place at FIAMM’s headquarters in Italy. FZ Sonick has bought all patents, intellectual prop-erty and manufacturing equipment that were previ-ously owned by MES-DEA.

Sodium metal chemistry has already been used by MES-DEA in cars, municipal buses and even as energy storage for NATO rescue submarine systems.

GE Energy StorageOther firms are also look-ing at sodium batteries. GE Energy Storage Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, put its new Durathon bat-tery — sodium metal halide chemistry — on display at the end of March. GE says

this chemistry will be the next generation of industrial energy storage for the tel-ecom industry. It can be used as a backup system for hybrid telecom sites where non-grid sources of power are utilized, as well as in traditional base stations powered by robust or unstable electrical grids.

NGK, EDF Energy tooIn February a consortium that included Japan’s NGK Insulators, EDF Energy, MEIDEN and JWD signed an agreement to develop large scale sodium sulphur batteries to provide ancillary services in the UK which pro-vide a smoother connection to companies connected to the national grid.

“Large scale sodium sul-phur battery systems have been used in several locations across the world to store energy and provide various applications such as load lev-elling, stabilizing renewable energy and the grid system and will be able to do so for many years to come," said the consortium at the time.

“We are working on a demonstration project before seeking to apply the technol-ogy more widely.” ■

FIAMM joins forces with MES-DEA in ringing endorsement of SMC

SMC battery selling points• High specific energy (120 Wh/kg) — three times

lighter and 30% smaller than conventional batteries• Immunity to ambient temperature conditions — con-

stant performance and cycle life in harsh operating environments (-40°F to +140°F)

• Long calendar and cycle life — 15 years or 2000 cycles at 80% DOD

• Infinite shelf life for cold/inactive batteries• No memory effect• Maintenance free• Proprietary battery management system• Low environmental impact and zero ambient

emissions• Fully recyclable materials — free from toxic

materials• Raw materials readily available -- minimal commod-

ity riskSource: FZ Sonick presentation

“Our sodium-nickel-chloride technology has received attention as an emerging alternative energy source”

Page 20: Batteries International

18 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

NEWS

GE Energy Storage Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, put its new Durathon battery on dis-play at the end of March. The Durathon battery is based on sodium metal hal-ide chemistry.

GE says this chemistry will be the next generation of industrial energy storage for the telecom industry. It can be used as a backup sys-tem for hybrid telecom sites where non-grid sources of power are used, as well as in traditional base stations that are powered by robust or unstable electrical grids.

The Durathon battery lasts up to 10 times longer than traditional telecom backup storage systems. This reduces the total cost of ownership and ensures network efficiency and optimization for wireless providers.

The product of a $160 million investment by GE, the Durathon battery is also temperature insensitive, allowing for coverage in remote areas with extreme weather conditions, an

important attribute as wire-less providers continue to expand coverage around the globe.

Sodium battery technol-ogy has been in existence for more than 30 years, but GE’s acquisition of Beta R&D in 2007 jump-started applications for mobile and stationary energy storage. Durathon technology uses a patented sodium halide chemistry.

The Durathon battery will change the way providers think about backup energy storage and its importance in maintaining network availa-bility,” says Prescott Logan, general manager GE Energy Storage Technologies.

“As the telecommunica-tions industry continues to expand, it’s essential that providers have reliable backup power to ensure continuous coverage for consumers in all areas of the globe”.

The batteries will rely heavily on new materials, new manufacturing tech-nologies and intelligent controls.

GE announced in January that it had received a $25.5 million advanced manufac-turing credit for the con-struction of a manufactur-ing facility to develop next generation energy storage systems.

This was part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will be used to refurbish a pre-existing GE manufactur-ing facility in Schenectady, New York. GE selected the Schenectady site for energy storage manufacturing in August 2009.

The State of New York has also partnered GE in the construction of the facility by pledging more than $15 million in incentives.

The new Durathon bat-teries will be produced at this plant which is sched-uled to be fully operational by mid-2011. The fund-ing will create 350 new jobs. The facility is close to GE Global Research in Niskayuna, where advances to the battery chemistry were developed.

Observers say that the

ARRA grants signal a mood change across the US where the oil price crisis, the economic downturn and the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continue to change public opinion about its over-reliance on non-domestic energy.

Certainly GE appears to think so. “GE is entering the energy storage mar-ket at a critical time in the United States as power system stability and secu-rity and an increase in the renewable energy portfo-lio are becoming integral to 21st century economic development,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, president of GE Transportation.

At full capacity the plant could produce approxi-mately 10 million cells annu-ally — capable of generat-ing 900MW hours of energy per year. GE says this is the equivalent of the battery power required for 45,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehi-cles with an 80-mile range or enough energy to support 1,000 GE Evolution Series hybrid locomotives. ■

HOMER Energy, a US soft-ware company, announced in May the release of HOMER today, the first commercial release of its microgrid design software since it was licensed from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The new version of HOMER includes the ability to model new storage tech-nologies, such as flywheels and zinc bromine flow bat-teries, both of which will allow designers to develop larger systems that have a higher contribution from renewable energy.

Increased renewable energy adds to the require-ment for “spinning” or standby operating reserve to bridge periods of vari-ability in wind or solar power sources.

Flywheels deliver short bursts of power effectively instantaneously to level the delivery of energy in a hybrid system, when additional gen-eration needs to be brought on-line suddenly. The new zinc bromine flow batteries deliver steady backup power for hours and have a longer life span than tradition lead acid batteries.

HOMER 2.75 generates warnings when the percent-age of renewable energy in a system gets high enough to require more detailed mod-elling. The new version of HOMER also calculates the peak instantaneous renew-able penetration. Higher pro-portions of renewable energy in hybrid systems are inevita-ble as the price of renewable energy technology falls while the market, environmental, and security costs of fossil fuels continue to rise.

HOMER’s decision sup-port capabilities (simula-tion, optimization, and

sensitivity analysis) allow users to choose the most cost-effective energy system by rigorously comparing a wide range of options. In the coming months, HOMER Energy will release a web-based version of HOMER that will respond to customer requirements with a modular architec-ture, including customized modules.

Version 2.75 of HOMER will be sold for a minimal fee, but the original free version will always be avail-able at www.homerenergy.com. ■

Sodium metal halide to fore asGE releases Durathon battery

HOMER Energy releases design software for hybrid renewable power systems for microgrids

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NEWS

Corvus Energy says its lat-est battery line, which will be used in a new line of tugboats that should ship next year and which could eventually lead to the use of electric tugboats for all types of vessel.

Although the first electric tugboats will only be used for training, future elec-tric tugboats are aiming at pulling full megaton cargo ships.

According to Corvus there are about 2,000 coastal workboats in the world that are more than 40 years old. And of those it esti-mates that about 450 will be replaced in the next five years and the remaining will be replaced over the next 10 years.

Initially, however, Corvus Energy, Robert Allan Naval Architects and Adrenaline Marine Ltd of Delta — all three are Canadian firms — are to deliver a hybrid diesel-electric tugboat and an all-electric tugboat to Western Maritime Institute. Western

Maritime will use the tug boat, a 7.8 metre long boat with a 450 horsepower pull-ing power, to train future tug boat captains.

Corvus says that the new tugboat contract is part of a larger trend whereby tug boat companies are to switch from diesel to electric. “The switch will save about 70% on fuel costs, which is expected to translate to a two year return on investment,” says Corvus. “Another reason is a 60% reduc-tion on emissions over die-sel, which is something

that tugboats will need to meet future emission regulations.”

Although the initial trend may lead to a replacement of diesel for lead acid batter-ies — on the simple grounds of cost — longer term, says Corvus, their batteries will prove more cost-effective.

The boats will use nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium batteries that Corvus Energy says offers about 22% more power than lithium iron phosphate batteries and 76% more power than a typical lead acid battery. ■

General Motors India has delayed plans to roll out an electric variant of the e-Spark. It had earlier said it would launch the car by September this year.

The reason appears to be the disparity between the price and performance of lead acid against lith-ium ion batteries. GM can either fit the electric Spark with lithium-ion battery or lead acid batteries.

While lead acid batter-ies have a shorter running span enabling a vehicle to run for 60km on a single charge, lithium-ion batter-ies have a range of close to 150km on a single charge.

However a lithium ion battery costs around Rs350,000 ($7,500), which would push up the cost of an electric Spark to about Rs700,000 ($15,000), according to P Balendran, vice-president of corporate affairs at General Motors India.

“You have to have a tie-up with a battery maker or source batteries locally, otherwise it is not going to be beneficial to customers because the ownership cost would be very high.

“We may go for a leasing arrangement but none of the parameters have been decided yet. If we do not

have a battery option, then there is no option but to delay it. We may not be able to commit any specific date as of now,” Balendran told a local news magazine.

Last September, GM India and Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car decided to jointly develop an elec-tric variant of the Spark. While Reva would provide the technology,

The car would be the first locally manufactured four-door passenger electric vehicle on Indian roads.

GM India said that it would do the engineering and manufacturing from its Talegaon plant. ■

Corvus in NMC lithium tug boat venture

Nexeon signs material evaluation agreement

Nexeon, a UK developer of silicon-based anodes for next generation lith-ium ion batteries, has signed material evalu-ation agreements with major corporations inter-ested in its technology.

The start-up firm says that these agreements will herald the start of the commercialization of its silicon anode battery materials.

These agreements, which earn revenues for Nexeon, involve the sampling of specially pre-pared silicon materials and data from Nexeon’s manufacturing pilot line.

“The ‘Gen-1’ materials have proved to be highly reproducible in Nexeon’s own testing,” says the firm.

“These initial agree-ments are likely to be followed by more such agreements that are already in the pipeline, and represent a strong expression of interest for silicon anode Li-ion batteries.”

Nexeon would not reveal the names of the companies but said they are well known bat-tery and automotive companies.

Nexeon recently announced the achieve-ment of another mile-stone when its cells suc-cessfully completed 500 full charge/ discharge cycles at 1200mAh/g for the anode without signif-icant capacity fade being observed.

The firm says silicon provides far higher per-formance than current carbon materials as an anode material, offering lithium storage capacity around 10 times that of carbon by weight. ■

Lithium battery price concerns delay e-Spark arrival by GM India

Page 22: Batteries International

20 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

NEWS

New restrictions on the exports of spent lead-acid batteries (SLAB) from the US for recovery come into force on July 7.

US exporters will now require a notification and obtained consent from the Environmental Protection Agency and the receiving country, SLAB exporters should submit notifications to the EPA at least six to eight weeks before the date to avoid delays.

The new requirements for exporters that wish to ship spent lead-acid batteries to other countries for recycling

or recovery depend in part on the desired destination country — in particular to the 172 countries that are members of the Basel Convention (of which the US is not a signatory).

Such shipments are sub-ject to the US requirements for exports, the regulations for imports in the destina-tion country, and whatever international waste agree-ment is most relevant to the waste and countries concerned.

The Basel Convention is a multilateral international agreement governing all

transboundary movements of hazardous waste for recovery or disposal.

SLABs are listed as haz-ardous waste A1160 (waste lead-acid batteries, whole or crushed) in Annex VIII of the Basel Convention.

Article 4, Paragraph 5 of the Basel Convention gener-ally prohibits Parties from permitting the import of hazardous wastes from a non-Party like the United States unless the countries concerned participate in a separate international agreement, also known as an “Article 11 agreement,”

that provides a level of envi-ronmentally sound manage-ment equivalent to that of the Basel Convention requirements.

Exports of SLABs for recovery to any non-OECD country that is a Basel Party are subject to either this agreement or an Article 11 agreement. ■

Fuller details of this announcement can be found at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/inter-

Finnish customs authorities announced this spring they are investigating exports of used car batteries to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in vio-lation of environmental regu-lations. Finnish customs has launched investigations into 12 different cases of environ-mental law violations involv-ing the export of spent car

batteries. Some 35,000 kilos of car batteries are under-stood to have been moved illegally in vans and aboard car ferries to Estonia and then on to the rest of the Baltic.

The customs say the road transport of car batteries on Finnish highways poses a major security risk. “In colli-sions, it is very dangerous to

transport batteries without tying them down. If the load shifts or falls, the batteries might crack. In such a case battery acid and hydrogen can leak. The poles might cause a short circuit, sparks, and an electric fire if they touch metal,” said Teemu Koskela, chief inspector at Finnish customs. ■

Test runs of China Ritar Power’s recently installed additional 10 produc-tion lines start in July. The number of production lines will increase from 19 to 29. China Ritar says it expects capital expenditures to be about $6 million to $8 million for the purchase and instillation of the new equipment.

The moves follows the completion of the battery manufacturer’s new indus-trial plant earlier this spring,

“We are looking forward to the expanding market opportunities in 2010 as the global economies continue

to rebound,” said Jiada Hu, the firm’s chairman and chief executive director.

“Our position as a lead-ing lead battery manufac-ture is supported by our high quality batteries with consistent performance at lower prices than our inter-national competitors.

“Moreover, with the new capacity we have coming online in the second half of 2010, we are well posi-tioned to ramp up our lead acid battery sales in line with new demand.”

Separately the firm announced its results for the its 2009 financial year

which showed a fall of rev-enues to $98.6 million with net income of $8.7 million. Domestic sales increased to 34% of total revenues. Batteries for renewable energy storage increased to 25%

Revenue for the full year 2009 decreased 12% to $98.6 million, compared to $112.3 million in 2008. The decrease in revenue is mainly attributable to a 12% decline in the company’s average selling price as a result of the decline in the average price of lead from Rmb16,000 ($2,425) in 2008 to 13,500 in 2009. ■

US to restrict export of spent lead acid batteries

New recycling plant for FloridaEnvirofocus Technologies, a Florida lead acid bat-tery recycling firm held a ground-breaking cer-emony in mid-March for its $100 million new plant. The firm said it will increase its daily output of recycled lead acid bat-teries from about 10,000 a day to 50,000 daily. Construction of the new facility will take around 26 months .

China 2010 lead demand seen up 20% on batteryChina’s refined lead con-sumption should rise 20% in 2010 as production of lead-acid batteries rises 25%, according to Zeng Jianjun, deputy secretary of the China Lead-Acid Battery Association and chief operating officer of Ritar Power, one of the largest battery manufac-turers in the country.

Zeng said the growth in the lead-acid battery sec-tor — requiring 75% of the country’s refined lead consumption — would be driven by the coun-try’s green energy projects and the transport sector, including electric buses.

China is the world’s top lead producer and con-sumer. ■

Finland investigates illegal transportation of used car batteries

Additional production lines for China Ritar as it moves into testing mode

Page 23: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 21

NEWS

Switzerland’s ABB Group announced in early June that it had reached an agreement to buy UK-based Chloride Group for £860 million ($1.3 billion) in cash. Chloride — which his-torically was one of the old-est battery manufacturing companies in Europe until it moved into the uninterrupt-ible power supply business in the 1990s — is a global firm but of medium size.

Chloride is a well respected vendor of uninterruptable power solutions for com-mercial and industrial cus-tomers in Europe (78%), the Americas (10%) and Asia (12%).

Chloride’s products pro-tect business critical sys-tems and processes from the effects of poor power quality and power interrup-tions prevalent in developed and developing countries. Its products range from battery back-up systems to diesel generators and fly-wheels. It is also seen as a cutting edge firm of tech-nology — roughly half of its revenues come from tech-nology brought to market in the previous three years.

Emerson spurnedThe deal follows Chloride’s rejection of an offer from its US counterpart Emerson Electric, which had valued the company at £723m.

The bids and counter-bids started two years ago when Emerson approached Chloride with an offer but it has subsequently become clear that ABB has been in contact with Chloride for around 18 months. As Batteries International was going to press the consen-sus among analysts was that Emerson might return to the table with a higher offer.

There is speculation, however that other bidders could still emerge, including Schneider Electric and Eaton,

a competitor to Emerson in the US.

Irrespective of further bids for Chloride, approval will be needed from the UK’s Takeover Panel which will make a ruling on the accept-ability of ABB’s offer in the coming weeks.

Following the recent take-over of British confection-ary giant Cadbury by Kraft and the broken promise to keep a factory open, politi-cal pressure has been grow-ing to make it more difficult for overseas firms to buy UK assets.

ABB said Chloride would become the global centre for

its uninterruptible power supplies division. Chloride’s traditional customers were in heavy industry and utili-ties but the increasing reli-ance on technology in other sectors has broadened its customer base and it now ensures the lights stay on at EDF Energy, HSBC, Sainsbury’s and BP.

It has also grown rap-idly in emerging markets, as the demand for energy has led to increasing power cuts. Chloride last month reported profits for the year of £41million ($62 million).

ABB, which provides power systems and helps industrial firms to automate processes, already employs around 2,300 people in Britain, part of a global workforce of 117,000.

Joe Hogan, the ABB chief executive, said his company had been talking to Chloride about a potential deal for 18 months. “Obviously,

Emerson putting them into play forced us to move faster than we would have, but we had been talking to them for some time,” he said.

Analysts’ views were mixed given that ABB is not seen as having a notable presence in the uninterruptible power supply and critical power markets — meaning that the opportunities for cost cut-ting and other synergies was limited.

High valuationThe valuation is also seen as high — ABB is paying roughly 20 times 2010 EBITDA (earnings before

interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), and 18 times 2011 EBITDA. A more normal market valua-tion might have been around 10 times EBITDA.

That said business will reside within ABB’s automa-tion and motors segment, and may have some abil-ity to leverage ABB’s exist-ing relationships to extend Chloride’s market reach.

John Petersen, a lawyer and also analyst of the energy storage market, said the high market price could also indicate that lead acid bat-tery manufacturers including Enersys, Exide Technologies and C&D Technologies are “woefully undervalued and offer outstanding opportu-nity for patient and risk tol-erant investors.

“The thing I found fasci-nating about ABB’s purchase of Chloride is the fact that a systems integrator with a fraction of the assets, equity

and annual revenue was sold for cash at a far higher value than the market attributes to the original equipment man-ufacturers,” says Petersen.

“If one looks at the finan-cial metrics for Chloride, Enersys, Exide and C&D for the trailing 12 months, I can’t help but conclude that either ABB is overpay-ing for Chloride, or the mar-ket is seriously undervaluing Enersys, Exide and C&D.

“The best explanation comes from the work of Benjamin Graham who said, ‘in the short term, the stock market behaves like a vot-ing machine, but in the long term it acts like a weighing machine’. For the last couple years, the market has been showing its voting machine side. Over the next couple years I expect the weighing machine to emerge with a vengeance.”

Another interpretation could ascribe ABB taking a different world picture whereby ABB sees the acqui-sition of Chloride as both an insurance and an asset against the clearly haphaz-ard and erratic drive world-wide away from oil and to better energy storage as an alternative.

The argument runs that ABB knows that govern-ments around the world are forcing utilities to implement alternative energy strategies that will make their weak-ened power grids even more unstable and unreliable.

So, although retail cus-tomers may suffer lower power quality and reduced reliability, businesses would not allow this to happen. That being the case, as insta-bilities increase, demand for privately owned UPS and power quality systems will soar; and in that world, Chloride class systems inte-grators and lead acid bat-tery producers become of clear value. ■

Bidding war comes close to end as Chloride accepts ABB price

There is speculation, however, that other bidders could still emerge before the ABB offer concludes, including Schneider Electric and Eaton, a US competitor to Emerson.

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22 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

NEWS

Smelter and lead producer the Doe Run Company and Engitec, an Italian chemical firm, unveiled revolutionary new technology at the end of March which replaces traditional, high-temper-ature lead smelting with a chemical process that it claims will be safer, cleaner and more efficient.

The proprietary new tech-nology, called Flubor, uses a wet chemical process — essentially fluorboric acid — to dissolve lead concen-trates into solution and then extracts lead from the solu-tion using an electric current.

The process is similar to the technology used to extract zinc from con-centrates, but has never been used in primary lead production.

As a self-contained proc-ess, the activating solution is recycled back into the process indefinitely.

Doe Run says it is run-ning a demonstration plant in Missouri, completing a detailed feasibility study on the new technology and eval-uating possible locations for a commercial-scale plant. To take the project from a dem-onstration plant to a com-mercial-sized operation, the new technology is expected to require investments of more than $150 million.

Doe Run says it is pursu-ing funding and loan guar-antees to help bring the new technology to fruition.

“We still have a way to go, but we’re convinced this technology has tremendous potential to produce a stra-tegic metal in a manner that is environmentally sound in every respect,” said Bruce Neil, Doe Run’s president and chief executive officer.

“We’ve been looking for a breakthrough technology for almost 20 years and have invested more than 200,000 man hours to get us this far. By year’s end, we will have invested more

than $30 million in research and development.”

Doe Run and Engitec first partnered in the early 1990s when the mining company was building its Buick Resource Recycling Division in Boss. At the time, Engitec had discovered Flubor but had not tested it on a com-mercial scale.

In the late 1990s, Doe Run built a pilot plant to test the technology. Convinced it could be deployed on an industrial-sized scale, the company’s board author-ized spending $6 million in 2006 to build a demon-stration plant. This began operating in 2007 but was shut down in early 2009 for nine months because of the economic downturn.

The plant has been in continuous operation since November, and the global engineering and construc-tion firm CH2M HILL has conducted a preliminary feasibility study that vali-dates the technology.

“This new proprietary technology is a game changer for our industry. It delivers on shared goals for cleaner communities, energy inde-pendence and lead products that will power our world into the future,” said Neil.

The process has already been recognized by lead-ing figures in the business. “Given the recycling rate of more than 97%, lead is already an environmen-tal success story,” said Bob Flicker, chief operat-ing officer and executive vice president for battery manufacturer, East Penn Manufacturing Co.

“When Doe Run began testing the new technol-ogy, we recognized its huge potential. At its very core, lead keeps the world mov-ing through batteries that deliver dependable energy storage. Advanced lead-acid batteries, such as the UltraBattery, will broaden

the use of lead for hybrid electric vehicles, as well as renewable energy storage and frequency regulation for smart grid technology.

“Having a secure domes-tic supply for lead better ensures that our US-based manufacturing facilities are cost competitive and support new and existing jobs in the US,” Flicker said. “We’re eager to support Doe Run’s dramatic progress toward cleaner lead processing technology.”

The process should improve overall recovery rates of lead while dra-matically curbing pollution, including air emissions of both lead and sulphur diox-ide. Lead is a neurotoxin that can interrupt normal brain development and has been linked to behavioural problems in children.

The technology also elimi-nates slag, a glassy, silica-rich by-product produced in the smelting process, which the company stores on-site.

Doe Run has been cited regularly by the US’ Environmental Protection Agency for infringing emis-sion limits, contaminating roads and polluting the immediate vicinity of the smelter.

Exceeding of emission limits has resulted in the reduction of the permitted capacity of its main smelter.

Road contamination has resulted in orders to clean up certain roads and to wash down vehicles before

they go on to public roads. The company has also been ordered by the EPA to address issues relating to elevated lead blood levels in the community and lead in community soils adjacent to the smelter. It has also spent $10.4 million on buying up to 160 residential properties close to the smelter that are contaminated.

In addition to improved environmental performance, Doe Run’s new technology provides several economic benefits to both US state and federal economies. The tech-nology is expected to extend the economic life of US lead mines by providing a higher rate of metal recovery.

“Doe Run intends to keep the US at the centre of the global lead industry,” said Neil. “We believe this tech-nology will set a new stand-ard for sustainable lead pro-duction around the world, even as we face increased competition from China, India and other emerging economies.

“The new technology was developed with an eye toward our common goals of efficiency, environmen-tal stewardship and cleaner communities. We’re ready to take a leadership role in transforming the lead industry.”

The Doe Run Company is a privately owned natu-ral resources company and the largest integrated lead producer in the Western Hemisphere. ■

New lead recovery technology to shift from smelting to chemical extraction

Doe Run’s operations at La Oroya in Peru: perhaps the next spot to move away from smelting

Page 25: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 23

NEWS

Axion Power International, the developer of advanced PbC batteries, is to launch a development programme with Norfolk Southern Corporation, one of the larg-est railways in the US, to develop a battery manage-ment system that would allow rail locomotives to operate on battery power and recharge their batteries through regen-erative braking.

The new BMS could be

a striking endorsement of the value of Axion’s PbC battery which essentially acts as an asymmetric lead-carbon capacitor.

“The key will be devel-oping a battery manage-ment system that is robust, safe, dependable and easy to maintain,” says Thomas Granville, chairman of Axion Power and also its chief executive. “We are highly confident, that this

system can be successfully demonstrated in a short time frame.

“Railways are the most fuel-efficient method of transporting freight, moving a ton of freight 457 miles on a single gallon of fuel. The ability to run locomotives on electricity is well established, although the standard means of doing so to date has either been a third rail or an over-head connection — both

of which require extensive and expensive infrastructure apparatus.

Most locomotives oper-ate by burning fossil fuels although Japanese firm NGK uses sodium metal chloride batteries as the motive force.

Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approx-imately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. ■

Exide Technologies has formed a new business entity Exide Technologies do Brasil, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, to capitalize on the growth potential for stored energy markets in South America.

Meanwhile Exide UK has also launched a new brand in the UK to capture a larger share of the £160 million waste battery market.

“The company’s new entity in South America gives Exide better access to our existing customers and potential cus-tomers, with the opportunity to market specific solutions for local needs,” says Gordon Ulsh, chief executive of Exide Technologies.

“This move forward will provide more opportunities for us to deliver our products and services to the region,” .

Exide says the new entity will serve the industrial energy and transportation markets in South America with comprehensive portfo-lios of electrical energy stor-age products manufactured at its facilities globally.

The company says that the business structure also enhances the ability of its ReStore Energy Systems division to penetrate the developing markets for renewable energy applica-tions such as solar, wind and

hybrid electric vehicles.Exide Technologies do

Brasil will market a range of vented and advanced valve regulated lead acid technologies and lithium ion batteries for motive power, network power and trans-portation applications in South America under the Exide premium brand-name portfolio and Absolyte, Marathon, Sprinter, GNB Flooded Classic, and Fulmen brands.

“With the establishment of Exide Technologies do Brasil, our company is better posi-tioned to capitalize on the growth potential for stored electrical energy markets in the South American region,” says Ulsh.

Separately Exide UK has launched a new brand called ‘Act Positive’ to help it cap-ture a larger share of the £160 million waste battery market.

The ‘Act Positive’ brand has been designed as part of a broader campaign which highlights the environmen-tal and public health hazard that discarded batteries can cause, as well as the prob-lems causes by unlicensed traders selling them

Craig Everett, marketing manager for Exide, says; “Currently a high proportion of waste batteries, with their

valuable lead content find their way to the ‘white van man brigade’ who then cash them in at smelting plants.

“The problem is that these operators aren’t licensed,

which means that anyone dealing with them is in dan-ger of an unlimited fine or even worse.”

The marketing will also be extended online. ■

Axion to provide new BMS with regenerative braking for train sets

Exide makes further international moves expands in Brazil, ups UK brand presence

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24 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

NEWS

US automotive battery supplier Johnson Controls announced in mid-June that it is planning to expand its production of car starter batteries in China, which it says is the fastest grow-ing battery market in the world.

Johnson Controls, which already has one plant in China and is building a sec-ond plant, plans to build three or four new plants in China, raising production capacity for lead acid auto-motive battery to 30 million units a year by 2015.

Johnson Controls is also a manufacturer of build-ing controls as well as auto interiors, seating and batter-ies for hybrid vehicles.

“We are expecting to add a plant a year over the next few years,” said

Alex Molinaroli, Johnson Controls president of the power solutions unit. “China is where we need to invest.”

In 2008, Johnson Controls announced plans to spend $90 million to build a lead acid battery production facility in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. The pro-duction facility is located in China’s green-power energy industrial centre in Changxing Economic Development Zone of Zhejiang Province.

The capacity of the plant was expected to be 4 mil-lion auto batteries per year. Construction of the plant was designed to start in January 2009 with comple-tion in June 2010.

Separately car giant General Motors Corp has

announced plans to launch more fuel efficient vehicles in China, as it aims to cut fuel consumption by 15% by 2015, according to local paper the Shanghai Daily.

Some new hybrids and vehicles powered by elec-tricity will be launched within five year.

The joint venture will initially show a Chevrolet New Sail electric vehicle prototype this year and roll out the new Buick LaCrosse hybrid and the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability.

In 2008, Shanghai General Motors Corp Ltd, the joint venture between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, launched a similar plan called “the 2011-2015 Green Product Strategy”, which focusing

on 12 new small displace-ments engines.

The Chinese government recently announced that it will subsidize buyers of electric vehicles by up to Rmb60,000 in five cities. Another Rmb3,000 will be given to buyers of cars con-suming 20% less fuel.

• Chaowei Power Holdings, the lead acid battery maker based in Zhejiang-based aims to raise $100 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong. It plans to sell shares at between HK$2.18 and HK$2.90 each. ■

• The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh has proposed that the government reduce the import duty on sealed lead acid batteries sug-gesting it fall from 36.7% to 24.5%.

“Computers need the bat-teries as a main device for UPS. Presently, computer imports are free of tax. These kinds of batteries are not produced in the country,” the proposal said. ■

• China Ritar Power Corp, one of the country’s lead-ing lead acid battery makers has announced a surge in first-quarter profit — up almost three times from $500,000 in the same period last year to $1.6 million for this quarter. Revenue increased by 51% to $24.8 million as manu-facturing volumes rose 31%. Sales in its inter-national division, which takes up about three-fourths of its total rev-enue, increased 45% and domestic sales rose 72%. China Ritar said its results had benefited from the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. ■

Sales of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) into Asia during the first quarter grew by over 25% from last year. According to a recent analysis of the mar-ket by IMS Research, Asia added revenues at the fast-est rate in five years. The spike in billings comes after four consecutive quarters of decline, resulting in a $500 million dip in volume.

The research also esti-mates that UPS revenues from the Asia eclipsed that of the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa for the first time.

“There was a swift uptick in the Asia UPS market in the first quarter while UPS sales in much of the rest of the world remained stag-nant,” said Jason dePreaux, a senior analyst at IMS Research.

“The extremely high growth in Asia can be attributed in part to the

snappy economic rebounds of several key UPS mar-kets like India, China, and areas of south-east Asia. These countries are once again deploying UPS across infrastructure, small and medium business, and data center segments. The first quarter marked an impor-tant milestone in the history of the market.”

However, dePreaux says the current exceptional rate of growth is unsustainable. “What we are seeing in Asia is the rapid recovery to pre-recessionary demand levels. UPS spending in Asia dropped by nearly 20%, so while it is recovering quickly, the current growth is being fuelled in part by inventory restocking and a pipeline of projects that were in the waiting.”

He projects growth will taper slightly into 2011/2012, though the five year com-pound annual growth rate

will remain above the rest of the world.

Against the backdrop of a fragmented recovery comes renewed M&A activity as companies jockey for pieces of the power protection pie. Emerson Electric’s sec-ond effort to absorb UK’s Chloride Power was dealt a potentially lethal blow when Swiss-based ABB swooped in with a higher offer that was approved by Chloride’s board (see fuller story).

While the supplier base for UPS is highly concen-trated with the top five ven-dors controlling 60% of the market, Asia has a more diverse landscape with doz-ens of suppliers that cater to the varied market require-ments in the regions.

DePreaux says: “With attractive long-term growth prospects and a diverse supplier base, expect future acquisitions to increasingly focus on Asia.” ■

Asia UPS sales surge in first quarter

Johnson Controls expands in China, GM to roll out new EVs

Page 27: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 25

NEWS

India’s industrial and auto-motive battery manufac-turer Amara Raja Batteries reported at the end of May a 107% rise in net profit to Rs 1,670 million ($36 mil-lion) for the year ended March 31, 2010. Total income for the financial year grew to Rs 14,674 million ($315 million) from Rs 13,196 million in the previous year.

Amara Raja Batteries

managing director Jayadev Galla said the 2009-2010 fiscal year, had given it the highest ever profits in the company’s history.

“The recovery of the auto-motive industry, operational excellence aided by organi-zational restructuring and strong brands have enabled the company to post excel-lent results,” he said.

“But, we continue to face the challenges of volatility

in lead prices and forex rates in managing our per-formance,” he said.

Amara Raja Batteries is an Amara Raja Johnson Controls Company, with 26% equity held by Johnson Controls. It manu-factures lead acid batteries for industrial and automo-tive applications.

The batteries are exported to the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. ■

More interesting than the funding levels is the choice of awards by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority which provide an interest-ing snapshot of the hottest areas in battery develop-ment and energy storage.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has awarded $8 million to help develop or commercialize 19 energy storage projects to compa-nies and universities across New York. The projects will leverage $7.3 million in cost-sharing by recipients for a total of $15.3 million in funding.

Funding is either for industry-led near-term com-mercialization partnerships or technology development. • General Electric is devel-oping improvements to its sodium metal halide batter-ies for use in a new genera-tion of cleaner locomotives and stationary applications to smooth intermittent renewable power genera-tion as it interconnects with the grid and critical load back-up power and other applications: $2.5 million. • Ultralife Corporation, Newark is integrating bat-tery and ultra-capacitors in an electronic energy-storage

device on a common power circuit serving two renew-able-energy generation sources: $2.4 million. • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is developing next-generation Li-ion recharge-able batteries: $200,000. • Ioxus under three projects, is improving its ultracapacitor performance through developing a novel electrode-electrolyte inter-face, using nanostructured materials in the electrodes, and developing a new high density electrode material: $600,000. • College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany is developing electrolytes to improve the performance of ultra-capacitors: $200,000. • Hollingsworth & Vose is developing an advanced separator for valve regu-lated lead acid batteries: $200,000. • City University of New York, under two projects, is developing a novel nickel-zinc battery that uses low-cost materials and tech-nologies to improve the performance of ultra-capac-itors: $349,600. • Cornell University is developing non-flammable battery electrolytes with improved temperature

and voltage performance: $200,000. • General Motors is developing materials for improved lithium-ion bat-tery electrodes for automo-tive applications: $196,000. • Impact Technologies is developing a way to increase the lifetime of batteries by assessing battery health using in-cell measurement: $99,800. • Cerion Enterprises is developing materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, which are used in automotive applications and in consumer electron-ics: $200,000. • Rochester Institute of Technology is develop-ing methods to recycle and reuse lithium-ion batteries: $195,900. • Brookhaven National Laboratory, SUNY Binghamton, and SUNY Buffalo are working on three projects to develop improved batteries for sta-tionary grid scale energy storage applications, includ-ing, lithium-air, lithium-ion, and lithium-titanate batter-ies: $552,900. • Binghamton University is developing lithium air stor-age systems that could have applications in vehicle or grid systems: $200,000. ■

India’s Amara Raja show ever more robust results

NYSERDA commits $8 million for exciting range of technologies

UK bounce back — for some,but take-over likely for others In encouraging news for the UK tyres, exhausts and batteries industry, 349 of the top 1,000 companies in the market are growing at more than 10% a year and making healthy profits. However, according to industry analysts Plimsoll, while many of these companies are leading a sustainable recovery in the market, there are 87 other com-panies whose headline grabbing sales growth masks difficulties and which could well be ripe for a take-over.

David Pattison, senior analyst and author of the new Plimsoll report says “Essentially there are two types of growth in the market – Good v Bad: 87 companies have achieved over 10% sales growth but in doing so have seen their profit margin collapse.

“They are simply over-trading. More worrying, nine of these companies have been loss making for two years — even with double digit sales growth I doubt they will make it to a third.

“While the market con-tinues to recover and the 349 top performers show the way, there are 110 companies facing a very bleak future indeed. Losing sales, profits and probably most of their remaining options, these companies have been rated as Danger in our report. Time is run-ning out and only a takeo-ver or a rapid turnaround is likely to redeem their situation.”

The new analysis gives an instant performance rating on the top 1000 companies in the mar-ket and an overview of which companies are ripe for acquisition and who is set to be buying. ■

Page 28: Batteries International

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PRODUCT NEWS

Advanced Membrane Systems, which filed a pat-ent in February with what it claims is a breakthrough in lithium battery safety — with a separator that even passes the so-called nail pen-etration test — told Batteries International in June that it is set to move into manufactur-ing these separators within the next three months.

“Our separator is not a pure polyolefin material but uses mineral ingredients in our proprietary cell struc-ture,” an official said. “If you apply a standard nail penetration test, our rivals’ cells explode. With ours after about 60 seconds we see venting. This is a major step forward in lithium bat-tery development and its role within electric vehicles.”

Industry reaction has nat-urally been positive — the explosive nature of lithium within next generation bat-teries continues to be a major drawback to its use.

“That said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proofs,” a senior indus-try figure told Batteries International. “This may be a step forward in lith-ium battery chemistry. But is it enough? I’ve been test-ing these batteries for years and know pure lab tests are insufficient.

“It’s real life situations that count, say, the effect of a steel bumper entering a lithium battery at 100 miles an hour — not just a nail. It’s getting, for example, the fat lady stuck in the back of a smashed car out quickly before an explosion happens, rather than just giving a cou-ple of minutes’ grace.”

But even the most cyni-cal welcome the advance and full commercialization of the product could happen within months.

AMS says it has entered into a joint venture with

Biax Laboratories to open a 25,000 square foot manu-facturing plant in North Carolina. The new venture, called UltraLith LLC, plans to ship products to battery manufacturers in August.

No eventual buyer has been confirmed but AMS says that A123Systems, Enerdel

and JCI are looking into the new separator. The separa-tor works with all classes of lithium ion batteries.

The North Carolina plant will represent the first new battery separator manufac-turing company in the US in decades, says the firm. It will also be the world’s only plant to offer battery separator technology that meets all of the lithium battery capabil-ity targets in planned electric drive vehicle applications.

“The newly patented UltraLith-HP is a non-shut-down polyolefin separator engineered for high power, high density lithium batteries (LIBs). Compared to other separators, UltraLith-HP

offers better performance, improved safety, lower costs, the ability to work in any lithium chemistry and it can run on the same equipment that battery manufacturers use now,” says a company official. “UltraLith-SD, a shutdown separator, offers performance and adaptabil-

ity advantages for consumer applications.

AMS believes that its sepa-rators will give the US a com-petitive edge in lithium bat-tery manufacture that it lacks when compared to Japan, China and Korea.

“While US separator manu-facturers are trying to extend the capabilities of their exist-ing separator products, more recent patents, particularly from Asia, have given those companies a technology lead in lithium batteries, and a head start in electric drive vehicles,” says Abbas Samii, president and chief scientist for AMS.

“We believe our new UltraLith patents give us

the technology advantage and that our new produc-tion facility will allow us to be the type of resource that US government sponsors are seeking.”

Advanced Membrane Systems has been involved in research and development of separator and materials technology for green energy designs since 2000. “With multiple patents awarded and pending, AMS is a leader in the creation of intellec-tual property for lithium and alkaline applications,” the firm says.

One key question for the success of the operation — and its eventual valuation, at present the firm is a pri-vately held closed corpo-ration — will be its future sales. AMS believes that “demand for EDV sepa-rator material expected to rapidly exceed several hun-dred million square meters in five years, coupled with lithium separator material for consumer applications seeing double digit growth in China, AMS intends to deliver volume quantities of leading separator products for lithium battery manufac-turers worldwide.”

The firm claims that, com-pared to other lithium bat-tery separators, UltraLith-HP offers a combination of advantages:

• Better performance, up to

70% porosity; up to five times longer cycle life; fast wettability and improved ion conductivity;

• Improved safety, a special formulation for robust, high melt integrity performance with an enhanced ability to mitigate short circuit or thermal runaway condi-tions should they occur;

• Lower costs, due to a proprietary ingredient

Groundbreaking Li-ion separator set for market

Here are the battery separator and components within a typical spiral wound lithium ion battery. The newly patented Ultralith-HP separator is claimed to offer greater battery performance and improved safety — without the added cost of multiple layersor expensive coatings. The firm says it was engineered specifically to meet all current requirements for Electric Drive Vehicle applications.

Continued on facing page

Page 29: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 27

PRODUCT NEWS

Abertax, the Malta-based company manufacturing advanced battery accesso-ries, has released their inno-vative valve for providing the ideal gas release system (GRS) in M27 size as well now, making their technol-ogy available for a wider range of 2V cells in VRLA batteries — both for gel and high quality absorbent glass matt (AGM).

Until now the patented valve has only been availa-ble in the smaller M18 size. Abertax says other sizes will be later made available — the M27s became available at the end of March — and a 27mm valve with bayonet fitting should also appear shortly.

Since battery venting is the prime reason for humid-ity loss in VRLA batteries, the GRS design and tech-nology providing the right release pressure of a better valve, can dramatically keep moisture levels higher inside the battery and so extend the battery life.

Additionally, the dia-phragm design in the GRS also ensures the preven-tion of air entering the cells

which potentially damages the plates.

“One of the prime advan-tages of our GRS is the very low tolerances and consist-ency of closing pressures,” says Joseph Cilia, research director of Abertax. “And we have rigorously tested them in some extreme field conditions.”

The patented valve can be supplied in various ranges of opening pressures, with the lowest range starting at 150mbar and the highest with an opening pressure at 400mbar. Thus the valve can be designed to give the optimal pressure for any battery size and design.

The consistency of the GRS calibration pressure is ensured through the equip-ment specially devised and manufactured by Abertax.

Although the fundamen-tal chemistry of the lead acid battery is virtually unchanged since the mid-19th century, KD Merz, the battery expert at Abertax, says there are still refine-ments to be made. “For the past decade or more bat-tery developers have looked to alternative chemistries in

seeking an advanced bat-tery,” he says.

“And engineering design around the battery has been left relatively unexplored.”

Research into the econ-omies that a high quality valve such as the GRS can bring has been scarce, say Abertax, and has been dif-ficult to quantify as gas-sing and venting are often a function of how efficiently or inefficiently charging or discharging a battery is being carried out.

However, all manufactur-ers are aware that a bet-ter GRS produces a better battery.

Abertax presently keeps up with the current demand of GRS but has spare produc-tion capacity to produce up to another 2 million annu-ally from its headquarters in Paola in Malta. “But we’re planning to up production to around 11 million a year in the next couple of years,” says George Schembri, gen-eral manager at Abertax.

Abertax reckons that there will be a big increase in demand for GRS for the new ‘stop-and-go’ vehicle applications as well as for

the new generation of elec-tric vehicles requiring fur-ther AGM batteries.

Abertax, which has invested extensively in research and development — and has the capabil-ity to design and manufac-ture most of the machinery needed to produce a new range of GRS in-house — believes that automation provides it with a competi-tive edge against compe-tition from Asian econo-mies where labour costs are low.

“Once you have devised one set of machinery to produce the GRS,” says Schembri who is an engi-neer specialised in high quality manufacturing. “It’s simply a question of multi-pyling them to scale up production.”

Abertax says its origi-nal M18 valve has already undergone years of test-ing — both in-house and through independent moni-toring in German labora-tories — in a rugged, dirty environment, including pro-longed exposure to sulphu-ric acid and dust, and has not been found wanting. ■

Profoto has rolled out two new battery powered flash packs, both of which use lithium iron phosphate (LiFe) battery chemistry to reduce pack size and weight.

The Pro-B3 1200 AirS is rated at 1200ws, features a full power recyling time of 1.8 seconds and 300 full power pops per charge.

The AcuteB2 600 AirS is rated at 600ws, recycles in 2 seconds and delivers 200 full power pops per charge. ■

Abertax releases another version of GRS VRLA valve

Profoto goes Lithium with ProB3 1200 AirS, AcuteB2 600 AirS

that eliminates the added expense of external coating applications and the risk of those coatings peeling off; and it eliminates the need for expensive, multi-layer products• In terchangeabi l i ty,

meaning, UltraLith-HP can replace existing sep-arator material in any lithium chemistry and run on the same equip-ment that LIB manufac-turers currently use.

“While specifications for next generation lithium batteries and electric drive

vehicle continue to evolve, UltraLith-HP represents the first separator to deliver the performance, safety and mass market cost structures the industry requires. Production quantities of this technology are what LIB manufacturers have been asking for” says Samii

On February 16 the United States Patent Office had awarded a new patent to Advanced Membrane Systems for its latest lithium-ion battery separator inven-tion. Patent #7,662,518 B1 sets forth technology exten-sions to previous AMS pat-ents, and represents major state-of-the-art advancements

in the safety and performance features for consumer elec-tronic battery applications.

The new product involves a single layer shutdown sep-arator with very high melt integrity. In addition, it offers improved air permeability and mechanical strength. These traits represent sig-nificant improvements over other LIB separators.

“The awarding of the patent, combined with sev-eral other patents pending, exemplifies ... leadership in developing intellectual property for lithium-ion and alkaline battery appli-cations,” said the firm at the time. ■

Continued from facing page

Page 30: Batteries International

28 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

PRODUCT NEWS

Two battery charger manu-facturers — GYS and CTEK have released new products for agricultural vehicles. These have different battery needs from other equipment as they may be left unused for months at a time between seasons and without the cor-rect battery maintenance, the natural onset of stratifi-cation will begin to kill the lead acid battery.

GYS, the French weld-ing equipment and battery charger manufacturer, has introduced Batium 15/24, a high tech battery charger

designed for use on modern agricultural vehicles.

Batium 15/24 is a heavy duty, micro-processor con-trolled charger with a multi stage ‘WuoU’ charging curve to ensure a 100% charge of

the battery. It will charge 6V, 12V and 24V batteries up to a rating of 225Ah .

GYS says a cost-saving fea-ture of this battery charger is the SOS recovery func-tion. When connected to the

battery the Batium 15/24 can detect sulphation in the battery and the user can then select the SOS process which will perform the de-sulphation. In many cases this process can recover an otherwise ‘dead’ battery. Sulphation is the single big-gest killer of batteries and occurs when batteries are left for prolonged periods.

All types of batteries, liq-uid, gel and AGM batteries can be re-charged without disconnecting them from the vehicle.

Other features include automatic charging with-out supervision, an easy to use control panel and protection against polarity reversal.

Meanwhile, CTEK, a vehicle battery maintenance firm, has released Multi XS 7000, a smart battery charger that it says will revive, charge, condition and maintain all types of 12V lead-acid batteries.

“Once fully charged, the patented CTEK float / pulse maintenance charge mode

enables batteries to be con-nected to the charger for months at a time ‘exercising’ the battery to extend its life,” says the company. “This makes it ideal for vehicles that are used infrequently or left standing for long periods of time – the charger is also approved for outdoor use and can withstand tempera-tures as low as -20˚C.”

The firm says the Multi XS 7000 is spark proof and reverse polarity protected. ■

Trojan Battery Company has updated its models of bat-teries for renewable energy applications. The firm says these deep cycle batteries are suitable for small wind, solar/photovoltaic and micro-hydro applications and can deliver uninter-rupted power in harsh envi-ronment conditions.

The Renewable Energy (RE) Series batteries avail-able from Trojan Battery Company are lead acid deep cycle batteries. The RE Series batteries such as L16RE-2V,

L16RE-A, L16RE-B and T105-RE models are made of Maxguard XL separa-tor with DuraGrid tech-nology. The company also offers deep cycle batteries in flooded and dual purpose AGM types in 6V and 12V sizes, and also in mainte-nance free Deep-Cycle Gel types.

The L16RE-B deep cycle battery is available in a length of 295mm, width of 178mm and height of 450mm. It weighs up to 54kg. The deep cycle battery’s 20-hour rate

is 370AH and its 100-hour rate is 410AH. Its voltage capacity is 6V.

The terminal types used for the deep cycle battery are the following: Low Profile Terminal, High Profile Terminal, Wingnut Profile Terminal, Automotive Post Terminal, Automotive Post and Stud Terminal, Stud Terminal, Universal Terminal, Dual Wingnut Terminal and L-Terminal. The terminal of the L16RE-B deep cycle battery is L-Terminal (LT). ■

Trojan updates deep cycle renewable range of RE series

Tycon Power Systems released end-May its dual input/dual output bat-tery charge controllers for backup power and remote power applications. The SCPOE series can charge lead acid batteries from solar panel input or Power Over Ethernet (POE) input. The 5A solar panel input takes priority so when the

sun is shining grid power is not used. There are two outputs; The 24W Power Over Ethernet (POE) out-put utilizes a high efficiency DC-DC converter to provide 12V, 18V, 24V, or 48VDC POE and the secondary wire terminal output on the back is essentially the bat-tery voltage.

The SCPOE series offers

full protection for over-charge, over-discharge, short circuit, over-voltage, and over-current. Low self consumption of <0.5W suits them for remote power applications. The units are rated for operation from -30°C to 60°C, suitable for year round outdoor opera-tion in a weatherproof enclosure. ■

Dual input, dual output battery charge controller

All types of batteries, liquid, gel and AGM batteries can be re-charged without disconnecting them from the vehicle.

Battery chargers for agricultural use

GYS’ Batium chargers

Page 31: Batteries International

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 29

PRODUCT NEWS

Exide Technologies has launched its EHF Series industrial charger, a multi-profile range of high fre-quency chargers for standard-flooded, low-main-tenance-flooded and valve-regulated lead-acid motive power batteries.

“The new EHF Series charger line, with mod-els ranging from 24V-80V

contains environmentally-advanced elements that incorporate an energy-efficiency design,” says the firm. “The charger uses less electricity resulting in increased utility savings, a higher power factor (the percentage of electricity that is delivered and used effec-tively) and efficiency opti-mization — all which help

customers use batteries to their maximum potential in conventional motive power applications.

“The EHF Series charg-ers offer greater efficiency of power conversion — as com-pared to chargers that incor-porate Ferroresonant and SCR technologies — lead-ing to reduced power con-sumption and energy costs.

Reduced maximum input cur-rents allow for reduced circuit breaker, cabling and distribu-tion equipment sizes.”

The charger also ensures that the charging current and voltage remain constant dur-ing any mains fluctuations, guaranteeing a constant and optimized charge. End-of-charge on the EHF models is detected by the change in voltage over the change in time measure (dV/dt) to avoid risk of undercharge or overcharge.

“As a result, the EHF industrial chargers boast an efficiency rating of up to 92%: approximately 15% to 23% more efficient than other charging technolo-gies,” Exide says.

The chargers use fourth generation MOSFET tech-nology and Zero Volt Switching which provide greater power conversion efficiency. The EHF charger utilizes a space-saving Planar Transformer design which allows for reductions in size and weight and efficient cooling.

The chargers are equipped with a high resolution LCD display that pro-vides detailed information in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish and Swedish. A data archive also is available on the front panel and details recharge information from the last 250 cycles, including charts from the last 15 recharges which all viewable on the LCD display.

The EHF Series Industrial Charger models are UL listed and built to Battery Council International standards. The chargers also are designed for multiple lead-acid technolo-gies offering a wide range of charge profiles that can be selected for all of Exide’s product offerings includ-ing Tubular-HP, Liberator, Titan/GNB Flooded Classic, Element and Sonnenschein. ■

Infracharge Technologies, the parent company behind the POD Point charging unit, has launched two new elec-tric vehicle charging prod-ucts in the UK — FastCharge and HomeCharge — and announced a replacement to its existing POD Point unit to be called DuoCharge.

The products come at a time when the move to put EV infrastructure in place is gathering pace. Last December the mayor of London, Boris Johnson laid out plans for 25,000 charging bays to be in place across London by 2015. This March, the government also announced financing for three regions — London, Milton Keynes and the north east — to install over 10,000 charging locations as part of its ‘Plugged in Places’ initiative.

The recent proposals further support the antici-pated growth of electric cars expected from January 2011, when a 25% (up to £5,000 ($7,400) government subsidy on electric car pur-chases is introduced.

The Chargemaster FastCharge is the first ‘fast charge’ unit to be introduced to the UK market. Delivering a 32A (7kW) current, the system is able to charge an electric car at more than twice the speed of London’s

200 existing on-street charge points. The FastCharge can charge two cars simultane-ously from a single unit and uses the proposed European standard automotive connector.

The Chargemaster HomeCharge is the first charging station specifically designed for home use. The HomeCharge automatically uses low-cost night-time electricity tariffs which can save up to 70% off the cost of charging.

The unit also features the ability to remotely switch on the car’s heating and defrost-ing system 15 minutes before the owner needs to leave, providing a clear windscreen and a warm car without

using battery charge. The HomeCharge con-

forms to the latest safety cut-off legislation and the unit is also future-ready for connection to Smartgrid Technologies.

The Chargemaster DuoCharge updates the existing standard rate, dual charging station with improved design and reli-ability features for on-street and car park charging. The modifications include updated styling, high resolu-tion and high visibility colour screen, redesigned electron-ics and improved network communications. The design update also improves safety by eliminating the need to cross over charging cables. ■

Exide launches industrial high frequency charger for VRLA

New ‘fast charge’ electric vehicle equipment arrives in the UK

Page 32: Batteries International

30 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

PRODUCT NEWS

In many applications, rang-ing from circuit breaker tripping systems to uninter-ruptible power supplies for data and telecommunication installations, storage batter-ies are used as a standby power source. And, in most cases, the battery systems are designed to float — that is, to operate without an earth connection.

A common problem, how-ever, is that a ground fault develops somewhere in the battery system, typically as a result of dirt and moisture. The fault is usually indicated on a control panel and may create an alarm condition. Such faults can be very dif-ficult to locate, especially in large battery installations in, for example, power stations and large substations.

The most obvious approach to ground fault location is to disconnect the battery from its load, and to split it into sections so that the fault can be local-ised. While this approach undoubtedly works, it is inconvenient, as equipment

the equipment powered by the battery has to be taken out of service while the tests are performed.

Several alternative testing techniques have been pro-posed in an attempt to solve these problems. One of these is to inject a low-frequency test pulse, typically around 5Hz, and use a signal tracker to determine how this prop-agates through the battery system, thereby locating the fault.

This arrangement has the benefit that the tests can, at least in theory, be car-ried out while the battery remains in service, and that no removal of connecting straps is needed. However, the use of low-frequency pulses has a major draw-back, as the pulses are very likely to upset the operation of protection relays associ-ated with the battery, lead-ing to spurious tripping.

The designers of some bat-tery ground fault location test sets have sought to avoid this problem by using test signals of much higher fre-

quency, in the 5kHz rangeThis eliminates the adverse

effects on protection relays, but it introduces another problem. At these frequen-cies, the capacitors that are often used in battery sys-tems for surge suppression present a low impedance and, therefore, during test-ing they appear as “phan-tom” ground faults, making it much harder to localise the real ground faults.

The most effective solu-tion, and the one adopted in Megger’s BGFT battery ground fault tester, is to use a test signal frequency in the range 20Hz to 30Hz. This is high enough to prevent inter-action with protective relays, but low enough to minimize the phantom ground fault problems associated with capacitors.

The technique of locating ground faults with test sets operating at these frequen-cies is straightforward. The test equipment comprises a signal generator, which is mains powered, and a sepa-rate battery-powered probe,

which is essentially a clamp meter that has been tuned so that it discriminates against signals at frequencies other than that of the test signal.

The transmitter incorpo-rates a resistance bridge, it shows the resistance of all the parallel circuits to ground from the point where it is clamped. A capacitance bridge is also provided as an additional aid to discrimina-tion against phantom faults.

To locate a fault, the sig-nal generator is connected between earth and either the positive or the negative pole of the battery system, the correct choice being the pole that has the ground fault. The probe is then used to track the test signal from the source, always following the circuit branches that show the lowest resistance.

Systematically applied, this procedure leads quickly and positively to the fault loca-tion. Note that tests can be carried out equally well on batteries that are in service and those that have been isolated.

While this method of locat-ing battery ground faults is simple in principle, it nev-ertheless makes substantial demands on the test equip-ment used. To ensure suc-cess, the equipment must, for example, be immune to distributed noise in the bat-tery system and it must also be able to deliver consistent results even in the presence of large ripple currents.

With good quality equip-ment, however, there is no doubt that testing at fre-quencies in the 20Hz to 30Hz range provides a fast, dependable and convenient solution to the perennial problem of locating ground faults in battery systems. ■

Ground faults in storage battery systems are common and can be hard to locate. There is now, however, a test technique that can make the job much easier, as Tony Wills, application engineer at Megger explains.

Grounds for a fault

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Page 33: Batteries International

SUPPLIER FOCUS — NORTH AMERICA

Batteries International took a sample of leading North American suppliers and asked them for their take on the present business environment. What are the main trends? What changes have most affected their business after the economic downturn? And what are their prospects? Lynnda Greene reports.

The noughties — the first decade of the new century — have been char-acterised by sweeping changes in the battery industry.

Suppliers and manufacturers alike have faced the same series of develop-ments — globalization of both mar-ketplace and workplace, the explosion of electronic media/communication hitting every aspect of marketing and the supply chain, accelerated develop-ment of technologies and applications, China’s ascendency as a major power with India on its coat-tails — and cri-ses — energy instability and financial chaos.

And let’s not forget a global reces-sion deeper than anything seen since the 1930s.

Bad news aside, there’s been one sweeping change worldwide — gov-ernments around the world have finally accepted the urgent need for new energy sources and their storage as well as the policies to implement them. The good news is that batteries, so long the wallflowers among energy technologies, have found their way into the mainstream.

So how have lead acid suppliers, the backbone of the North American battery industry, fared through what’s been billed as the worst economic recession in 75 years? What changes have had the most impact on their business? What new problems have they encountered, and how have they handled them? And with that do cus-tomers most value in their products, and services, and what innovations do they want to see? Where do they see the industry going in the future? What do they worry about?

Answering these interrelated ques-tions is problematic in that some aspects of work change while other stay the same. Marketing and closing

deals are a good example.While no business can achieve suc-

cess without a traditional marketing network, suppliers say new elec-tronic media — the internet, websites and email — have had a profound effect on how companies accom-plish that. Certainly, it’s become much easier to get their companies’ products and serv-ices out in front of customers. That said some basics don’t change, be they the face-to-face meeting to conclude a deal or the simple meeting over lunch to get to know the customer.

“The world is a much smaller place now, because of internet communication,” says Doug Bornas, vice president of sales and marketing for MAC Engi-neering, based in Michigan. “Just 20 years ago you had to go visit everyone, or you had to hope they’d come to trade shows so you could see them. Otherwise people who might buy equipment wouldn’t even know who you were.”

Now, he says, they still par-ticipate in all battery shows and conferences, and they advertise in the magazines. This kind of communication helps reduce time and travel on the front end. Conversely, it places a new emphasis and investment in time and care, on the back end, when it comes to the sale. The personal meeting with the customer is as important

Keep the customer satisfied

www.batteriesinternational.com Batteries International Spring /Summer 2010 31

Page 34: Batteries International

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Page 36: Batteries International

34 Batteries International Spring/Summer 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

SUPPLIER FOCUS — NORTH AMERICA

34 Batteries International Winter 2010 www.batteriesinternational.com

Which way lead? One word: forward. All the survey suppliers said no mat-ter what misconceptions the news media spin — the economy is tank-ing, US manufacturing is dead, lith-ium batteries will save the world — customers still have work to do, and they need the equipment to do it.

“The media tends to focus on perceived trends, sound-bites rather than well researched, veri-fied facts,” says Susan Hoffmann, director of marketing at Inter-national Thermal Systems.

Over-hyped downturn“They have hyped the economic downturn across the board, particu-larly in manufacturing," Hoffmann says We’ve continued to get orders and serve our customers as always. When it rains, you close the win-dows and put on your rain coat.”

That said, a nice cold — and long winter — always helps.

“Cold winters certainly boost bat-tery sales,” says Kevin Whear, vice president of technology for Daramic, noting this last one primed the pump for what promises to be a good year. “Here at Daramic, we think in terms of the inventory pipeline, from distributor, battery manufacturer, to seller. In 2009, we noticed custom-

ers kept things as slim as they could — kept stocks down as low as they could. Now we see things taking off. There are always those who have credit issues, but I don’t think this recession has generated more credit issues than there would be normally.”

Drive to consolidationAll reported they were busy find-ing ways to meet anticipated needs. Daramic is watching the promising mini-and micro-hybrid auto industry, in which lead acid looks to be a frontrunner. In the meantime, they’re heeding cus-tomers’ expressed needs for con-solidation of popular products.

“We’ve begun working toward consolidating several of our niche products into one new product fea-turing multiple benefits,” he says, “so that we can bring them to the market in a more cost-effective way.”

Suppliers appeared universally energized by exciting work being done across the lead acid indus-try, with Enersys, Exide Technolo-gies, C&D Technologies, Ultralife, Axion Power International, and ZBB Energy as leading the field.

The CSIRO’s Ultrabattery in Aus-tralia, which has been adopted by the likes of Banner and East Penn, is

regarded as significant in terms of its ability to address the Achilles heel of lead acid: partial state-of-duty.

Lead acid: here to stay“I feel secure in the certainty that the lead acid battery is going to be around for a long time,” says Doug Bornas, vice president of sales and marketing for MAC Engineering.

“It is not going to be replaced by any new chemistry any time soon — this technology is an inexpensive way to power, and completely recyclable.”

For all the hype about dog-eat-dog competition, however, Ales-sandro Fossemo, head of sales for Sovema US, notes a new spirit of collective learning in the industry.

“I am happy to say that Sovema enjoys working in a pool of com-petitors that are open to work-ing together and learning from one another,” he says.

For example, Sovema has been largely responsible for the adoption of the Ball Mill production method by the likes of Johnson Controls, among others battery producers in the US.

That said Sovema USA does not itself sell its curing chambers directly in the North American market, allow-ing them to be sold by MAC Engi-neering under Sovema’s licence.

“This helps the industry in that we all help development of ever bet-ter equipment,” says Fossemo.

“That’s why I think the bat-tery industry can only grow stronger now,” he says.

Increasing role of energy storage“Batteries will play an ever greater role as the entire world seeks better energy solutions," says Fossemo.

"From the continuation of lead acid demand, to ‘super’ lead acid tech-nologies, to the advanced battery chemistries, this is an exciting time.”

Although much of the future is clearly uncertain, what is known is that while the newer lead acid technologies, including the very promising work being done in ultracapacitors, may not yet offer the best long-term solu-tion for full EV applications.

But that said they do offer excit-ing possibilities to power a variety of hybrid applications, and new ways to reduce vehicle emissions without trading out the entire vehicular fleet.

“From the continuation of lead acid demand, to ‘super’ lead acid technologies, to the advanced battery chemistries, this is a truly exciting time to be in the business” Alessandro Fossemo, Sovema US

“Batteries will play an ever greater role as the entire world seeks better energy solutions. From the continuation of lead acid demand, to ‘super’ lead acid technologies, to the advanced battery chemistries, this is an exciting time.”

WHERE DO YOU THINK THE LEAD ACID SEGMENT OF THE INDUSTRY IS HEADING?

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as it ever ways, if not more so, on some level, especially with customers outside the US.

“So we visit customers on an almost daily basis around the world — that’s how we get the word out on what we do,” says Bornas. “We follow that through with quotations, techni-cal answers and orders, and we build equipment. Customers want to meet, they want to negotiate things in per-son. We rarely sign a contract that does not involve on-site visits. Cus-tomers do not want to do everything through the internet.”

Evolution of product linesCertainly suppliers have had to refine their product lines as the industry’s needs have shifted, and adjusted to the demands of the global marketplace and the strains of a global recession.

“Our customers have continued to come to us for products and services, even if the nature of their requests has

changed, reflecting the times,” says Susan Hoffmann, director of market-ing at International Thermal Systems. “Instead of ordering a major piece of capital equipment, they not infre-quently focus on refining how they use what they have to achieve greater efficiency. We can offer operational assistance, to help control costs and streamline operations.”

For example, when a company has to shut down a line to make a repair, it loses money. To reduce downtime and costs, ITS can examine the operation and find ways to institute a change, whether it’s replacing a motor or refin-ing a process.

“Or let’s say a company wants to reduce energy usage, cut their util-ity bills by a certain percentage,” she says. “We can come in and help them achieve that. Maybe it’s install-

Established 75 years ago, Dara-mic, a business unit of Polypore, has become a major manufacturer and supplier of battery separa-tors for automotive, industrial and specialty applications.

Daramic claims it supplies more than 50% of the world’s demand for high performance polyeth-ylene battery separators to the lead acid battery industry.

From their headquarters in Char-lotte, North Carolina in the US, Dara-mic operates marketing and sales offices across the Americas, Europe, Australia, south-east Asia and China. It has nine manufacturing facilities with a combined annual capacity of over 350 million square metres of battery separators produced in Ken-tucky and Indiana in the US; Selestat, France; Norderstedt, Germany; Feist-ritz, Austria; Bangalore, India; Tianjin, China; and Prachinburi, Thailand.

Daramic’s Center of Innovation in the Kentucky location serves as the central hive of scientists, industry experts and service tech-nicians charged with developing state-of-the-art product develop-ment, material analysis, pilot manu-facturing and testing facilities.

DARAMIC

COMPANY PROFILE“Customers are looking for anything we can bring them that will help them differentiate their battery from others. That means we have to know their product and process inside out”Kevin Whear, Daramic

“Instead of customers ordering a major piece of capital equipment, they not infrequently focus on refining how they use what they have to achieve greater efficiency”Susan Hoffmann, International Thermal Systems

Formed in 2000 from the merger of three well known and well respected names in the heat processing, finish-ing and metal decorating industries — Industrial Heat Enterprises Inter-national, Oven Systems Incorporated and LTG Metal Decorating — Inter-national Thermal Systems is a global original equipment manufacturer of industrial process ovens, furnaces,

washers and associated material handling equip-ment for applications in automotive, aerospace, power generation, battery manufactur-ing, building products, foundry and metal packaging industries.

It is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the US with offices in Europe and Asia, ITS boasts thou-

sands of thermal processing units installed worldwide. ITS capabilities also include the engineering and manufacturing of complete heat processing solutions including ovens, furnaces, washers, coolers, and asso-ciated material handling equipment.

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS

COMPANY PROFILE

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Lead acid — perceived as a com-moditized product — is cost driven because it is a volume product. As with any manufactured product, players strive to find the lowest cost to make that product, and that drives manufacturers to China and India, other low cost countries.

Finding enough qualified work-ers to man these Asian plants is an issue for any company working there, most add. Kevin Whear, vice president of technology for Daramic, says the company makes a point of employing local people in it plants in India, Thailand and China. “But that means we first have to find people who want to work for a western company (not hard), and who have language skills (English). Then we try to relocate other workers from other countries for a time, to get them trained and up to speed.

“This has been problematic in China, more recently, where growth has been so fast and inflation relatively high, that I think people have thought that if they changed jobs they could do better. So they tend not to stick in one job very long, and that has proven difficult to work around, though recently things have stabilized.”

Challenges abound in cross-cultural workforces, particularly the need for fast-track cultural sensitivity training at nearly every level. The survey's suppliers, most of whom had been in the battery business for at least 10 years, remarked on the dizzying pace of expansion — and acculturation.

All reported learning to be flexible in what they loosely called “cultural expectations”. When Daramic, origi-nally based in Boston, began building plants, work forces and sales teams abroad, they found that no matter the location — France, Germany, Austria, and later Asia, each culture presented its own challenges. “For example in China, we found that people tend more toward subservience,” says Whear. “Used to a more hierarchical structure, they waited for instructions from a leader, a boss. To us, a boss has a role but he doesn’t have all the answers. So we had to help them break out of that — making them feel more comfortable taking the initiative.”

A tangential issue, too, he says, is just managing growth in a time of so much change, not only in the industry, but among consumers themselves.

Globalization has changed the way companies produce — but also the way they approach new markets.

“The thing we have the most trouble with is making sure we have the right match of capacity in the right region,” he says, referencing rising demand for products in China where consum-ers, just purchasing a car for the first time, are often less knowledgeable.

“Another problem is that there is a conversion going on in Asia from what we call historic separator technology — cellulosic and rubber and PVC — to polyethylene, which has replaced the bulk of the busi-ness in North America and Europe. So China represents a market that is making essentially two transi-tions in terms of consumers and technology, which requires some accommodation on our part.”

GLOBALIZATION OF THE WORKFORCE

Extraordinary change: Beijing business district, mostly farmland 20 years ago

ing more energy efficient motors or auxiliary equip-

ment, or retooling a machine for smoother operation.” These can

include measures that will help com-panies qualify for green energy credits, tax incentives and grant funding.

“We find we often serve as a sort of go-to knowledge resource,” she says.

Problems only spur suppliers to come up with ever more inventive solutions that will save customers money, says Alessandro Fossemo, head of sales for Sovema US which operates from its subsidiary Bitrode Corporation, in Missouri.

He points to issues such as the rising costs of raw materials, in particular, and manufacturers’ ever-watchful eye on the improvement of productivity, reliability, and up-time to retain profitability.

“For example, we heard so many complaints about lead oxidation

machinery,” he says. “The Barton System can be inconsistent, tempera-mental to run, and greatly affected by environmental conditions; more importantly, the machines require fre-quent, lengthy cleaning downtimes sometimes running 30 dirty and dan-gerous hours per month.

“The higher reactivity of the Ball Mill system allows higher reactivity of the lead oxide, resulting in a 5% decrease in lead use. So we set to work refining the process to create a virtu-ally maintenance-free and consistent

Ball Mill production method.”The result has been the Sovema “S”

series oxide mill, developed specifi-cally to meet customers wanting extra production performance featuring new control features, such as a pre-heating system for temperature control and to achieve exactly the exact level of oxidation required.

“Clients seek a total solution approach to their problems,” he says. “They want you to think along with them, and offer expanded solutions for them.

What sets apart successful suppliers, however, seems to be an ability to provide a kind of total solution — an ownership of what has to be done to be successful.

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The bottom line, comes to value — but with a twist.

The mature market is into optimizing costs. But the cost is not just tied to the purchase price, it’s also tied to how well it serves in their operational proc-ess. Increasingly important now is a new kind of multi-pronged service that includes partnership as well as nimble-ness in delivering a rapid, response to a demand — after the sale.

One step ahead of the gameWhat’s needed is a laser-sharp acuity in perceiving clients’ needs before they know it themselves. That means keep-ing five steps ahead, not just one.

What sets apart successful suppli-ers, however, seems to be an ability to provide a kind of total solution, an ownership of what has to be done to be successful. Because every company feels their product is unique, they nat-urally want to feel that whatever goes into its production is likewise unique.

“Customers are looking for any-thing we can bring them that will help them differentiate their battery from others,” says Whear. “Any kind of performance increase is welcomed. So that means we have to know their product and process inside out.”

And because companies don’t neces-sarily expand their equipment capaci-ties every year, their needs vary as they absorb one purchase, or adjust to some operational change.

“We find customers demand a con-sistent ability to deliver manufactur-ing solutions that are not only reli-able and production-efficient, but also prompt,” says Fossemo, affirming a certain time-is-money urgency all the suppliers noted in an increasingly competitive industry. “Customers can-not wait a week to get a line back into production. They demand help now, and over the years, we’ve learned to react quickly with solutions.”

Customers worldwide often expect not just a repair but an improvement

resulting in immediate savings. A company’s success can depend on its ability to meet that demand, he says.

“For example, our acid recirculation product is considered one of the most effective industry solutions for short-ening lead acid battery formation—dramatically reducing overall produc-tion time, which can multiply fantastic ROI to the bottom line.”

Bornas says about a third of the equipment MAC Engineering sells will have some innovative design on it that originated from a customer.

“Our major focus is equipment, design for the battery industry, for the battery making companies, to help get the best and most consistent product, and to save labour,” he says.

“We have consistently found that our customers always want some innovative design, some advantage over company ‘B’ down the street that they can promote to their customers. So they’ll often ask us, ‘Can you do it?’ Our reputation rests in our answer to that, and it is ‘yes, we will do all those things.’ If we think it will work, we’ll do it.”

Over-hyped and over hereMost suppliers felt impatience with what they view as an industry-wide malaise, particularly given the over-hyping of the lithium segment in the last few years. To some degree, lead acid batteries have suffered from their own success in quietly being behind the power of modern living for over a century.

But in the past decade suppliers — both high-tech or otherwise — to the lead acid business have been seen as inferior to their lithium-ion counter-parts now being developed for electric vehicles.

The topic is a sore one, given the younger chemistry’s unresolved per-formance issues.

“The lithium industry, for automo-tive application, is still relatively under-

After launching production of its first machine, an SLI-cast-on strap, in

1965, MAC Engineering expanded further into the lead acid battery industry with state-of-the-art pasting and plate flash drying

equipment for both automotive and industrial battery production, as well as an automotive plate parter.

In recent years MAC has intro-duced numerous new machines including platemaking equip-ment, curing equipment, panel parters, Cast On Strap machines for both automotive and indus-trial batteries, acid fillers, heat sealers, short testers, leak test-ers, and continuous expanded metal plate production under the names COMAC and MAC ACP.

In 2005, MAC formed a partner-ship with Eagle Oxide Systems, giving it the ability to offer all sizes of Linklater, Eagle Barton oxide, red lead furnaces, ball mill systems and components.

“Customers want to meet, they want to negotiate things in person. We rarely sign a contract that does not involve on-site visits”Doug Bornas, MAC Engineering

MAC ENGINEERING

COMPANY PROFILE

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SUPPLIER FOCUS — NORTH AMERICA

developed,” says Bornas. “It’s at the stage where lead acid

was 100 years ago. They’ve got a chemistry that works, that

gives good test results, but now they’ve got to figure out how to produce it in quantity, and at an affordable price, at a time when we’re trying to find ways to reduce costs in cars. So far this chemistry just adds costs.”

Advancing the businessWhat’s not being done in the lead acid industry, they say, is proper marketing of the technological advances being made in this segment every day.

John Sims, director of sales for Wirtz Manufacturing in, Michigan says “The way to build a lead acid battery hasn’t changed much in 100 years. Materi-als have changed, techniques have changed, but the basic chemistry has stayed the same.

“That’s one of the testaments as to why developing lead acid chemistry is the right course, long term. Its longev-ity says a great deal.”

It’s a familiar industry refrain too. The old saw among battery men — “Once you get lead in your blood, you never get it out” — holds true at a business level tool.

“We haven’t done enough in the last five years to champion the cause for why lead acid is still the best mouse-trap,” says Sims.

“What politicians and bureaucrats don’t understand — when they say they want it clean and green — is that when it comes right down to it, lead acid is the most reasonable alternative compared to all the other materials on offer for high tech batteries.

“Lithium doesn’t recycle well, and nickel not easily — 99% of all lead used in North America comes from recycled batteries.”

The industry needs to do a better job of getting the truth out about lead acid, he says. “What we need are good com-municators who can distil and articu-late this technology into language from a manufacturing and business stand-point to the general public.” ■

Specializing in battery grid and plate-making technology since its founding in 1932, Wirtz has also moved into oxide conveying and mixing, battery assembly and corrosive resistant con-veyors, and finishing line machines.

The company prides itself on its grid casting machines and con-tinuous casting (ConCast and ConRoll) and pasting lines, con-sidered industry standards.

The Wirtz group of companies also includes several acquisition, including: LEKO, offering a full range of assem-bly products including TTP welders, heat sealers, and related line equip-ment; Oxmaster; ConBro formation and finishing systems including acid dilution plants, acid fillers, dumpers,

and washing/drying systems; and Battery Recycling Systems, which provides turnkey secondary lead smelting and recycling systems.

Founded in 1969, Sovema offers an extensive line of production machin-ery for battery manufacturing from its own headquarters near Verona in Italy, and through Sovema US, based in Wisconsin, and subsidiary Bitrode Corporation, in Missouri, as well as a facility in Tianjin, China.

The company supplies individual equipment (paster, flash drying ovens, plate collecting systems, etc.) for specific processing opera-tions, as well as complete lines for the entire production cycle, using an integrated technological approach starting from the study of factory and department lay-out through to

product know-how and plant com-missioning by specialized staff.

Sovema is particularly known for its "Performer", the continuous progressive expander, the innova-tive technology that makes it pos-sible to produce both positive and negative grids at double the speed of other available systems.

In 2008 Sovema incorporated Bitrode Corporation, a respected supplier of electrical power conver-sion systems for electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle bat-tery testing, as well as produc-tion and test systems used in the manufacturing of batteries.

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING

SOVEMA US

COMPANY PROFILE

COMPANY PROFILE

“We haven’t done enough in the last five years to champion the cause for why lead acid is still the best mousetrap” John Sims, Wirtz

“Clients seek a total solution approach to their problems. They want you to think along with them, and offer expanded solutions for them” Alessandro Fossemo, Sovema US

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AFFORDABLE QUALITY WORLDWIDE FROM THE WIRTZ GROUP OF COMPANIES

It’s time to step up to the benefits of one continuous, modular plate making system that can make three different kinds of grids. No wonder more manufacturers are switching to the Wirtz Universal Plate Making System. Start with Concast negative grids. Add ConRoll mills for positives. Or a Wirtz punched press for roll/punched positives. Only the Wirtz Universal System can grow with you and produce all three from the same Wirtz continuous casting system. It’s cost effective, high quality, and there’s no waste like expanded metal. And for a true winning combination, add the Wirtz ConPaste line for even greater control of your pasted plates. For more information call +1.810.987.7600, or email us at [email protected].

ConCast Negative and PositiveConRoll Positive Roll/Punched Positive

3 GRID TYPES1 SYSTEM

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PROFILE: PAUL CHEESEMAN

How advanced is advanced lead acid? And why is one of the largest battery manufacturers devoting resources to reinventing the humble lead acid battery. Lynnda Greene interviewed Paul Cheeseman, vice president global engineering and research, at Exide Technologies.

It’s a surprise twist of fate. Dr. Paul Cheeseman, vice president, global engineering and research at Exide Technologies, after spending virtually his entire career working on every bat-tery chemistry except lead is now to concentrate on ... lead-acid.

“I’ve saved the oldest for last, in the third trimester of my career,” he says. “I’m excited in that I am confident we are able to reinvent lead-acid for the future. Already there is an understand-ing that advanced lead-acid is not the same as old lead-acid. At Exide, we’re applying what I like to call the ‘Back to the Future technology strategy’.

“Of course we can’t go into the future,” he says, “but what we can do is take technologies that existed yes-terday, not to mention 150 years ago, and we can apply those technologies to problems that could not be solved in the past, so we can be successful in the future.”

There are thousands of examples, he insists, of how we can do that, though his favourite example is carbon.

Until 20 years ago, there was just plain black carbon. But since then, due in part to the development of fuel cells and in part to the development of lithium-ion, very sophisticated graph-ite and activated carbons have been developed featuring different conduc-tivities, and with high surface areas.

Eliminating sulphationBut the lead-acid industry has found, he says, that applying those carbons to the negative plate in a lead-acid bat-tery can reduce and maybe even elimi-nate the age-old chemical problem of sulphation, which significantly inter-rupts the charge acceptance capability of a lead-acid battery. Sulphation, and

lead’s weight, have been some of the most significant obstacles to lead-acid being used in hybrid electric vehicles.

“So, ostensibly, if we steal these new carbons — from fuel cells and lithium-ion — that have developed and apply them to lead-acid, we can

then make lead-acid a better product for the future,” he says, adding that the R&D initiatives at Exide’s new research centre in Milton, Georgia, in particular, are keyed around the principal of taking technologies today (that didn’t exist yesterday) and apply-

The new masters of lead acid

Does he get the urge to just go in the lab and fool around? “Oh yes, all the time. Trouble is my staff gets scared when I even get near the door.”

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PROFILE: PAUL CHEESEMAN

ing them to lead-acid for the purpose of reinventing it.

It doesn’t take much to cajole a few more such examples from a man clearly excited about the future of lead-acid batteries in all manner of applications.

Take the way lead acid is manufac-tured. “Historically, it’s been done with relatively dated processes,” he says. “If we apply some of the process precision that’s available with nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion, we can make better products.”

As a technologist, he says, he has no intention of putting a lot of work into something that’s not marketable.

“The thing that switched me over years ago, from enjoying a sociable life to being driven to develop new products and technologies, was really wanting to see products in the market-place – products that customers love and that consumers want to buy, that they can use.”

Gasoline savingsHaving spent more of his career work-ing on AA batteries, he says, the chance to work on something that can reduce energy usage and help the environment is tremendously satisfy-ing. “The batteries we make with the assistance of an approximately $30 million grant from the United States Department of Energy will save, in the right vehicles, up to 75 million gallons of gasoline.”

Cheeseman’s present work at Exide — he joined in June 2008 being spe-cially chosen for the post by then-chief operating officer Edward O’Leary, caps an already extensive career in the battery business.

He spent 16 years at Duracell, where he held a variety of jobs including director of lithium-ion technology and director of operations for its New Products Division.

In the early 1990s he moved to Spectrum Brands, (formerly Rayovac), where as senior vice president for R&D and quality, he led four global research and development integration programmes resulting from acquisi-tions, and oversaw the efforts of some 150 scientists and engineers.

Oddly enough, it was only a whim of fate that led him to the energy storage business. “In my final year of university — my first degree was in chemistry and materials science — I’d already signed up to join an accountancy firm,” he says. “At that time, they were recruiting chemists! But I became captivated by a research project, and one thing led to another. I stayed on and earned a PhD in elec-trochemistry.”

Duracell daysFrom there it was a natural step to move into the battery business. “Duracell liked me, and I liked them, so I set off to become a research scientist in their European technical centre,” he says.

Those early years with Duracell were crucial, he says, in that they allowed him to spend half his time in R&D and half in manufacturing, doing dif-ferent jobs in different places, often abroad.

Through the early 1990s he worked

During the past 18 months, Exide has established two technical cen-tres, one in the state of Georgia in the US and one in Büdingen, Germany. It also has another exist-ing facility in Azuqueca, Spain.

Cheeseman is clearly proud of Exide’s new state-of-the-art 20,000 square foot technical centre in Milton, Georgia, one of three new or upgraded engineering centres dedicated to development of vari-ous forms of stored energy.

It boasts analytical, electronics and prototype battery laborato-ries and world-class instrument rooms, as well as a garage for

hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) prod-uct development — an environ-ment that enables advanced R&D surrounding emerging applica-tions for stored electrical energy.

Cheeseman sees the Mil-ton’s function as an incubation centre for product develop-ment groups elsewhere.

“I want to develop better prod-ucts,” he says. “I want to meet customers’ needs. It’s a bit like fir-ing arrows. R&D is like stocking up the quiver, and the new technolo-gies are arrows in the quiver. You use them as you need them — but the main point is to have a lot of

arrows. The best technologies are the ones that are usable or reus-able across different product lines.”

But why three facilities scat-tered across the world?

“The best way to solve a prob-lem is to bring different perspec-tives to the table, so they can see that problem from different angles,” says Cheeseman.

“People of different educa-tions and cultures bring a lot to the table. Over the last 15 years, I’ve come to see diversity as a key organizational strategy to help me create an organization that can beat the competition.”

DIVERSITY: A KEY ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY

“We’ve reached some tipping points about the way we see the world and how we manage our economies, and that’s changed how we think about our economic security.”

Exide Global RD&E team at Milton, Georgia: Paul Cheeseman, (far left).

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PROFILE: PAUL CHEESEMAN

Before his arrival, each of Exide’s operating divisions principally con-ducted its own engineering accord-ing to product line and application.

Cheeseman considers he wears two hats on the job, serving as both captain and navigator to the vast vessel that is Exide’s R&D division.

“Exide wants to achieve two things,” he says. “The first is to con-nect all the engineering groups that we have working around the world. This is a product of Exide’s history. We’ve accumulated lots of engineer-ing groups through historical acquisi-tions, working in multiple countries and divisions. So, one key part of my job is to connect all those together, and coordinate their efforts.”

And this is quite some operation — the ship’s crew numbers in the thou-sands and operates in 80 countries.

Exide already has engaged in a number of partnerships aim-ing to accelerate growth and offer new directions for the firm.

The company’s recent alliance with Axion Power International means that Exide expects to enhance its ability to expedite the development of advanced lead-acid batteries and new chemistries for use in prod-uct development, thus broaden-ing opportunities in transportation original equipment channels.

Exide essentially becomes Axion Power’s principal transporta-tion battery OEM customer.

Exide’s new collaboration with the US Department of Energy’s Savan-nah River National Laboratory and the University of Idaho should help the company commercialize further improvements in lead-acid battery technology. Already, scientists have developed a unique glass micro-sphere technology now being con-sidered for a variety of commercial uses, particularly in battery perform-ance enhancement applications.

Through a new deal with Nano-Terra, a nanotechnology firm, Exide plans to expand work in surface chemistry and engineering to cre-ate innovative functionalities for stored energy solutions toward motive power, network power and transportation applications.

Cheeseman already has helped change the mindset of the research department.

“Just before I came to Exide, the company’s R&D initiative was prin-cipally focused on two years out

and not much further,” he says.“But with new markets emerg-

ing and opportunities develop-ing, there was need for a longer term viewpoint for research and development. So, another key part of my job was developing strategies and plans for technol-ogy, and for developing roadmaps looking out five years and more.”

Put another way, his role at Exide can be compared to a recalibration of routes that reflects not just the next port, but an entire voyage last-ing years into the future — including ports and markets still underap-preciated by too many companies. Exide, he says, is not one of them.

“What excited me was the Exide team’s vision to grow energy stor-age, particularly for markets related to hybrid electric vehicles,” he says.

“Exide recognized this was going to be a great market opportunity.” As it happens, last summer Exide was awarded $34.3 million under the American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act of 2009 for its proposal for the domestic manufacture of afford-

able lead-acid batteries incorporat-ing advanced carbon technology.

Exide’s project involves two of its global technologies: a spiral wound absorbed glass mat (AGM) design and a flat plate AGM design.

Exide, nevertheless, regards lithium-ion as part of its future. “Our strategy is to make sure we build an energy storage portfolio that enables us to meet the many mar-ket opportunities,” he says. “We will maintain a focus in the indus-trial segment, as we expect that to grow over the next years, and on the backbone of lead-acid will grow lithium-ion. But we will be on the lookout for other battery chemistries that might supplement our portfolio.

Yes, people still deride lead-acid as being old and heavy. “But it’s incredibly low cost, incredibly good energy storage, and is effectively recycled — more so than any other chemistry. However, it still can’t meet all needs,” he says. “So, we will supplement what lead-acid can do with lithium-ion and other chemistries that make sense.”

RESEARCH IN THE FAST LANE

Just before I came, R&D was focused on two years and in, not much more. But with new markets emerging and opportunities developing, there was need for a longer-term viewpoint for research and development

Lookose Malikayil, lab engineer, at Exid'es new technology centre in Georgia

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PROFILE: PAUL CHEESEMAN

in Duracell’s rechargeable division — first in operations, managing a battery pack plant then under development, and from 1995 to 1998 as director of lithium-ion cell development. “This was before so much of the industry moved to Asia,” he says. Both Dura-cell and Energizer were then investing heavily in lithum-ion, expecting that they could diversify their businesses into rechargeable battery packs for computers and cell phones.”

So was anyone even dreaming of automotive applications for lithium-ion batteries back then?

First metal hybrid carsAccording to industry research, the answer is yes. Duracell joined Toshiba and Varta in a partnership in 1992 to produce metal hydride rechargeable batteries for hybrid cars.

By 1996, the three companies had won research grants from the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), toward development of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehi-cle applications. In 1997, they were granted $14.5 million contract exten-sion from the USABC.

“It was clear even then that lithium-ion was going to be a significant bat-tery chemistry of the future,” he says of the chemistry’s dramatic rise during the past 15 years. “It is only fulfilling a long expected plan, but I’m not going to say it’s exceeded my wildest dreams. But lithium-ion has not travelled the path I expected it to travel.

“If anything, I’d say that lithium-ion is a little bit behind where I thought it might be.”

He thinks the chemistry’s sudden ascendency into the realms of auto-motive application — and thereby labs and shops of some major indus-try players — is due only in part to a proliferation of public and pri-vate investment, as well as innovative partnerships across both industries.

What’s really pivoted the whole discussion, to his mind, is the marked sea change in public recognition of the most salient issue at stake: an urgent need for efficient, renewable and sustainable sources of energy.

“During the last year, the climate has changed,” he says. “For battery makers and car makers, yes, but it’s also that suddenly all the interested groups – the stakeholders – are at the table. It’s the first time in my memory that everybody is saying that finally we have an opportunity for electric vehicles.”

But Cheeseman is doubtful that the world is ready for all-electric vehicles.

“From a hybrid electric vehicle standpoint, implementing a battery to help their drive train is much simpler than doing a complete electric vehi-cle,” he says. “A good HEV — mild, medium or full hybrid — emits less CO2 than a full electric vehicle that is being charged with electricity being generated, in most countries, from a grid highly dependent on coal fired power. So an HEV actually produces less CO2 when you look at the total CO2 supply chain.”

He says Exide likes HEV technol-ogy and production because it can be implemented relatively cheaply, without the costly construction of the recharging infrastructure a plug-in fleet will need.

“They need power, but not that much energy,” Cheeseman points out. “They typically need a one- kilowatt-hour battery. So, in that case, lead-acid is not a bad solution. The price is not going to be prohibitive. A one-kilowatt-hour car battery is substan-

tially less costly.”For all the immense changes the bat-

tery industry has endured over the last few years — globalization of markets, trade, finances, and of course a deep, crippling recession — Cheeseman is sanguine about the future.

Managing resources better“We’ve reached some tipping points about the way we see the world and how we manage our economies, and that’s changed how we think about our economic security,” he says. “I sense a mainstream realization that energy and fuel are finite resources that need to be managed better. The other thing about an economic reces-sion is that, you know, when people have a heart attack, they have to change their lifestyles.

“Similarly, we’ve got to change how we do things. And, the outcome of that is a lot of companies have failed — but some companies are a lot stronger.”

Above all, he says, the interest in batteries and energy storage is here to stay. “From a personal standpoint, there has never been a better time to be in the battery industry.”

Does he get the urge to just go in a lab and fool around? “Oh yes, all the time. Trouble is my staff gets scared when I even get near the door. ■

I’m not going to say it’s exceeded my wildest dreams. But lithium-ion has not travelled the path I expected it to travel

The best technologies are the ones that are usable or reusable across different product lines.

The new Exide hybrid vehicle, a Honda HEV retrofitted with Exide batteries.

PHO

TO

: MIC

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WEIBULL ANALYSIS

Knowing the approximate life characteristics of a number of battery technologies based on Weibull statistics can be a useful predictive tool, writes Erik Spek from Innovative Testing Solutions and Neil Johnson from Ricardo.

As new battery technologies evolve to meet the needs of PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) and EVs (elec-tric vehicles), the pressure to reduce costs has led to concepts that take advantage of the remaining life in automotive traction batteries for sub-sequent use in less demanding applica-tions.

The most common of these ideas is to use automotive high power batter-ies in lower power applications when the minimum power deliverable can-not meet the automotive requirement.

Another idea is to rebuild these packs with new cells or modules of cells to regain the power or energy specification.

The replacement of a few cells may seem a straightforward operation and the use of an automotive sub-specifi-cation pack in stationary service may be financially attractive, however, the expected new service life in these sce-narios needs to be verified.

One of the ways to do this is to run life tests on an intensified basis — 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks of a year — on enough samples to be able to develop meaningful sta-tistics for prediction purposes.

While this is an exact and rigorous method, it is also demanding in terms of time and money.

Even with an intensive testing plan costing upwards of $1 million for suf-

ficient samples, it will still take over two years to accumulate the data required. Many business man-agement decisions cannot be deferred for such a long time and less exact but still relevant methods are required when confronted with the repair and subsequent use question.

This is where knowing the approxi-mate life characteristics of a number of battery technologies based on Weibull statistics can be useful. If there is no data, then Weibull statistics (as infer-ence versus exact data) is a better alternative for decision-making than having no information.

Weibull factors (slope and life) have their limitations but within reason (ie beta greater than 1) represent typical bathtub curves and are a model based on log-log values of the supporting data. Interpretation of the Weibull sta-tistics requires an understanding of the fundamental physical phenomenon in the battery cells.

Cell failure characteristicsThe ideal failed cell is one which no longer is able to supply the minimum specification of power and/or energy

to the pack but does not impede the remaining cells in their function. This is typically called a ‘benign’ failure. Some technologies such as NaS and NaNiCl2 were designed to be able to perform in this manner with the help of electronic bypass elements or electrochemical reactions in deep discharge that resulted in ‘to specifica-tion’ resistance.

If a cell fails in such as way as to impede the function of the remaining cells, it can compromise the function of the pack.

This is sometimes referred to as a ‘catastrophic’ failure. Examples are: physical destruction from I2R over-heating; damage from external forces (abuse, charging, immersion, etc) lead-ing to thermal runaway; expulsion of molten, conductive materials creating internal short circuits, and the like. Some benign failures if provoked by catastrophically failed cells can them-selves become catastrophic.

Test, repair, bin or re-use

Wear Out

Random

observe

Infant mortality

Decreasingfailure rate

Increasingfailure rate

Constant failurerate

Repair to pack Involving cells NiMH HEV Lithium Ion challenge

Cell fails to perform to No significant Establish cell performance &

specification (W or Wh) known warranty claims degradation over life statistics

Ground fault Cell caused Caused by cell abuse

– establish tolerance levels

Non-cell caused Avoided by best design practice

Repair to pack not Involving cells NiMH HEV Lithium ion challenge

Structural failure No significant

Sensor Failure known warranty claims Adopt best practices from NiMH

Current carrying path

Software & controls

Distinguishing between cell and non-cell causes of pack end of life

Product ‘Bathtub’ failure curve

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WEIBULL ANALYSIS

Thus both cell design for failure and pack design are critical for a reliable and durable pack.

Using Weibull diagrams for repair decisionsThe number of cumulative percent-age failed cells in a battery pack is strongly dependent on the cell failure modes and this in turn is influenced by the application’s tolerance for reduced power and energy. If, for example, failure of 5% the total cell population result in below specification power or energy, a simple decision could be made to revive that battery pack by replacing the failed cells, assuming they can be definitively identified.

With the long service lives of NiMH packs and their complementary power role making repair largely unneces-sary, lithium ion packs are then the most likely candidates for cell replace-ment.

There are other ‘check or correct before repair’ factors that must be addressed in a rebuild to make it safe and effective such as:

• the state of charge of the remaining cells to synchronize to;

• sufficient reconnection materials remaining for an effective current-carrying node;

• cell integrity with no loss of fluids; and,

• cell resistance.

An out of specification condition for any of these factors can make repair difficult and possibly unsafe. How-ever, if the cells fail benignly, repair may be feasible and then the extent and frequency of the repair must be evaluated for feasibility.

Knowing the Weibull statistics for the particular technology or even a similar technology can be of help when making the repair/rebuild decision.

The case of mature productsIn the charts on the next page, a number of mature technology packs for an HEV application when tested to failure had a ß of about seven as shown in the two lines in the upper half of the diagram.

These lines are derived from the fault tolerance limits of cumulative percentage failed cells in the lower half of the diagram where the life of the cells can be expected to be between seven and eight years.

Translating this into pack life, it can be said that 62.3% of the packs will have failed between five and seven years.

Thus if the 2.5% of failed cells that did so in the seven to eight years were replaced, it is unlikely that

the renewed pack would have lived beyond eight years.

The conclusion may be that if the ß is high and the cell population has a long life, the prize for repairing a pack is marginal with only a short additional life to be gained.

This is typically the case for a mature product with high ß and long life. This conclusion may not be relevant if the product, while mature, is also high cost. In this case, a repair may be financially advantageous if even for only a short reprieve to end of life.

By contrast, products which are relatively new using immature tech-nology will have lower value ß slopes exhibiting the Weibull characteristics as shown in the last figure. The ß example slope for the immature cells in the lower half of the diagram has

a value of from 1.5 to <2 while com-paratively, the dotted line for best, mature, flooded lead acid traction battery cells have a ß slope of >3.

In this case, repair could extend the life of the immature product beyond warranty terms or for other special reasons. The remaining cells will con-tinue to fail but the new cells will improve the ß.

In the first diagram entitled ‘examples of different shape factors’ the topmost line is in the shape of a ‘hockey stick’ to show that after a certain life, a dominant failure mode is reached and changes the ß significantly.

The early ß of one is characteristic until just after the two-year point. At that point the dominant failure mode results in about one more year of life. If this dominant failure mode is an

Weibull diagrams are a method of graphically depicting the failures of a product over its lifetime. ‘Failure’ is defined by the owner of the data and can cover many different sce-narios and their consequences. It is important to clearly define what a ‘failed’ cell is in order to be able to determine what to do with those failed cells — a fundamentally ‘good’ cell could appear to be failed if

externalities cause the symptom (degraded connection, out of sync, etc). A truly ‘bad’ cell may be the result of permanent failure modes such as irreversible internal corrosion.

A typical Weibull diagram, as seen here, has a line or lines each char-acterized by a slope and intercept. The x axis fundamentally represents a time based value such as years or cycles to failure. The y axis is the

cumulative percent-age of failed data. As the data for failure is gathered, it can be directly plotted on the Weibull diagram as scatter data and then fitted to a straight line.

The two line charac-teristics are graphically determined by Weibull methods based on the estimation point (top left corner) and the acceptable number of accumulated failures. The slope, known as ‘ß’, typically has a value from about one to three or more.

A value of one rep-resents an immature product with failures occurring at a some-what regular rate over the lifetime. As the value of ß increases, the product is matur-ing with few early fail-ures and most failures grouped late in life.

WEIBULL DIAGRAMS: THE MEANING OF BETA

Examples of different shape factors (ß)

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WEIBULL ANALYSIS

uncontrollable factor such as cell inter-nal corrosion, there is little argument for repairing such packs in the hope of real-izing longer than three years of life.

Putting it all togetherThe Weibull lines presented in these plots are derived from experience with several different battery tech-nologies since the mid-1980s.

Assuming that cell failures are benign, there may be scenarios that are worthwhile for repair and pos-sibly reuse. For example, repair pro-grammes for second life make eco-nomic sense when the second life criteria for power and energy are less than first life. This implies that the second application and its risks are understood well enough to avoid new or unintended failure modes.

A measure of caution should be exercised if a decision to repair or reuse is taken. There are many more factors than simply the Weibull lines to be taken into account.

The background leading to a repair scenario would be either one of gradual reduction in pack perform-ance through multiple benign cell failures or immediate loss of pack performance through one or more catastrophic cell failures.

Repair in the first case does not makes sense in most circumstances when the ß is a high value since only

a small improvement in remaining life can be expected.

If the ß was a low value, as in the case of a new product, repair may be worthwhile to delay warranty costs or maintain a fleet in service while the product life is improved. In the case of catastrophic cell failures, the collat-eral damage inflicted on the remaining cells and pack infrastructure usually presents a barrier to an effective, safe repair due to physical damage.

So what does Weibull say about repair? It is likely not effective with mature and low cost product; but might be effective for immature or high cost product.

For example, the track record of NiMH has been very good with esti-mated ß of well over three and a minimum warranty of eight years. With no firm data available concern-ing end of life, repair of these packs will likely not be worthwhile unless a highly organized process similar to lead-acid is developed at the tier one or two level.

Beyond the simple Weibull informa-

tion, it should be noted that to effect a safe and effective repair, it is impor-tant to establish the state of health of the cells which will be used as replacements for the defective units. This can typically only be done by testing each and every cell and bring-ing all into balance.

Accordingly, it would appear that the most feasible path would be to strip every pack as received with healthy parts set aside as WIP for subsequent use in the rebuilding process.

The logistics of corralling old packs is also a significant factor and should not be underestimated. For example, the reverse distribution of lead acid packs is a highly organized and low cost drill orchestrated to supply the highly efficient lead acid recycling industry.

Establishing the same system for high voltage NiMH and lithium ion packs will be a challenge.

For further information contact Erik J Spek, ITS at [email protected]

Mature power technology pack and cell life — postulationEarly technology pack and cell life

So what does Weibull say about repair? It is likely not effective with mature and low cost product; but might be effective for immature or high cost product.

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CONFERENCEIN PRINT

A letter from the publisher

Welcome to a new section of our magazine, called Conference in Print.

Our aim is a simple one. We want to offer you the readers a section where you can highlight your products, technology and skills to our broader audience — rather like going to a conference or an exhibition without the inconvenience of all the travel!

We’re putting no restrictions on what you’d like to showcase — this is your section not ours — but hope that this will prove an invaluable and cost-effective way to reach our audience of subscribers and readers.

Let me know what you think!

With warmest regards

Don ClearyPublisher

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT: ABERTAX PROFILE

Developers tend to think in one direction only — tweaking the basic chemistry —when trying to create a better battery. But perhaps another viewpoint should be considered: how can better engineering design be brought to bear to make batter-ies more efficient? And then add another layer. How can the management of engi-neering design be made more efficient?

And that’s been the approach from Abertax, an advanced supplier for battery accessories, since the firm was revamped with the appointment of a chief executive, Dr Ing Joseph Cilia and general manager Ing George Schembri, in October 2003. Together with their new vice president Mr Klaus Dieter Merz, a chemical engi-neer who needs no introduction to the battery industry, they form the perfect team to steer their R&D department for providing the battery industry with the ideal accessories.

“Engineering design in and around the battery has not had the attention it deserves,” says Merz. “Creating a better battery shouldn’t just be stuck at looking at alternative chemistries in seeking to build an advanced product. Rather it should also be dissecting ways of enabling that chemistry to be more efficient.”

A good example of his thinking in terms of ‘enabling’ can be seen in one of the firm’s earliest patents for a valve referred to as gas release system (GRS) for all types of valve regulated batteries.

In essence it’s a plug, but a clever one. It’s clever design allows accurate and consistent opening and closing pres-sure values that can be calibrated. This increases the working life of batteries as it reduces the loss of humidity within the battery.

Since battery venting is the prime rea-son for moisture loss in VRLA batteries, the performance of a better valve can dra-matically keep the water content higher within the gel or acid and so extend the battery life. (Additionally, the diaphragm

system in the GRS also prevents air enter-ing the cells which potentially damages the plates.)

“But our approach to this was more than just an engineering one,” says Schembri. “We put the valves through their paces in some of the most demand-ing environments a battery might have to withstand. And then we dissected the whole manufacturing approach — from a business point of view as well as an engineering one — to find the optimal production path, in view of Quality and the aggressive competition especially from the far eastern countries.”

Abertax presently keeps up with the existing demand of GRS, but has enough spare capacity to increase its production. “Through further machinery, and exist-ing experience we are planning to satisfy growing demand by short term adding of capacity- doubling or tripling present output” says Schembri.

At the end of March Abertax released a new version of its gas release system (GRS) valve suitable to work with M27 sized VRLA batteries. Until now the patented valve has only been available in the smaller M18 size. Abertax says other sizes will be later made available

and a 27mm valve with a bayonet fitting should appear shortly.

As part of this dissection of the manu-facturing approach, the firm says it has had to look at ways of ensuring the timeliness of its delivery of products. This is more than just a key issue for any supplier but, in management jargon, also a “core competency” — an issue that is critical to the success of both Abertax and its customers.

Secure inventoryOne of Abertax’s strengths has been the variety of ways it has looked at in trying to ensure continuity of supplies to its customers.

“In order to provide for any eventually that could possibly turn out with deliv-ery,” says Schembri, “we make sure that we carry at least three months’ inventory in our base factory at Corradino. That covers any delays that we might possibly encounter and on top of that we added a further buffer in case of other eventuali-ties. Guaranteed delivery to our clients is one thing that we strive for.”

As an indication of how seriously the company takes its ability to deliver its products to its customers, to specifica-

Better engineering and better engineering management offer a way ahead for battery industry suppliers. Batteries International visited Abertax’s headquarters in Malta.

Finding the perfect design mix

"Engineering design in and around the battery has not had the attention it deserves"

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT: ABERTAX PROFILE

tion and on time, Abertax has a back-up subcontracting factory located some 50 km away on the island of Gozo that can be used as a back-up in any kind of emer-gency disaster recovery situation.

But rather than expose itself to poten-tial disruptions, the company took the step to invest in taking fuller control over external inputs. “We decided to bring the design, building and maintenance of all the equipment used — such as moulds and automation — in-house,” says Dr Cilia. The result is that Abertax has a state of the art computerised design and machine tool department capable of pro-ducing everything from simple templates for injection moulding to designing and building the machines that will automate their GRS and other monitoring lines.

“We’re finding an immense autonomy and a sense of security in having this high-tech, computerized design facility in-house,” says Schembri. “It’s more than just relieving us from problems with sup-pliers and sub-contractors but it gives us a production advantage in being able to develop the most effective designs for what we do.”

Virtuous feedbackThe firm believes one of its key strengths lies here in that its R&D department works closely with the various produc-tion and design. “It’s a kind of virtuous feedback between all aspects of our company,” says Schembri.

Equally important is the fact that Aber-tax believes it can use first-world skills to deal with third-world competition.

“Competitive advantages for large swathes of the manufacturing side of the battery business is now mostly found in price,” says Cilia. “And countries such as China are able to use their cheaper workforce to drive the price of their products down.

“Our answer lies in greater and more efficient automation and perhaps equally important, the ability to drive the way automation works ourselves. Being able to make much of our manufacturing equipment is liberating in this respect. This way we can provide our products at a price that can compete globally.”

Global sales require a sales force almost permanently on the road.

For Abertax the key figure in support-ing their esteemed customers with profes-sional support is Mr Merz, who worked in both the R&D and Applications Engi-neering departments at the German bat-tery firm Sonnenschein before making a name for himself as marketing director for motive power products at Exide Industries.

Dr Cilia believes that — frequently at least — the way products come to mar-ket are the wrong way round. “Quite

often research departments will come up with a product and then the marketing department will go out and try to sell it. We think we have a better system in that our people, with a vast experience in the battery industry, work hand in hand with the customers on their needs and our research will go all the way to, design it, improve on it, perfect it, and finally provide it.”

Battery monitoringAt the moment — at least in terms of R&D — the firm’s two main product lines are its GRS valve system and its battery sensors and battery management lines, though it has various other subsidi-ary products such as magnetic water inlet valves for use in any water storage tank, cleaning machines and the like.

“The GRS is a relatively easy product to market,” says Merz, “in that it imme-diately provides you with a better, more reliable battery. The Battery Monitoring Units, which also have a huge impact on the battery life and performance are becoming more popular , he says.

As the next generation of lithium (and other) battery chemistries emerge, the range of uses and conditions where they will be exposed will necessitate a greater awareness, and ease of awareness, of the state of the batteries.

The corresponding next generation of electrical vehicles, he believes is a case in point in that battery monitoring should deliver more than just information about the health of the battery but also its charge and discharge rates and, in par-ticular, a long history of data that can be mined.

One immediate need for car, and other electrical vehicle manufacturers looking at leasing — as may become a trend — is that such a monitoring system immedi-ately allows the lessor to calculate the power used for billing purposes.

But there are spin-off benefits too. Remote monitoring should provide an invaluable tool for standby power testing or even fleet management of say airport ground vehicles. Since Abertax’s system can also be delivered with GPS — and information transmitted over the internet — its ability to pinpoint where the trou-ble may be originating can add another dimension to the product.

But this is not just moving into the world of fantasy. Already field tests have validated many of the uses of remote, wireless based monitoring.

“One good example,” says Dr Cilia, “is when we were looking at the optimal use of a Gel battery that was being used to power a boat. We found that on a single charge the boat initially allowed us three trips of a standard length before going flat out.

“However, when we looked at improv-ing the performance by installing Aber-tax battery management and control unit, we found that by using the absolute maximum power of the motor rather then the ideal one we added only 1% to its speed while taking 25% more current from the battery for this. Through proper management and control we ended up getting nine trips on just one charge.”

From monitoring to the gridBetter battery monitoring is also bringing spin-off benefits to Abertax and could even cause a rethink of the way that the small island of Malta runs its electrical grid. Abertax R&D has looked at the way that photo-voltaics can be used as part of a smarter grid. The roof of the main Abertax factory is full of solar panels that are being tested in a variety of ways — which also cannily enough pay for themselves in their contribution to the Maltese national grid.

The results of their research could well create a template that could be used inter-nationally. “We find each year there is a three month period in the summer when electrical demand peaks due to the load caused by the use of air conditioners,” says Dr Cilia. “That necessitates an extra gas turbine, with a capital investment of approx 80 million euros, that has to kick in to cope with the peak — and that’s not including the fuel needed to run.

“By comparison my calculations show that if people on the island were to gen-erate this electrical shortfall by installing photovoltaic panels on ideal roofs, they can save 10 million euros of fuel every summer — and create massive savings on everyone’s electricity bills. In such a scenario payback periods of five years and less are possible – keeping in mind that such PV panels have a lifetime of over 30 years, a proper feed in tariff will lead us to a clean way to our future energy needs.”

“On top of that there are the benefits, outside of that period, when home-own-ers would be saving money by generating power that they could either use them-selves for free or sell back to the power company.”

Dr Cilia, himself, is a pioneer figure in electric vehicles as well. For the past six years he has driven a Reva to work — “on a small island such as Malta, EVs come into their own” he says. “It’s only 7km from my house to work, where I can plug it in. And this is an excellent example where a simple lead acid bat-tery is more than enough to satisfy my needs.”

Dr Cilia also has several solar panels on the roof of his house which in effect give him both free fuel in his ride into work and an emission free journey. ■

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NOTES FROM A CONFERENCE

The great and the good (and some of the others) of the battery and electric vehicle world descended on the 10th International Advanced Automotive Battery and EC Capacitor Conference in Orlando, Florida in mid-May. The conference was packed. The mood upbeat.The conclusions debatable.

“This isn’t just big. But it’s big, big.” That was the view of one delegate at the annual AABC conference held this May in Florida.

The point was well made. It wasn’t just that the Omni Hotel is a vast sprawling conference-style resort situ-ated in the middle of a championship-level golf course (and where some of the less conscientious delegates sneaked off to).

Nor was it the fact that there was a big pile of letters to be digested — there were three conferences going on, the LLIBTA (Large Lithium Ion Battery Technology and Application), ECCCAP (Large EC Capacitor Tech-nology and Application) and not for-getting the AABC (Advanced Automo-tive Battery Conference) itself.

Nor was it the size of the number of attendees — 900 is not just a good number for a conference but a blow-out one — or the two large halls full of exhibitors’ stands.

Rather it was the sense that this was a big event that seemed to be marking a sense of arrival for the whole of the

lithium ion battery community. “I’m openly sceptic about whether lithium ion will turn out to be the power solu-tion for electric cars any time in my lifetime,” said one delegate.

“But the mood at the conference was astounding. There was a real sense that enormous progress had been made and that the promised land of lithium powered EVs was in sight.”

Indeed the mood of the conference — perhaps this is a reflection of the whole of the lithium battery industry — oscillated between the visionary and the prosaic. With one breath, speakers discussed a Brave New America where Smart Grid would speak unto EV and unto Smart Grid again. With the next, issues such as dealing with the noxious issues of lithium battery formation came to the fore.

However, one undercurrent — the truth that couldn’t quite speak its name — was there despite the protes-tations of the most passionate enthu-siasts of all-things lithium. And that was that a hard core that maintained a scepticism (healthy or otherwise)

about whether lithium would neces-sarily be the chemistry of choice in the next generation of cars.

Perhaps more worryingly — and again a truth that also couldn’t quite speak its name — was a vague undercurrent of fear. Where would the whole confer-ence be if the magical world of lithium powered EVs didn’t materialize in the next couple of years? “Only half of us — maybe only a third — will be here, if that’s the case,” said one delegate.

“A lot of us are being bankrolled by government money either directly or dripping down from companies that have received state funding. That kind of money can’t last forever and, here in the US, the Obama stimulus pack-age was clearly a one-off.”

A question of timetabling“Yes we’re all largely playing with government money,” said another del-egate.” “When that dries up, how can we keep going? It’s not that I believe that we won’t ever reach a kind of tipping point when lithium becomes the new norm — it’s just that I can see

Optimism unbounded

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NOTES FROM A CONFERENCE

hybrids and nickel metal hydride as being a more dominant alternative in the interim.”

This question of when was clearly on many people’s minds. “At the moment we’re in a situation where the regular economic triggers for a business don’t apply,” said one exhibitor. “Normally companies work on the basis of supply and demand — but as yet we’ve not the faintest idea of what demand will be, so it’s difficult for us to make any kind of sensible planning on providing the supply side of the equation.”

Battery price the keyGiven that demand for the new cars is going to be crucially linked to price — and that could well be a function of the race to produce a lithium car battery at around a fifth of the present cost — the more pessimistic again reckoned that the present timetable was too optimistic.

“If you start to look away from, say, the Californians and New York-ers who are eager to embrace change and are environmentally aware, you won’t find Middle America willing to pay even a couple of thousand dollars extra for a car that could conceivably be looked at as green,” said another exhibitor. “I mean three-quarters of us in the States choose not to believe in global warming!”

And this remark was echoed, in vari-ous forms, by the many international delegates. “Till we get a price point to know what we’re selling the batter-ies for, we haven’t any real indication of what our sales can be,” said one speaker.

A similar point was made by oth-ers when talking about performance. “One of the really encouraging points about this conference,” said one del-egate, “is how we’re seeing — both from the ultracapacitor viewpoint as well as the lithium ion battery view — steady advances in performance. And these of course are also being matched by general improvements elsewhere, for example, in the BMS.”

But if the timing for the arrival of the next generation of cars proves elusive, there were many that saw the political

will to move to all things electric as now being solid. “One thing seems to be certain,” said one conference del-egate, “the US federal government has taken the issue of energy storage to its heart and I don’t personally believe that this is an Obama Democrat thing but one that is going to be broadly cross-party. The Department of Energy understands the issues at stake.

“A lot of senior people — and now that includes the politicians — in the US haven’t forgotten the spectacular rise of the price of oil two years ago. Creating a secure energy storage sys-tem has become a question of national security.”

The issue of US national security was also another undercurrent in the show. What one delegate called “the elephant in the room that nobody would admit to seeing” was the role of China in infringing intellectual prop-erty rights.

Conference snapshotsAway from the activities in the main conference halls, there were two halls full of exhibitors and a third hall that offered a kind of poster display. Cer-tainly the poster exhibition proved an unusual take on a whole variety of battery market issues. Some two dozen poster exhibitors were given the equivalent of just 2m3 of space to make their relevant points.

Next door to the poster display hall were two further rooms manned by a small army of exhibitors.

Although the focus of the main con-ference was, by definition, on automo-tive batteries, that wasn’t to say that other uses of lithium batteries weren’t talked about or discussed in the coffee rooms between breaks.

The creation of smart grids was a hot topic from a slightly different point of view from the conventional ones where electric cars are being plugged into these grids.

Although there’s been much talk recently about using the batteries within electric vehicles as a kind of energy pool (the “vehicle to grid”, or “V2G” concept) where plugged-in vehicles sit on the grid and that can

supply power when necessary, one delegate, David McShane, EVP busi-ness development and engineering, at International Battery says his firm is looking at using large format lithium batteries for stationary, energy storage at the electric-utility power distribu-tion level.

“We have a programme through S&C Electric with AEP (the Ohio-based energy utility) targeted at com-

munity energy storage (CES)” says McShane. “Energy storage of around 27kWh to 150kWh in size is con-nected between the local transformer and the residential service (typically four to 10 homes).

“The CES can support local com-munities in the event of disruptions to supply and provide a range of other utility support benefits such as power quality improvements and even offer utility infrastructure investment defer-ral options — all of which provide economic benefit to the utility and improved service to end customers."

AEP contracted S&C Electric as the system integrator which in turn selected International Battery as the energy storage system supplier of choice.

AEP expects to include 2MWh of CES for the pilot project as part of the Ohio gridSMART programme.

Opportunities, challengesMcShane says that V2G is a great opportunity, but there are also chal-lenges faced in setting up a larger grid for electric vehicles as an energy pool to provide the same benefits — there will be simple practical details of whether, for example, people want their vehicles to be connected into

“If you start to look away from, say, the Californians and New Yorkers who are eager to embrace change and are environmentally aware, you won’t find Middle America willing to pay even a couple of thousand dollars extra for a car that could conceivably be looked at as green”

Community energy storage chest

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NOTES FROM A CONFERENCE

such a grid and charged and dis-charged by others. There are other practical problems associated with a connected vehicular energy pool — what happens, for example, when you plug in your car at a neighbour’s house? What kind of identification system needs to be put into place when that happens?

Under the CES scheme”, the energy storage asset belongs to the utility and so there is no question as to whether or not it can be deployed.

Another, interesting application for International Battery’s large-format prismatic Li-Ion batteries is working with the US military on its Silent-Watch programme. In this application, the battery storage system, or NPS (Non-primary power source) supplies the energy needs for radio and sur-veillance equipment. This allows the military to gather intelligence without the need for engine generator power (which produces detectable heat and noise signatures).

The military is interested in investi-gating further uses of energy storage such as in combination with renew-able sources (photovoltaics or wind) to provide a stable electrical supply in remote areas.

One of the more challenging num-bers of keeping the coalition of armies in the field in Afghanistan is that it takes seven million gallons of fuel to provide the military with one million for operational use.

Any forms of energy saving are important for the military. “They find the combination interesting in two ways,” says McShane. “The immedi-ate one is that the renewable energy sources with light-weight, energy-dense storage cuts supply-chain costs. But the second one is that it gives greater operational efficiencies such as enhanced mobility.”

Pushing testing technology outLooking around the exhibitors one was struck by the sense that lithium battery technology was continuing to innovate and advance at breakneck speed.

For example, Bitrode Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of testing equipment for formation in all types of battery chemistry, revealed two new products at the conference.

“Basically, these are next generation products rather than merely upgrades as we continue to add greater func-tionality and power, Paolo Canova, the firm’s chief executive told Batteries International.

“We’ve managed to reduce our MCV production formation system to

around half the size but offer increased performance and we’ve radically expanded our FTF product which sup-ports complex pack test development to give both the capability of using one or two circuit systems and testing up to 1.2MW.”

The price tags for the new MCV and FTF testers are unchanged in terms of price per kilowatt hour.

One of the striking features of the growing lithium battery industry

has been the increased collaboration between firms that previously would have regarded each other as rivals or near rivals. The overall impression, talking to delegates at the conference, was that business barriers were being brushed aside in the rush to get the new battery technology in place.

And, most particularly on the road.Bitrode has been collaborating with

A&D in one such joint venture in pro-ducing a fully automated battery test system for General Motors’ Global Battery Lab in Michigan. “It consists of A&D’s iTest, iCentral and Lab-Minder and our own test equipment,” says Canova. “It’s a major advance-ment in world class battery laboratory management. We think we’re well positioned for it to become the indus-try standard.”

John Leppek, senior account man-ager, at A&D also spoke about the partnership in glowing terms. “By working together we’ve created an unparalleled system for testing today’s advances in battery chemistry and operations.”

Anode, cathode bindersZeon was another such firm provid-ing upgrades to its existing product

“We’ve managed to reduce our MCV production formation system to around half the size but offer increased performance and we’ve radically expanded our FTF product which supports complex pack test development to give both the capability of using one or two circuit systems and testing up to 1.2MW”

Canova: raising the technology bar

Conference organizer Menahem Anderman at the opening sessions

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NOTES FROM A CONFERENCE

lines — in this case its anode and cathode binders for Li-ion batteries. “They offer higher capacity, longer life and have several other improvements over conventional polyvinylidene fluo-ride binders,” says Brian Cail, general manager for new battery development who was exhibiting at the stand.

“The binders provide a higher capac-ity retention increase of about 10% using the new cathode binder as well as a discharge capacity improvement of about the same percentage, at 10C and 20C discharge rates.

Zeon says that its in-house testing at -20°C shows that the new anode binders improve capacity at cold tem-peratures by two times over BM-400B. Safety is improved over PVDF due to the higher decomposition temperature of Zeon’s binders than PVDF. Cath-ode and anode binders from Zeon are available in aqueous and NMP-based solvent forms.

DecontaminationOne of the companies exhibiting for the first time was Entegris —a well known company in dealing with chemical contaminants in the semi-conductor industry — but which only recently realised that its existing products can also prove highly useful to lithium ion battery manufacturers.

“As we all know at this event some highly volatile and very dangerous chemicals are used in lithium ion bat-tery formation and we have to find ways to deal with these in a cost-effec-tive way,” says Kevin Golden, business development manager for the firm.

“Because of our experience in other industries where the same issues at stake we have a broad range of con-tamination control solutions that are already proven in the field.”

Purification and filtration systems

The popular media as ever is over hyping the marketing of HEVs, PHEVs and EVs. The Li-ion batteries are not ready for prime time EVs and all the main players admit it; their visible strategy supports this view.

Nissan appear to be out in front but they are unlikely to step too far out of line. All the majors have test fleets of the various types of electric drive (eg HEV, PHEV, ReEV, and EV); Nissan are just conduct-ing their EV test fleets more in the public eye than the others.

In the early 1990s Ford clearly identified the ECOSTAR NaS fleet as a test fleet as did Toyota with the NiMH RAV4. “GM appeared to go further with the EV1 but pulled back when the realities became clear,” said one delegate to Batteries International. “The EV1 was really a technology demonstrator and in that role it was very successful. Many people liked the EV1 and resisted its withdrawal from the field even when GM insisted that it was only ever intended as a learning vehicle for future ventures. They blamed the lead acid battery (although they also had a NiMH version) and they did gain useful experience.

“GM got even more PR expo-sure by cooperating with the book The Car that Could: The Inside Story of GM's Revolution-ary Electric Vehicle and of course they played a passive role in the film, Who killed the Electric Car?

GM thus played a clever game without taking big risks. Nissan may be doing something similar now.”

Indeed it’s worth remembering the lessons of history. In the early 1990s the majors all ended up blaming the battery of the day for not continuing with EVs and they were of course correct, the bat-teries did not have sufficient Wh/kg but they knew that at the outset as they do now. The arithmetic is simple and inescapable. The situa-tion has not changed very much.

Today’s best batteries strug-gle to match ECOSTAR’s 110 Wh/kg battery system which is a pity after 20 more years of R&D: 110 Wh/kg is not good enough for a really good EV and the Leaf and Mitsubishi do not even have that.

Toyota has launched a limited fleet of PHEVs but the range is so small

(20 km at best and probably 12 km in many practical circumstances) that their risk is minuscule. The Toyota vehicle is really an HEV with a slightly bigger battery (≈5 kWh) but at 32 Wh/kg it is not a serious traction bat-tery. However its emissions are quite good at around 90g of CO2/km.

Ford like Toyota is focusing on fewer emissions/km. Ford has HEVs, with plans for EVs later and excellent small diesels are about to be launched. The end results are similar in the short term to Toyota.

Ford is relatively quiet on its EV plans but has stated that it does not intend to launch a ReEV. It has plans for an EV version of the Connect van (with Johnson Controls and Saft) and also the new focus where Magna appears to have responsibility (bat-tery details not yet clear). GM (and the media) however is making a lot of noise about a little zero emission driving (e.g. “up to 40 miles range” which in many practical circum-stances will be nearer to 25 miles).

“Almost all of the majors will be relying on their ICE drives for some time to come,” says a delegate. “Nissan appear to be leading the risk game by not having an ICE on the “Leaf” but I suspect their risk management will be to keep the EV fleet quite small and spread over wide geography, eg CA etc, UK, France and Japan. This is an expensive strategy but controls risk visible to the public while yield-ing valuable wide experience.

CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS, TAKE 1 — HOW ELECTRIC WILL ELECTRIC VEHICLES GO?

Exhibitors awaiting the onslaught of delegates ahead of the coffee break

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Entegris can offer neutralize these dangerous chemicals.

Perhaps showing how much of the industry was represented at the show were some more unusual players.

Barton Malow would be one such firm with its ability to produce cus-tomized construction-ready designs to build a lithium battery factory and the project management expertise, so the firm says, to ensure that what might otherwise be a two or three year proc-ess — from talking to the customer until the turn-key completion of the factory — can be reduced to around nine months.

Turn-key lithium battery factories“We’re unusual says Lee Sellenraad, director of project development at Barton Malow, in that we’ll even offer a performance guarantee for the proc-

An industry veteran comments: The fact that Li-ion is the best technology out there at present does not pro-vide an automatic ‘yes’ to the ques-tion of whether it is good enough for major global EV programmes.

Good EVs need a high Wh/kg, probably >300Wh/kg although some acceptable niche products are pos-sible at figures <100Wh/kg which is where Li-ion seems destined to remain at the system level for some time. The Leaf is such a vehicle and its success is likely to depend on early adopters. The National US labs and Nissan are more than aware of this issue.

Safety remains a serious concern to which there are no easy answers.

There are similarities to the NaS automotive batteries of the early 1990s. Both had thermal runaway mechanisms that could lead to hot fires (≈1,000C). Furthermore the onset of thermal runaway in both cases is in the region of 50C to 100C above nor-mally possible operating temperatures.

Short circuits possibly caused by defects or penetration with conducting metals, or other heat generating circumstances such as overcharge can add sufficient ther-mal energy to raise the temperature to the critical point of no return.

The thermal runaway is a posi-

tive feedback situation and events progress quickly possibly with explo-sive rates depending on the cell, the conditions and the constraints.

As Li-ion progresses to larger pack levels (eg 30kWh-50kWh) where it is used for all vehicle func-tions including traction, active safety systems can be expected to evolve whereby problem areas are isolated from operation and early warning systems flashed into place to allow plenty of time for people to safely leave the vehicle.

As the final session on Friday morning showed, battery-related fires may be accompanied by hot toxic emissions or projectiles. To improve the safety of Li-ion packs it may be necessary to add thermal inertia to reduce thermal propagation from cell to cell.

The obvious way to do this is with metal barriers but this will further reduce Wh/kg and pos-sibly also increase the incidence of pack short circuits. It may be that there will be an increased use of ceramic materials to improve this situation. Extensive DV test-ing will be needed to verify the effectiveness of such measures.

The OEMs are progressing pru-dently and HEVs have not created

any safety problems. The amount of stored energy is low (eg 2kWh compared to 40kWh for a good EV) and the actual energy exchange is very low compared to an EV.

Addressing the safety issues for pure EVs is thus not easy, it adds cost and complexity and reduces Wh/kg but the issues can not be ignored if there is to be a serious move to EVs.

At present the Li-ion chemistries with the fewest safety concerns have the lowest Wh/kg. Phos-phate chemistry has the fewest safety issues and China seems happy to standardize on this. Also the IP situation for this chemistry is difficult to enforce in China.

It is difficult to imagine small cylin-drical cells satisfying a global shift to use EVs., whatever the chemistry and there is strong interest to try to use larger pouch cells or similar. However moving up from “a few Ah” to >50 Ah (or even higher) bring greater safety concerns and greater reliance will have to be placed on active system safety strategies. Adding safety packaging (eg Inter-national Batteries) or active systems even for phosphate chemistry is likely to further reduce the Wh/kg achievable at the pack level.

CONFERENCE ANALYSIS , TAKE 2 — HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO HAVING LI-ION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT MAJOR GLOBAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROGRAMMES?

“As we all know at this event some highly volatile and very dangerous chemicals are used in lithium ion battery formation and we have to find ways to deal with these in a cost-effective way”

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NOTES FROM A CONFERENCE

ess. Because we understand both the basic and the special requirements of such a plant — everything from the clean and dry rooms to the kind of factory layout a company might want — we can offer an integrated product. So-called ‘lean innovation’ in fact.”

The firm has already been involved in construction work for A122Sys-tems, Johnson Controls-Saft, Nissan and Chrysler’s new electric vehicle lab on its Arizona proving grounds.

But it was not just the nitty-gritty of battery manufacturing that was repre-sented at the show. There were plenty

of unusual firms with non-technology offerings on display.

European temptationsOne such stand in the exhibitor’s hall gave details of an initiative to set up manufacturing operations in the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt. The region, which used to be in the Com-munist former East Germany has been designated by the European Union as a target one priority zone and is therefore eligible for funds from three sources — the German government, the state of Sachsen-Anhalt itself and the EU (which effectively match funds the German contribution).

In practice a small firm, defined as having a turn-over of less than Eu10 million ($12 million) and employing up to 50 staff, could receive 50% of the cost of the set up. At the top end of the scale a large firm with a turnover of Eu50m and with more than 250 employees could receive 30%.

“The only precondition is that the applicant firm provides at least 25% of the set-up fee from its own resources,” says Oliver Köhn, a senior manager for the regional development agency. “Some of that other 25% funding, for example, for the smallest firm could come from either of our two state-administered venture capital firms, Goodvent or MBG.” The grant money is non-refundable.

The aim of the state is to incubate technological .hot areas which tend

to be self-sustaining and which, part-nered with the local university of Magdeburg draw yet further compa-nies in.

The German state of North Rhine Westphalia was also exhibiting at the AABC. Although there was some financial assistance possible for any relocation, part of the appeal of the region was the existing proximity to well established car firms and R&D and testing centres. For manufactur-ers some of its appeal would come from the fact that it is just one day’s truck ride away from two-thirds of the European Union.

Sweden was also at AABC promot-ing its Invest Sweden programme. ■

The poster display: 2m3 to make a point

The 11th International Advanced Automotive Battery Conference & Symposium will be held in Pasadena, California from January 24-28. The next European AABC event will be held in Mainz, Ger-many between June 6-10.

“The only precondition is that the applicant firm provides at least 25% of the set-up fee from its own resources”

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LITHIUM BATTERY PRODUCTION

Spray drying is an increasingly important part of successful lithium ion battery manufacture. Anders Bo Jensen from GEA Group runs through the operational framework and the latest advances.

Spray drying has been applied for many years for production of fine powders of high quality for various types of batteries. And this will con-tinue to be the case for the new gen-erations of Lithium ion batteries being developed with ever-more superior performance characteristics.

This includes development and proper manufacture of cathode mate-rials, such as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), and spray drying will play a leading role in realizing the full industrial potential of these materials.

Powder engineeringThere is a large variation between different manufacturers with respect to types and characteristics of lithium material powders applied or being developed for proprietary Li-ion bat-teries. Consequently, the design of the spray dryer must be tailored to the spe-cific application and material in order to provide the customized and very precise powder specifications required.

A standard off-the-shelf spray dryer design is simply insufficient if the tar-get is to maximize the powder quality and battery performance.

The tailor-making of the spray dryer design takes place in close collabora-tion with an experienced and compe-tent spray drying technology supplier and involves pilot plant testing both for early stage feasibility studies of different nano feed formulations for spray drying and larger scale pilot plant tests for optimization of the process design.

This allows for an optimum spray dryer performance with production of powders in a consistent superior quality in the most energy- and cost-efficient way. Large know-how and experience in spray drying will also be required for continuously supporting manufacturers in optimizing existing

spray dryers to the rapidly changing market demands.

Rotary atomizationSeveral types of atomization are employed in spray drying systems, including rotary atomization with wheels utilizing centrifugal forces, pressure nozzle and pneumatic atomi-zation. For industrial size spray dry-ers for lithium materials for Li-ion batteries, rotary atomization (figure 1) is preferred due to its greater flex-ibility and ease of operation. Two-fluid pneumatic atomization is nor-mally considered feasible only for small capacity plants due to the higher energy consumption. Two-fluid noz-zles are also giving a wider particle size distribution and potentially more oversize material. In comparison, the rotary atomizer has a number of dis-tinct advantages, as:• it handles high feed rates without

need for atomizer duplication• it handles abrasive feed stocks with-

out wear problems• it has negligible blockage or clog-

ging tendencies due to the large flow ports in the atomizer wheel

• droplet size control is through sim-ple adjustment to wheel speed

• particle size is not affected by feed rate fluctuations

For the subject type of materials, a spray dryer with high-speed rotary atomization can produce a powder with nice spherical particles with low residual moisture content, a narrow particle size distribution with no over-size material and a typical mean par-ticle size of 5-20µm (figure 2). These are some of the critical characteristics to be engineered into the powders in order to make them ideal for further processing.

Solutions for abrasive materialsLithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) and its precursors, for example LiH2PO4/Fe2O3, lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) and other cathode materials applied in Li-ion batteries are generally abrasive, which calls for specialized solutions to avoid rapid wear of surfaces exposed to very high feed stream velocities.

For handling of such materials, spe-cial abrasive resistant rotary atomizer wheels have been developed (figures 3 and 4). They are of the bushing wheel type and when equipped with exchangeable bushings made of very hard materials, like silicon carbide or alumina, the wheels are resisting the hard wear they are exposed to when atomizing abrasive feed materi-als down to the very small particle

Spray drying by rotary atomization of lithium ion battery materials

Figure 1: Atomization by rotary atomizer.

Figure 2: SEM photo of lithium iron phosphate particles spray dried by rotary atomization.

Page 61: Batteries International

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LITHIUM BATTERY PRODUCTION

sizes needed. In this way, one can avoid frequent maintenance interrup-tions caused by rapid wear of atomizer nozzles or a rotary atomizer wheel and the associated and undesirable, but inevitable, gradual decrease in powder quality.

Instead, the manufacturer can obtain prolonged periods of operation of the spray dryer with production of pow-der of a consistent high quality despite the abrasive nature of the materials being processed.

Another prerequisite for such long service intervals is that the rotary atom-izer technology has long proven itself as a stable and reliable technology.

This is also true for advanced rotary atomization technology which involves very high peripheral velocities of the rotary atomizer wheel as required for making very fine powders

Aqueous feed materialsSpray drying plants with rotary atomi-zation and co-current spray-air flow configuration are applied for the sub-ject materials in either open- or closed-cycle process layouts. An open-cycle configuration is applied for aqueous feed materials.

The open-cycle layout (figure 5) involves intake of drying air from the atmosphere and discharge of the exhaust air to the atmosphere. The drying air is heated by means of a direct-fired air heater and flows co-currently with the atomized feed mate-rial in the drying chamber where the fine droplets are quickly dried to indi-vidual powder particles. Separation of the dried product from the drying air and exhaust air cleaning typically takes place in a bag filter.

The design of the gas disperser in the top of the spray drying chamber is cru-cial for ensuring a proper functioning of the spray dryer.

Non-aqueous feed materialsA closed-cycle layout is used for non-aqueous (organic solvent) feeds. Nitro-gen is used as inert drying medium to eliminate any risk of fire or explosion due to the presence of solvent vapour in the dryer. The solvent evaporated from the spray during the drying proc-ess is fully recovered.

The process is carried out as a nor-mal spray drying operation (figure 6). The outlet drying gas from the dry-

ing chamber is conveyed to a highly efficient bag filter for collection of the produced powder. The exhaust gas containing the evaporated solvent is recycled to a scrubber/condenser system where the solvent is condensed out of the gas flow and recovered as a continuous purge from the system.

The recycled gas is then reheated via an indirect heating system prior to recy-cling to the drying chamber. Closed-cycle plants operate at a slight overpressure to prevent possible inward leakage of air. The control of the process also involves a continuous monitoring and control of the oxygen level in the system. ■

Anders Bo Jensen is area sales man-ager for GEA Process Engineering, GEA Niro: www.geagroup.com

Spray dryers based on rotary atomization offer a number of advantages to manufactur-ers of lithium material powders for Li-ion battery applications.

Tailor-made spray dryer lay-outs must be developed for each specific application in close col-laboration with knowledgeable spray drying technology suppliers having the experience to real-ize the full industrial potential of the lithium material powders.

This involves pilot plant testing also for optimization of customized feed

formulations as well as selecting the optimal dryer concept and design.

The field of spray drying is con-stantly developing, and only those continuously increasing their level and accuracy of knowledge about the spray drying process and its dynamics will be able to provide proper support, design and tech-nology for cost-efficient produc-tion of superior lithium material powders for Li-ion battery applica-tions — a field which in itself is in continuous development and with constantly changing demands.

A CONSTANTLY DEVELOPING FIELD

One can avoid frequent maintenance interruptions caused by rapid wear of atomizer nozzles or a rotary atomizer wheel and the associated and undesirable, but inevitable, gradual decrease in powder quality.

Figure 3: GEA Niro abrasive resistant rotary atomizer wheel, type AX (patented).

Figure 5: Open-cycle spray dryer process configuration with single-point powder discharge for aqueous feed materials

Figure 6: Closed-cycle spray dryer process layout with single-point powder discharge for non-aqueous feed materials.

Figure 4: High capacity GEA Niro rotary atomizer with atomizer wheel, type AX (patented) being mounted in workshop.

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UNSUNG HEROES: WALDMAR JUNGNER

It was not a long life but it burned brightly. By the time the inventor of the nickel cadmium battery, Waldmar Jungner, died aged 55 he had provoked a complete rethink of many of the ways we look at battery chemistry.

Uppsala, Sweden: 1880, and a young college student, Waldmar Jungner, thinks he may have created one of the first fire alarms.

When a series of thermocouples was connected with every second sol-dered joint thermally insulated, a relay device and an alarm became activated when heated. A worthy invention for a country where the main source of heating was paraffin and fires were common and frequently fatal.

But there was one snag. And that was the batteries to keep the sig-nal working. The dry batteries were unsatisfactory as was the standard lead accumulator of the time.

Surely, thought the young Jungner, it must be possible to devise a bet-ter, more reliable battery? So, after graduating from Uppsala University and completing further studies at the Stockholm College of Technol-ogy, Jungner started systematically to investigate the possibilities of con-structing a storage battery with better properties than the lead acid system.

Some time during the 1880s inspi-ration struck — though it was not till almost the new century that his researches bore practical fruit — in what he called “the unchangeable electrolyte”.

He became convinced that an elec-trolyte which did not change its com-position during charge and discharge would offer greater advantage than an electrolyte that took part in the elec-trochemical reactions (with a change of its concentration) as does the sul-phuric acid in lead acid cells.

Among other things, the amount of electrolyte could in this way be kept to a minimum — this was an

As a man, Waldmar Jungner was modest and very unobtrusive. He avoided public appearances, parties and banquets and preferred to be surrounded only by his closest friends. His working habits were strange: he preferred to work at night, especially when his inventions were in critical phases. Despite this, with a fine baritone voice, he was also a member of the famous O.D. choir and travelled with them for concerts in various European towns.

Jungner and the unchangeable electrolyte

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advantage from the point of view of weight.

As early as 1893 he was aware that an alkaline electrolyte would make it possible to introduce inactive support-ing materials with considerably better mechanical properties than the lead used up to that time.

In his preliminary experiments Jungner mixed different metal oxides with graphite, added dilute potassium hydroxide, and pressed the mass in cloth bags. The cloth bags shrank in the alkali and exerted a certain pres-sure on the active material. As conduc-tors, Jungner used rods of copper or graphite Subsequently the bags were replaced by narrow folded pockets of thin perforated copper sheet, and in a modification of this design the mass

was pressed between two perforated metal sheets of wire mesh, which were sewn together. He patented this, aged just 28, in 1897.

While investigating the metals or metal compounds that might be used in the alkaline accumulator-to-be, Jungner made extensive experiments. He tested every conceivable combina-tion and established, as the experi-ments wore on, an increasing rise in electromotive power.

First commercial venturesAs a sideline to this, Jungner devised a modification of the Lalande-Chaperon cell in which the positive plate was made of copper oxide in the usual manner and the negative plate of zinc. Jungner used a gelatinized electrolyte,

and he intended that the zinc electrode, after discharge, should be replaced by a new one in a simple way. To turn this idea to profitable account the Aktie-bolaget Torrackumulator (Dry Accu-mulator Company) was formed. A battery of this construction, propelling a boat, was shown at the Stockholm Exhibition in 1897. However, owing to difficulties with the zinc electrode, the activity of the company was soon discontinued.

An important element still needed by Jungner was the inactive metal sup-port for the positive electrode.

Jungner had already noticed that none of the metals tested was resist-ant to anodic oxidation in an alkaline electrolyte. This detail nearly put a definite stop to the progress of his work on the alkaline storage battery.

Jungner decided, however, to make a comprehensive investigation including every available material, and during the winter of 1897-1898 he started tests involving the influence of anodic oxidation of metals in alkaline solu-tion.

He found that three months of anodic polarization caused a more or less severe attack on platinum as well as silver, bismuth, cadmium, and iron. Nickel alone retrained its smooth sur-face and its weight. Jungner extended his experiments also to nickel-plated metals and found that even a very thin layer of nickel was sufficient to protect every metal with a smooth surface from electrolytic attack.

In nickel, Jungner thus found his supporting metal. It was the spring-board to what we now know as the nickel cadmium battery.

During his search for the ideal alka-line storage battery, Jungner also made experiments with couples of silver oxide-iron and silver oxide-copper.

A silver oxide-copper prototype was tested in the summer of 1899 with Svante Arrhenius, an academic, which produced energy of not less than 40 Wh/kg from this system; the potential, however, was low, only 0.6V-0.8V. Even before these experi-ments, Jungner had worked with cad-mium as an active material in nega-tive electrodes, but that work had not been encouraging.

In these preliminary experiments he had used a mixture of cadmium and graphite but such electrodes were inef-ficient. After unremitting experimental work, he succeeded, however, in pro-ducing a porous cadmium metal with acceptable mechanical and electrical properties by a chemical electrolytic method.

Success! This material, in combina-

The label says it all ...

Part of Jungner's research team in the early 1900s

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UNSUNG HEROES: WALDMAR JUNGNER

tion with silver oxide, gave a cell with an energy content of about 40Wh/kg and a voltage of about 1.1V. The silver systems were thus capable of storing large amounts of energy per unit of weight.

Electric vehicles, 1900 styleJungner built batteries of the silver-cadmium type to supply the motive power for motor cars, and these bat-teries were tested in Stockholm in 1900 with satisfactory results. After each charge it was possible to drive 140km-150km. But there was one drawback — a familiar one to those pioneering lithium ion batteries for EVs nowadays.

Yes, the price. Silver was too expen-sive and cadmium too rare.

In 1899 Jungner, presented his fun-damental ideas concerning alkaline accumulators in a patent of March 11. Later that year he also patented a method for producing silver electrodes and a way to make the previously mentioned porous cadmium electrodes for use in alkaline cells. (In January 1907 Jungner took out a Swedish pat-ent in which the reactions of the sys-tems nickel-iron and nickel-cadmium were given.)

The next step was commercializa-tion. In the spring of 1900 the Ack-umulator Aktiebolaget Jungner was formed to exploit Jungner’s storage battery ideas. This company manu-factured and tested silver-copper and silver-cadmium batteries and the first nickel-iron batteries.

At his side Jungner had the innova-tive engineer KL Berg, formerly of the Swedish General Electric Co, who worked on the mechanical design of the cells and converted them into hardware.

This was a daunting prospect — they had very little money, oxyacetylene welding had not been invented, there was no reliable separator, nor was there reliable steel plating. Because of the inability to nickel-plate on to steel ribbon, a pure nickel ribbon had to be used to enclose the positive material. Their first attempts to perforate this ribbon were made on Mrs Berg’s sew-ing machine in the family kitchen!

But as if the technical challenges were not enough, the newly founded com-pany was soon involved in a lengthy patent suit against Thomas A Edison, who was also actively working in this field. It is difficult to reconstruct the actual timetables of work leading to the alkaline battery inventions of Jungner and Edison, but briefly, Jung-ner had a Swedish patent valid from January 22, 1901 while Edison had a

German patent valid from February 6, 1901.

Undoubtedly there was a period of independent overlapping research. Jungner Accumulator and Edison competed on the world market and also engaged in patent suits for the next few years. The patent suits took a great deal of Jungner’s time and money.

When his laboratory and factory at Kneippbaden outside Norrköping were destroyed by fire in the fall of 1905 — an ironic twist given where his researches had started from — the financial difficulties were too great for him; the company had to transfer its resources and debts to a new com-pany, Nya Ackumulator AB Jungner, with new shareholders.

At this point Jungner left the direct management of the company, but con-tinued his association as a consultant

He became convinced that an electrolyte which did not change its composition during charge and discharge would offer greater advantage than an electrolyte that took part in the electrochemical reactions

Jungner's batteries gave electric vehicles a 150km range in 1900. The problem for their adoption — a familiar story a century later — was their price.

Jungner and Edison fought a long legal battle over the patent rights for the first alkaline batteries

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UNSUNG HEROES: WALDMAR JUNGNER

on a retainer. Axel Estelle became managing director and chief chemist, with Berg continuing to look after production.

The company was at first entirely directed towards the manufacture of nickel-iron batteries sold primarily for traction use. Flat, vertically mounted pockets of nickel-plated iron sheet were used for both the positive and the negative plates and, as separation between the electrodes, perforated hard rubber sheets were used.

Estelle, who had been working with Jungner earlier, patented in 1909 a method for electrolytic co-precipitation of iron and cadmium sponge from a sul-phate solution. Jungner’s name has been associated with the nickel-cadmium cells although the Jungner cells from the very beginning bore the trademark NIFE — based on the chemical symbols for nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe).

In spite of the technical progress Nya

Ackumulator AB Jungner soon found itself in financial difficulties. In 1910 the company was put into compulsory liquidation.

Profits at lastThat year the Svenska Ackumulator AB Jungner was formed and under the management of Robert Ameln and Jungner’s ideas were made profitable by the introduction of several modifi-cations of methods and constructions. Cells manufactured after 1910 had flat, horizontally placed perforated pockets for both the positive and negative electrodes.

In 1918, Svenska Ackumulator AB Jungner started a subsidiary in the UK under the name Batteries Ltd using the brand name NIFE, and operating at Hunt End, Redditch on a site that had been previously occupied by the Royal Enfield Cycle Company.

After he had left the management of

the storage battery company, Jungner devoted himself to other inventions. The great problem of converting fuel energy directly into electric energy was of special interest to him. As early as 1907 he took out patents on fuel cells of different types in which, among other substances, carbon, hydrogen and sulphur dioxide were mentioned as fuels.

In 1917 he patented a cell, for which he had great hopes, especially for solving the problem of lighting in the countryside.The positive electrode consisted of a porous body of carbon containing a small amount of copper oxide; the electrolyte was alkaline, and the negative consisted of zinc. The cell attracted considerable attention at that time; however, the production and distribution of electrical energy went on along quite different lines.

Among Jungner’s other work was his method for simultaneous produc-tion of alkali and cement, presented in 1912, is notable. An amusing coin-cidence is that during a period of their lives both Jungner and Edison, the great names in the alkaline accumula-tor field, were occupied with the pro-duction of cement.

Jungner’s last research work, involv-ing the extraction of radium from Swedish rocks, was interrupted by ill-ness and was never concluded.

Not until near the end of his life did Jungner’s merits obtain public recog-nition. He was elected a member of the Swedish Academy of Science of Engineering in 1922 and in 1924 he was presented with the Oscar Carlson Award by the Swedish Chemical Soci-ety. He died on August 30, 1924 at the age of 55.

It was said of Jungner that, like so many geniuses, he often lost interest when the practical development stage was reached.

In the years that followed, the mate-rials for such a chemical-couple bat-tery were expensive compared to other battery types available and its use was limited to special applications. In 1932, the active materials were depos-ited inside a porous nickel-plated elec-trode and in 1947 research began on a sealed nickel-cadmium battery.

These days, Ni-Cd battery produc-tion at Oskarshamn is in the control of the French company SAFT which has retained the name NIFE as an impor-tant brand name. ■

The author is grateful to the fol-lowing for their invaluable help with this tribute: particularly Leif Olsson (Oskarshamn) and Kjell Åkerström (Norrköping Museum

It was not till almost the new century that his researches bore practical fruit — in what he called “the unchangeable electrolyte”

Some of the workforce at the Svenksa Ackumulator AB Jungner factory

The Svenksa Ackumulator AB Jungner factory was founded in 1910

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