Battery council international Yearbook 2018

Tucson, Arizona, USA • April 29 – May 1, 2018

BCI Yearbook & Special Pre-2018 Convention Report

• Meet Kevin Moran, the new BCI chief • The review: the year ahead, the year behind • Follow our full convention session analysis • Mark Thorsby reflects on his time as EVP • Weinberg: squaring up to new challenges

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CONTENTS

BCI Yearbook & Special Pre-2018 Convention Report

Battery Council International’s 130th Convention and Power Mart Expo, looks yet again to be the hottest meeting of the North American lead (and more) battery community this year. With an exciting agenda covering many issues that urgently need to be discussed, and not forgetting the newly introduced innovation awards, the 600 plus delegates heading to Tucson, Arizona should find much to talk about.

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Editorial: Irrational exuberance and the EV dream 2 Welcome to Tucson: historical heart of the Old West 4 Meet Kevin Moran, new executive vice president of BCI 8 Mark Thorsby reflects on his time as EVP for teh council 12 ILA’s Andy Bush discusses the value of niche markets 14 INNOVATION AWARD NOMINATIONS Review: A bright new landscape as invention comes to the fore Gridtential — New bipolar lead battery architecture Daramic — Improving dynamic charge acceptance GNB/Exide — A breakthrough for tough, industrial batteries Abertax — How a better valve creates a better VRLA battery Highwater Innovations — Tripling power performance through better design Terrapure — The LI Detector: ensuring recycling safety UNISEG — Transforming the recycling process UK PowerTech — Improving battery formation through better connectivity

17 18 20 21 24 26 28 29 32

Annual regulatory review with David Weinberg: a work in progress 34 Adding carbon to the separator 37 Why transportation batteries are poised for rapid growth 38 2018 lead price factors 39 Giess keynote — why lead should be a natural fit for grid storage 40 Lead prices to remain high till 2020 42 The BCI story 43 FIND US HERE! Power Mart booth plan for exhibitors Bitrode Corporation, MAC Egineering, Eagle Oxide, Sovema Farmer Mold, Hammond, Richardson Molding, WIRTZ ENTEK, OMI Impianti, Daramic Inbatec, Digatron, Sorfin

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Battery heroes and veterans: the quarter century club 55 BCI moments — what to do at the convention, the where’s and the when’s 58

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Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 1

EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@batteriesinternational.com

Irrational exuberance Every BCI meeting always gives us a moment to pause. We can look at what others are doing. We can compare how the whole battery business is shaping up and our position within it. We can also get a larger perspective on the industry.

One larger perspective we should take into account this year is this: the age of the pure electric vehicle is still very distant.

Irrespective of what people are saying.

And that’s odd because the media think it’s arrived. Just take a glimpse at the glossy life-style magazines, the erudite articles in the Sunday newspapers and the latest press announcements from research institutes and you’d believe that the electric vehicle revolution had already come and ICE vehicles belonged with the dinosaurs.

But look around the streets and you won’t see busy lithium powered EVs buzzing around — and saving the planet too (for a six figure sum if you’d like a Roadster).

There’s one reason for this to remain the same. Simple economics. Take away government subsidies to buy EVs, the commercial logic — at least in the bigger picture — still doesn’t add up.

For example, what is the second-hand value of a car that has a $8,000 lithium battery which is out of guarantee in seven years’ time? While your average car nowadays has an active sellable life of between 15 and 20 years, where will the EV be?

It’ll only be fit for scrap — and well before its useful life should have been over. More to the point as yet no one has come up with a way of disposing of lithium batteries without spending a fortune on smelting.

Publisher: Karen Hampton, karen@batteriesinternational.com +44 779 852 337 Editor: Michael Halls, editor@batteriesinternational.com +44 7977 016 918 Assistant sales manager: Jade Beevor, jade@energystoragejournal.com +44 1243 782 275 Business development manager June Moultrie, june@batteriesinternational.com +44 7528 503 714

Reception: +44 1 243 782 275 Subscriptions and admin manager: Claire Ronnie, subscriptions@batteriesinternational.com admin@batteriesinternational.com +44 1243 782 275 Special reports editor Wyn Jenkins, wyn.jenkins@serenglobalmedia.com +44 1792 293 222

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And as for being environmentally friendly?

Every analysis so far suggests that in terms of getting rid of that deadly CO2 from driving our cars by going electric, we’re actually adding to them.

The amount of energy required to create these batteries has, so far, never been compensated by their later savings. Maybe it will at some point in the future. But that’s a big maybe.

Although EV construction will ramp up in coming years — there are clear fault lines showing for the future.

The most obvious is the supply of cobalt — there’s not enough to go round to put in everyone’s car hoods. And most of what there is has been cornered by the Chinese.

It’s not that the idea of electric vehicles is a foolish dream. It’s just part-noble and part-simplistic. Which is a shame for us all.

Staff reporters: Philip Moorcroft, Jane Simpson, Debbie Mason

The contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No unauthoried translation or reproduction is permitted. ISSN 1462-6322

Design and production: Antony Parselle, aparselledesign@me.com +44 1727 811 842

© 2018 Mustard Seed Publishing, UK company no: 5976361. Printed in the UK via Thisismethod UK

International advertising representation: advertising@batteriesinternational.com

Disclaimer: Although we believe in the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this magazine, Mustard Seed Publishing makes no warranties or representation about this. Nor should anything contained within it should be construed as constituting an offer to buy or sell securities, or constitute advice in relation to the buying or selling of investments.

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Booth #9 BCI Tucson, AZ, USA April 29 - May 1

BCI 2018 • Tucson, Arizona

The Old Pueblo What would BCI be without an interesting city to visit?

Louise Wright looks at the attractions of Arizona’s second largest city

T

ucson — the sunniest city in the US with 350 days of sunshine a year — is more than just a tourist destination surrounded by desert. It has a long history and was once a key staging post of the Old West after settlers had crossed the great American plains en route for California and their fortune.

Hohkam Indians settled here as early as AD100, farming the valley which runs between its two mountain ranges.

In the 16th century, Spanish settlers discovered a Pima Indian village called ‘Stuk-shon’, meaning ‘foot of the dark mountain’. It was renamed Tucson by the Spanish in 1775.

A long-standing threat to this Spanish settlement were the Apaches, who were kept at bay by 4 metre high adobe walls.

Tucson was inherited by Mexico in 1821, then became part of the US in 1854.

Although far from the bloody battles of the Civil War to the

east, the struggle spilled out over Arizona as far as California.

The most western skirmish — known as the Battle of Picacho Pass — happened some 50 miles northwest of Tucson. (The term battle is a bit of a misnomer as the total number of soldiers fighting was 23 and only four died in the engagement.)

Also known as ‘The Old Pueblo’, Tucson provided the historical backdrop for many a Spaghetti Western —the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral occurred in the town of Tombstone nearby. Tucson was the central railway hub that fed the region from the 1850s onwards. Tucson will always be considered the heart of the Wild West but is known nowadays for being one of the cultural, historical, and artistic centres of the Mountain States.

With a population of 500,000, Tucson is Arizona’s second largest city.

Out and about in Tucson A little brew for the road sir?

Fine dining at El Charro and the Hacienda del Sol

What would a batteryman be without a few drops of interesting electrolyte ahead of a conference? And a BCI one at that where networking is a must (and, of course, coffee is for the faint-hearted).

Two interesting sites to visit might be the Pueblo Vida Brewing and the Thunder Canyon Brewery.

The Pueblo Vida’s 100-year-old building contains the brewery’s seven-barrel system and produces its four flagship brews: an IPA, a breakfast stout, a Bavarian hefeweizen, and a hybrid amber lager.

If that’s not quite enough to slake your thirst, they also host two guest beers per season.

The Thunder Canyon Brewery is just down the street, currently serving its own Sky Island IPA and Bobby-Q Amber Ale. Their menu provides the perfect opportunity for you to line your stomach beforehand with quesadillas or a burger. The Pueblo Vida and Thunder Canyon Breweries are both a 30-minute drive from the hotel. www.pueblovidabrewing.com and www. thundercanyonbrewstillery.com

El Charro Café

Hacienda del Sol

This family-run restaurant must be doing something right as they’ve just celebrated 95 years in business. They’re the oldest Mexican restaurant in the US in continuous operation.

Their secret lies in the preservation of family recipes and techniques, spanning three generations. The way the beef is dried for their carne seca dish is very different: under the sun and moonlight, contained in wire cages on the restaurant’s roof.

Family tradition is that the garlic used flavours the beef but wards off bad spirits.

Their cuisine has won the praise of Gourmet magazine, such is the quality. This place is a hit with tourists and locals alike.

El Charro is a 30-minute drive from the hotel. www.elcharrocafe.com

Dating back to the roaring ‘20s, the Hacienda del Sol was first a ranch school for the rich then a guest ranch in the 1940s attracting stars such as John Wayne and Clark Gable. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey even used the place as a romantic hideaway.

It stepped out of the limelight until, in the 1990s, The Grill restaurant was created and later the whole area became a ranch resort. Their vegetables come fresh from their organic gardens and they boast an award-winning selection of over 700 wines. All this opulence is enhanced by the Old World décor and mountainous views.

The Hacienda del Sol is a five-minute drive from the hotel. www.haciendadelsol.com

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BCI 2018 • Tucson, Arizona

and heart of the Wild West Tucson has the world’s largest concentration of Saguaro cacti. They can live for up to 150 years and grow

FANCY AN EXTRA DAY AT TUCSON? Sabino Canyon Trail Kitt Peak National Observatory

In 1972, Pima County enacted a “dark sky” code to regulate the brightness and number of outdoor bulbs in an effort to help local observatories.

Owing to low light pollution levels and its position atop the Quinlan Mountains, Kitt Peak Observatory offers a great opportunity to get closer to the stars. This astronomical centre is the best of its kind and boasts the world’s most diverse equipment for exploring the cosmos.

The Mayall telescope is about to embark on a new mission creating a 3D map of the galaxy. During the day, you can take a tour which explains the history of the observatory and the invention of the telescope. At sunset, you can enjoy a variety of other programmes.

The observatory is a 30-minute drive from the hotel. Advanced booking is a must. www.noao.edu/kpvc/

Sabino Canyon’s creek, waterfalls, and desert flora can be explored whether you’re after a health-giving hike or a more leisurely tram ride. Sabino Canyon Tours take you into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, providing a commentary over the 45-minute tram ride.

Sabino Canyon is a 15-minute drive from the hotel. www.sabinocanyon.com/sabinocanyon-trail/ Pima Air and Space Museum

With more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft on display, the 80-acre site boasts one of the largest aerospace collections in the world. There’s a tour charting the history of the US Air Force, as well as a replica control tower on site.

Aircrafts such as the Wright Flyer and 787 Dreamliner are included in the collection, as well as three exhibit hangars dedicated to WWII. This expansive site can be explored with a guide, either on foot or by tram.

The museum is a 30-minute drive from the hotel. www.pimaair.org

to over 12 metres (40 feet) high.

The unexpected side to Tucson • Feared gangster John Dillinger was finally captured in downtown Tucson at the Hotel Congress in 1934. Taken to the so-called escape proof prison in Chicago he escaped three months later. He was shot dead the following year.

• Tucson’s most fearsome residents are a pair of non-captive jaguars, who stalk the Santa Rita mountains 25 miles south of the city.

• Tucson is home to more bird species than anywhere else in the world, excepting the Amazon.

• Geronimo! Not just a cry for leaping into something rash — coined by US paratroopers in the 1940s. Rather it’s also the name of the most famous Apache Indian warrior of all who, fought round Tucson and resisted the Mexican and later US expansion into Apache territory.

• Musical connections with the city abound: Duane Eddy, 1950s guitarist lived there; John Denver, moved there as a child, singer Linda Ronstadt was born there in 1946 (but tributes in the city to Ronstadt predate her and are to her forebears). And of course, former teen pop idol, Justin Beiber owns land nearby.

Sun Tran Buses service the entire city. The basic fare is $1.50 which can be paid with a SunGo card which is a pre-pay option.

Day passes are also available for $3.50.

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Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 5

THE BCI VIEWPOINT

Batteries International spoke to Kevin Moran, the new executive vice president for BCI who joined this February, about his first impressions of BCI and his thoughts on the future.

Meet Kevin Moran the new EVP for Battery Council International You started just two months ago in probably one of the busiest times of the year for BCI. So what are your first impressions of the council — has it been a baptism of fire?

I’ve certainly had to jump in with both feet! I’ve been spending almost every waking hour getting to grips with a huge range of topics — from the issues we face as an industry to the upcoming board meeting and policy decisions that need to be made — and, of course, the convention in Tucson is now just days away.

That said, my first impressions have been enormously positive, in particular the team I work with has been incredibly friendly and supportive. In the early weeks of the job, they’ve kept me informed when I need to be informed but handle most of the work in the background.

With their many years of running the convention, for example, they know exactly what to do and how to keep me out of trouble!

And, in terms of coming to grips with the issues, how’s that been?

There’s a huge amount to digest. BCI has a large and complex program of different subjects that it deals with on a regular and ad hoc basis.

At one level we have to look at the issues that are going on at the state level — everything from new proposed laws on blood levels of lead

in workers in California, to concerns in Washington over air safety or lead contamination concerns in Michigan.

Then there’s an overlay of issues at the Federal level. A lot is going on here in Washington DC in terms of regulatory affairs that will affect the whole country. There’s a huge brief to be grasped, David Weinberg [legal counsel for BCI] and I, for example, communicate pretty much every day — he has a huge background of knowledge about the industry and the legal issues at stake.

At yet another level there’s our international relations with ILA and EUROBAT and coordination between ourselves in our campaigning. This is something that I welcome the chance to support once I have more time.

You have a long association with both the American Chemistry Council and working in Capitol Hill for the Western Governors’ Association and before that advising Arizona senator Jon Kyl. What qualities do you think these responsibilities bring to your work for the BCI? I’ve experienced policymaking, including the marshalling of facts and arguments (and political calculations) from both sides of the table. I’ve been both an advocate and the one being lobbied.

All of that experience helps in terms of bringing your best and most rational arguments in defence of your

You need to have a positive story to tell that is based on rational argument. And, most importantly, something worth listening to.

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industry’s standpoint.

Of course, I still have a lot to learn about this industry and I’m grateful to have so many knowledgeable colleagues that I can lean on.

One thing I’ve learned is that it’s very helpful for industries to avoid simply defending themselves — and that’s one of the most important things about my time working at the Bipartisan Policy Center and at the ACC. If you’re continually on the defensive you’re just maintaining the status quo. Von Clausewitz said that being on the defence in battle is simply for self-preservation, which is a passive purpose rather than a positive one.

You need to have a positive story to tell that is based on rational argument. And, most importantly, something worth listening to.

There are many similarities in what I did in the past and what I’ll be doing at BCI. Clearly a materials background will be an advantage in many substantive issues the lead industry is facing.

So, for example, at the Bipartisan Policy Center I was defending the role of the nuclear power industry in the US energy policy mix. It’s easy to criticise nuclear power given that the end bi-product of the enormous energy it produces is radioactive material, including plutonium which is deadly.

You could defend it by talking about all the safety precautions that are taken to protect ourselves from this.

But it’s equally important to point to the fact that nuclear power has produced vast amounts of carbon free energy. And literally saved hundreds of millions of tons of www.batteriesinternational.com

THE BCI VIEWPOINT greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere.

So how does this relate to lead batteries?

Part of the problem that lead batteries face is the fact that their image has been tainted by years of problems with other uses of lead — polluted water, think Flint, Michigan which is a recent example, or lead paint all those years ago and the destructive effect of lead in gasoline which also caused it to be banned.

The trouble is that there’s no apparent recognition by many that lead batteries are unrelated to these particular and relatively widespread problems. Rather the whole industry has been tarnished by the association.

There is an extraordinary positive story that needs to be told about lead batteries so we can’t just play defence the whole time. (Nor can we just critique other battery chemistries.

If we do so, we need to do it in as unemotional and scientific manner as possible. We state facts. And make comparisons based upon verifiable facts.)

But we need to talk about lead’s advantages, for example, in a positive way— and especially so for grid storage and its usefulness in opening up more renewable energy generation options, which is an area that could open up a lot of business for our industry.

The BCI leadership is now going to be based in Washington while the logistic support is in Chicago. How is this going to work and why?

You mean ‘why didn’t I move back to my hometown of Chicago?’ Well, I’ve been in Washington so long, I’m really not fit to live among normal people any more!

Joking aside, this is where the regulatory side of the business — something that is likely to be even more crucial in the years to come — is evolving.

I see this as a belt and suspenders situation. Wiley Rein is acting for us in many ways as the belt. My job is to be the suspenders to provide additional support where it is needed, in addition to keeping the trains running on time.

In terms of communications with Chicago, could you ever think of a time when it’s so easy www.batteriesinternational.com

to communicate with your fellow workers without needing to be physically in front of them every day?

They don’t need me looking over their shoulders. They are a very selfsufficient crew. I trust them implicitly.

Lastly, is there anything particularly that you’re looking forward to at the BCI convention?

Well, it’ll be my first chance to meet the board of directors in full and face-to-face. My initial hopes to introduce myself to individual board members through site visits before the Convention didn’t materialize, there’s just not been enough time.

Other things on the program are

going to be fun to do — getting to be host to individual members will always be valuable too — and I’m going to be proud to introduce the innovation award winner this year.

One particularly special event at the ceremony will be thanking Gitanjali Rao for her contribution to the lead industry. She has been honoured as ‘America’s top young scientist’ for inventing a quick, low-cost test to detect lead-contaminated water. And she was just 11 at the time!

She was inspired by the Flint water crisis in 2014, when more than 100,000 residents were exposed to high lead levels in their drinking water in Flint, Michigan and thought of a way to help resolve this.

Now that is really inspirational.

KEVIN MORAN: THE CV IN BRIEF Born 1961. Served in the US Army from 1980 to 1985 eventually as a staff sergeant, a senior parachutist and army commendation medal holder. From 1985 to 1990 he studied political science at the University of Illinois in Chicago while remaining a staff sergeant for the US Army Reserve.

From 1990 to 1993 he studied law at the University of Notre Dame before joining the Arizona Bar. He was an attorney at Apker, Apker, Haggard & Kurtz, an Arizona law firm, until 1997, working primarily for copper mining companies.

In 1997 he moved from Arizona to join US senator Jon Kyl’s team in Washington DC. “My wife and I agreed we’d spend a couple of years in DC — that was about the average staffers’ time spent in the capital,” he says. “But here we are 21 years later!”

In 2002 he moved to become a director for the Western Governors’ Association — a politically neutral organization of 22 US governors that work on key policy and governance issues in the west of the US. His work as an advocate for the body required a fine sensitivity to the conflicting interests of the many political heavyweights of the time — think Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and Bill Richardson, the former US secretary of state for energy.

He later worked as a legislative director in 2008 for the then fledgling

Bipartisan Policy Center.

From 2011-2018 he continued to work in Washington DC but as a director in the Chemical Products & Technology Division, for the American Chemistry Council, defending and promoting the interests of various self funded trade associations under the ACC umbrella, including the Rare Earth Technology Alliance, the Pine Chemistry and Industrial Gases Panels, and the Bio-based Chemistry Network.

Moran, 56, is married and has two daughters and a son. He lives just outside of Washington DC in Virginia.

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 9

PERSONAL VIEW Mark Thorsby stepped down as EVP for Battery Council International at the end of 2017. He looks back at an often tumultuous — but always fun and challenging — seven years within the organization.

Presiding over a changing business landscape Ask Mark Thorsby how life has been since starting retirement from BCI and his face will crack out in a smile. “Let’s put it this way, my golf handicap will improve — the past seven years it’s gotten dreadful.”

Joking aside, his period as EVP has been a hectic and exciting time for both himself and the industry. He has presided over some of the most radical changes within the organization since its inception almost a hundred years ago.

“The need to change has been thrust upon us in many ways,” he says.

“And, to the industry’s credit, it may have been difficult on occasion but we’ve been good at adapting ourselves through some challenging times.”

Thorsby, a vice president of the largest association management firms in the world Smith Bucklin, first got to know BCI as a strategic planning consultant at the turn of the century. But his real knowledge of the lead battery industry took place during this tenure as EVP from 2011 to 2017.

He says there were at least three factors that drove change during this period.

“The most obvious was the arrival of lithium ion batteries in scale,” he says. “The lead battery industry was too sceptical and probably too dismissive of them for too long. Rather than tackle the issue in the early days, the industry mood was one of complacency until about five years ago when we started to look around at what we could do.”

One result of this was the present informal/part-formal alliance between BCI, its European counterpart EUROBAT, the International Lead Association and the Association of Battery Recyclers.

“When I joined the BCI team, BCI had already begun taking a more international view of the industry — for example, we’d worked with Chinese lead battery manufacturers to promote improved battery health processes — but we realised that nowa12 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Thorsby: respected and much liked

days the problems facing the industry are not regional but international.

Links between the various organizations were needed. It avoided duplication of effort and could enable us to speak with a unified voice.

“We needed to counter-attack some of the lithium misnomers that were being put around and explain the use of lead batteries in a clearer way.”

The second factor promoting change was the arrival of more stringent regulations. The entire landscape changed in 2008 when the US’ Environmental Protection Agency tightened air quality standards to unprecedented levels.

This initiated both change and a climate where ever tighter restrictions on the use of lead were seen as the natural way forward.

At the head of this change was California, often regarded as the de facto leader for where the rest of the union would later follow.

BCI’s reaction to this — and very much to its credit —was prompt.

“Rather than argue about what levels of lead in workers’ blood, were appropriate, we realised that we had to be the drivers of the discussions and not just be pinned in a corner by tighter regulations,” says Thorsby.

“We led the way in promoting a voluntary code that exceeded the Federal and state rules — we knew in any event the way regulation was blowing — and we decided only to kick back when some of the proposed rule-making was ridiculous or misguided.”

BCI’s prompt action in California — where the emphasis was to educate the rule makers in the state assembly —in the past two years has been particularly successful.

“My overall impression across the whole of the US,” he says, “is that an over-tough approach to our industry, particularly with its anti-business sentiment, is coming to an end. Cooler heads are starting to prevail.”

He reckons that despite what he calls the occasional “forest fire” in terms of state regulations that may have to be beaten down, that ultimately energy policy will come from Washington DC and not the states. “It’s simply become too important a national issue to have a fragmented view,” he says.

This he believes will spill over into a more even-handed approach to the lead battery business. “It’s clear that sentiment is starting to turn at a governmental level and regulators are aware of the possible difficulties of putting all their eggs into one lithium basket.

“Some of the limitations of the chemistry are now being seen at a very senior level as future impediments to growth. It doesn’t take long to think of issues such as the availability of lithium carbonate supply, cobalt shortages, the lack of recyclability and even the persistent problems with safety.”

Thorsby reckons that these limitations are already becoming apparent to the automotive firms who are committed to producing electric vehicles but are now rethinking how to deploy their resources. “The next 24 months are going to be interesting ones for the car industry,” he says.

“Lead will play a greater place in the economy as the government realises that the energy mix is too important www.batteriesinternational.com

PERSONAL VIEW “I’m serious about spending more time on the golf course. I used to be a 12 handicap and since working at BCI I’m now over 20. That’s not fair! But golf is only part of what I plan to do.” to be ambushed by one chemistry. The BCI approach has been to say all technologies have a role to play, there’s room for everyone and, of course, we’re aware that every major lead battery manufacturer in North America is looking at lithium battery manufacturing as well!”

A third factor driving change has been a greater professionalism in the way that the industry’s senior management operates. The wave of consolidation that swept through the industry in the 1990s and 2000s — and greater growth from the established players — created a new generation of manufacturers.

“Part of this move from, say 150 battery makers to 20 has caused a dramatic shift in the way firms needed to operate. The result has been that the family-owned businesses, for example, have realised that they now need professional managers at the top. The other manufacturers realised too that they needed to find the right incentives to attract the very best talent. The success of our industry demands professional management!

“The battery industry has moved on and the process is largely irreversible.

A rubber band once stretched never returns to its original shape!”

Thorsby’s plans for the future go beyond having reached 65 and the age of retirement. “I’m serious about spending more time on the golf course,” he says. “I used to be a 12 handicap and since working at BCI I’m now over 20.

That’s not fair! But golf is only part of what I plan to do.”

Thorsby says that he’s more than happy to contribute in other ways in the battery industry in the future — he has the experience, contacts and knowledge — but won’t be offended if that’s not required.

Thorsby, who has spent more than 40 years in management of membership associations says there are challenges for associations he knows he could help address and is already engaged is as a consultant focused on the relevance and the leadership of associations.

“There’s a problem in that there’s a dramatic increase in the number of associations, maybe as many as five www.batteriesinternational.com

times, but they’re being run by volunteers and, frankly amateurs who may try their best but are failing.

“What I’ve tried to do with BCI is create something approaching a convention culture on a year around basis, where people find real value in spending time with others in the industry.

“It’s easy to crack jokes about attendance at conventions being dependent on the quality of the golf courses nearby, but the reality is that some of the best business conversations occur when industry rivals, suppliers or allies can chat freely in a relaxed environment.”

LOOKING BACK So what will Thorsby miss most after his time with BCI? “It’s probably the adrenalin,” he says. “Each day is different. It may be a new problem or achieving a result from an old one. And it’s a succession of various challenges to overcome. It’s also been enormous fun. This is a great industry and a particularly friendly and welcoming one. There’s a lot of characters that I will miss for all the best reasons.”

Asked to think of which convention he looks back with the most fondness, he pauses. “San Diego was one of my favourites, it wasn’t just having an opening reception on the USS Midway, rather it was the fact that we attracted attendees from some 39 countries — and a great many of them, partly because

Informal dining at the 2013 convention in Baltimore

of the location on the West Coast were from the Pacific Rim. “Another highlight would be the closing reception in Baltimore when we had a few hundred people bashing blue crabs with hammers to get the meat out. That was fun!”

The USS Midway: a sensational opening at the San Diego BCI

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 13

VIEWPOINT: INTERNATIONAL LEAD ASSOCIATION Andy Bush, head of the ILA, the global representative organization of the lead industry, reckons lead batteries can expand into niche markets as well as maintain growth in the major ones.

Invest, innovate — and communicate!

“Lithium is the only true challenger to lead.” It’s an odd statement coming, as it does, from the mouth of Andy Bush, managing director of the International Lead Association.

But it’s a perspective that is increasingly coming to the fore as the lead industry comes to a place of acceptance in the lead versus lithium debate.

Yes, it still needs to fight its corner against the encroachment of lithium batteries into territories where lead should be (and is) king. But it’s also that lithium batteries have a role in energy storage.

Bush’s statement should also be considered within the context of the steep growth projections forecast for the rechargeable battery market over the next 10 to 20 years.

“We are confident that there is room for both lead and lithium to grow together,” says Bush. “I’d even argue that for batteries to stand any chance of meeting this increase in demand, a combination of both chemistries is necessary,” he says.

“Neither technology has the scale potentially required — neither lead nor lithium alone would be capable of meeting expansion on that scale. It really must be a combination of the two.”

Each chemistry will serve the markets they are best suited to given their different characteristics and performance.

Growth in lithium-ion batteries will be driven mainly by portable devices, energy storage and EVs. But the chemistry faces big challenges on sourcing enough raw materials and scaling up manufacturing capabilities.

Change in focus required

Bush says the lead acid battery sector must start to invest more in innovation. It has lost out on significant sums in recent years before — given a wider, oft-times misled, focus by governments and private investors on lithium-ion.

14 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

“For an industry that is more than 100 years old, it is surprising how much untapped potential there is,” says Bush. “It is critical we find ways of tapping into that using technical innovation and better communications and marketing.”

Such efforts should be designed to tempt investors back to the lead industry and the industry must also increase its focus on investing in markets where it has not traditionally had a stronghold.

“The impression I get is that where investment is occurring, it is mostly in improving technology in sectors where lead acid is already established.

In contrast, we see lithium battery manufacturers targeting new emerging markets such as energy storage,” he says.

“Clearly there is a need to invest in what we are good at traditionally, as these markets evolve, but the danger is that this is done at the exclusion of emerging markets.”

ALABC, which is managed by ILA, is working with its members to help the industry better understand where its greatest potential lays. “For example, we believe that lead batteries can meet the needs of certain applications in the energy storage sector and we must go after these sectors as well,” he says.

Bush says that while its traditional strongholds will represent the biggest growth in gross terms, because of their existing size, it will be fascinating to see if there are new sectors that can also provide rapid growth.

He says: “other battery chemistries and technologies are either in very early stage development or are only suitable for very niche applications.

The lead battery sector has dealt with challenges from other sectors/chemistries in the past but there is only one serious contender with the scale required to steal market share from lead batteries: lithium-ion.

But warnings too

He sounds an extra note of warning.

There are also a number of health and safety initiatives or legislation on the ILA’s agenda, which could have big implications for the sector. “Europe in particular is entering a period of very significant regulatory challenges,” Bush says.

Bush is concerned about US legislation particularly how the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) chooses to take forward the Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) or Safer Consumer Products Program, a new environmental law designed to identify and restrict toxic chemicals in consumer products sold in the state.

The law requires a new life-cycle “alternatives analysis” to evaluate alternatives and substitutes. The concern, he feels, is that if lead gets caught up in this, it would have the potential to disrupt the distribution channels that the industry relies on both for the distribution of the product and the way in which lead acid batteries are recycled.

The impression I get is that where investment is occurring, it is mostly in improving technology in sectors where lead acid is already established … our industry must also increase its focus on investing in markets where it has not traditionally had a stronghold www.batteriesinternational.com

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS Two years ago, BCI announced a special award for innovation in the lead battery industry. The 2018 winner will be announced on Monday, April 30 at the conference.

A bright new landscape as invention comes to the fore This year, eight companies submitted entries for the 2018 Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award.

Thank you to Abertax Technologies, Daramic, GNB Industrial Power, Gridtential Energy, Highwater Innovations, Terrapure Environmental, UNISEG Products, UK Power Tech for bettering the industry through innovative thinking.

T

he Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation Award celebrates innovation in equipment, processes, services and products that advance the lead battery industry.

Submissions were opened in December and remained open until February 2018. Battery Council International received eight submissions. Each submission was judged on eight areas: sustainability, safety, cost, performance, detail, uniqueness, value and quantifiablity.

Sustainability – Does the submission show environmental stewardship and /or innovative recyclability? Submitters were asked to provide tangible aspirations, goals and objectives in helping to create a greener tomorrow.

Safety — Does the submission show product or process stability and the ability to be safely commercialized?

Submitters were asked to demonstrate a clear commitment to the best interest of the general public and industry from a safety standpoint.

Cost — Can the submission be easily commercialized, provide cost-optimized advantages and be an affordable alternative to existing technologies and processes?

Performance — Does the submission meet or exceed the needs for application and industry requirements?

Submitters were asked to demonstrate how the innovation meets its intended key objectives, goals and benefits as well as other outstanding attributes.

Detail — Does the submission provide adequate information that thoroughly explains the innovation?

Uniqueness — Is the submission the first of its kind to market or rarely used by other organizations?

How does it differ from existing products? Submitters were asked to provide information about similar applications and clearly define what makes this product, process or discovery unique or innovative.

Value — How does the submission directly benefit the lead battery industry? Can the value be quantified with numerical data, such as material reduction or pollution avoided? Can the product be utilized outside of the company that created it?

Quantifiable — Does the information provided meet the criteria and clearly describe in numerical data the key measurable areas. Submissions that provided actual data received a higher score.

Those who submitted an entry were asked to include a 90-second video providing additional insight on their innovation.

To view the videos and learn more visit www.batterycouncil.org/innovationaward

Claire Sereiko Associate Director, Marketing and Communications

“Innovation is the thing that gives you the opportunity. It’s the promise of our future.”

Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 17

BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: GRIDTENTIAL John Barton, chief executive of Gridtential Energy, explains why its Silicon Joule technology represents a massive opportunity for the lead acid batteries sector.

New bipolar lead battery architecture Gridtential Energy has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of its Silicon Joule technology, which combines the traditional benefits of lead acid batteries — low cost, recyclability, and safety — with a novel bipolar battery architecture. This stacked-cell architecture dramatically reduces the weight of the battery and provides it with the power density associated with lithium technology.

John Barton, chief executive of Gridtential Energy, suggests that by integrating high-volume and low-cost solar manufacturing into the existing lead battery infrastructure, the company has devised an approach that is scalable and easily commercialized compared to other technologies that require novel processing techniques and custom manufacturing equipment.

“Silicon Joule technology can also improve the performance of existing SLI and auxiliary batteries by delivering more cranking power over a wider operating range,” Barton says. “The

How the bipolar batteries stack up

18 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

improved power performance is also extremely important in backup applications, such as telecom and UPS, where the batteries are called upon to deliver large currents in sub-second time frames.

“Overall, as demand in high-power applications increases across industries, the Silicon Joule technology’s flexible voltage scalability, thermal management system, recyclability, manufacturability and simplistic design deliver the high dynamic charge acceptance required to meet these evolving performance needs.”

Founded in 2011, Gridtential’s material discovery — the use of treated silicon wafers inside the battery — led to the development of Silicon Joule technology. Gridtential has subsequently attracted the world’s largest battery suppliers, and is eying new storage markets across the globe as demand for 48V batteries increases for electric-hybrid vehicles.

Barton says this innovation is important for the lead battery industry, which faces a unique set of challenges brought on by competition from lithium-ion and the reputation of lead commodities.

“Silicon Joule battery technology leverages existing lead recycling infrastructures. But also the amount of lead used in the battery is reduced by up to 40%, significantly decreasing the overall weight of the battery.

“Compared to traditional monoblocs, the Silicon Joule battery is lighter and has higher power densities. Gridtential’s approach to battery architecture is built upon a capital-light licensing model that partners with, rather than competes with, battery manufacturers.

This allows them to compete against new and emerging technology threats without gigascale capital investments.

“Lithium alone cannot satisfy the global demand for storage,” he says.

“As the global EV market heats up and major car manufacturers scramble to secure supply, lithium sourcing challenges loom on the horizon. The same applies to cobalt, which is often used in lithium-ion batteries.”

Gridtential’s solution, based on a combination of silicon and lead, only taps two abundant materials with massive existing ecosystems, but is lower in cost and higher in power density.

The lead industry does not have the same material availability issues that lithium does.

Additionally, as the multibillion dollar market for 48V battery systems swells to keep pace with newly increased voltage standards in hybridelectric vehicles, Gridtential’s Silicon Joule Technology will provide its global battery manufacturing partners with an economic, scalable and reliable platform.

Gridtential’s immediate focus is on 12V-48V mild hybrid automotive systems. However, it aims to offer power to a diverse range of technologies across an array of sectors, including material handling equipment, grid storage systems, mobile telephony, back-up power devices for cloud computing, and more.

Barton encourages lead acid battery manufacturers to embrace this opportunity — and go big. “While Tesla is aiming for five gigafactories by 2020, existing lead acid battery manufacturers could license Gridtential’s Silicon Joule technology and convert their existing lines to compete with the evolving needs of the battery industry. That way, there could be roughly 70 lead acid gigafactories worldwide, with over 500GwH,” he says.

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: DARAMIC Matt Wolski, product marketing manager, Daramic, explains how its Carbon Coated Separator Technology can help OEMs reduce CO2 emissions.

Improving dynamic charge acceptance Daramic has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of its Carbon Coated Separator Technology, which reduces sulfation crystal growth, delivering a more active surface area on the plates for improved conductance of the electrode. In short, it has created a separator that will increase the amount and speed of electrification.

Matt Wolski, product marketing manager, Daramic says the Carbon Coated Separator Technology stemmed from analysis of carbon’s use in improving dynamic charge acceptance coupled with a patented application process. He says that Daramic is addressing opportunities to support market needs related to OEMs’ targets to reduce CO2 emissions.

“As OEMs implement more advanced system architectures to meet these goals (such as start-stop), they are asking their batteries to do more, including voltage drop mitigation, robust operation in partial states of charge, and increasing dynamic charge acceptance,” Wolski says.

“The Daramic Carbon Coated Separator Technology is one novel solution, as part of the Daramic EFB solution roadmap, to support this new battery working pattern.”

Wolski says a team of electrochemists studied the fundamental effects of carbon inside the enhanced flooded lead acid battery including its support in advancing electrification in startstop vehicles. A number of individuals should be credited with the development of the Carbon Coated Separator Technology. These include: Eric Miller, director of product marketing; Susmitha Appikatla, R&D electrochemist; Kevin Whear, vice president, technology; and Matt Stainer, R&D and new product development.

He says the innovation has the potential to benefit the batteries industry because of the improved dynamic change acceptance at the cell and battery levels as compared to standard separators.

“Carbon applied directly to the separator, using a proprietary method, while being in contact with the nega-

20 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

tive active materials shows increased dynamic change acceptance at the cell and battery levels versus standard separators,” he says.

“This has proven to slow the growth of lead sulfate crystals, which otherwise tend to grow more rapidly in batteries continuously operating in partial states of charge.”

Conceptually, charging a lead acid battery is a relatively straightforward chemical reaction: electrons convert the crystalline lead sulfate into solid lead and produce sulfate ions. Yet this reaction can be constrained by many factors.

If the electrolyte has been allowed to stratify, there will be localized high density of lead sulfate crystals that will constrain the charging reaction. Also the challenge is to get the incoming electrons to reach the lead sulfate crystals so that they can be reduced.

The addition of carbon, whether to control crystal size or improve the conductance of lead electrode in a partial

state of charge, has already demonstrated great improvements.

“However carbon also comes with the added side effect of increased water loss in the battery. While battery manufacturers often optimize carbon additions to the negative electrode around the best charge acceptance, they often encounter constraints associated with OEMs’ water loss specifications,” he says.

In general, water loss or hydrogen evolution is associated with carbon but also with impurities coming from the lead, acid or from the manufacturing process. Beside impurities, antimony from the top lead will also become soluble in the acid and deposit on the negative electrode.

“All of these factors impact water loss in the battery. Many battery manufacturers used a modified separator which serves to lower water loss so that they can optimize charge acceptance with the addition of carbon while simultaneously meeting strict water loss standards of the OEMs,” Wolski says.

Daramic has come up with a solution: a carbon coated separator with a lower water loss feature that supports dynamic charge acceptance, while lower water loss.

The innovation supports OEMs’ goals of reducing CO2 emissions over the next decade. “The separator advancements allows batteries to be improved in vehicles that have advanced architectures such as start-stop, which in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

But in terms of a timeline for the roll out of the product there is still a long way to go.

Daramic has not yet set a date for commercialization of the product.

“It is very much in the development phase,” he says. “Currently, we have several design of experiments ongoing at the cell and battery levels to validate findings, while maximizing the benefit the solution provides as a component of the broader system,” he says

Daramic has come up with a solution: a carbon coated separator with a lower water loss feature that supports dynamic charge acceptance, while lowering water loss. www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: GNB/EXIDE Kai Ruth, senior product management Motive Power Europe, GNB Industrial Power, part of Exide Technologies, explains why its breakthrough battery technology is so unique.

A breakthrough for tough, industrial batteries GNB Industrial Power, part of Exide Technologies, has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of a new battery that comes in two forms: TENSOR is a unique high performance battery and TENSOR xGEL an innovative maintenance-free battery.

Both have been designed for hard industrial use with the company labelling them the next generation of lead acid batteries.

Kai Ruth, senior product management Motive Power Europe, GNB Industrial Power, part of Exide Technologies, says the innovative design of this traction battery technology shifts the performance of batteries of this type to a completely new level: “It has more power, is faster at recharging and has a higher efficiency than traditional batteries; meanwhile the gel variant is also maintenance-free.”

The TENSOR batteries combine high performance and maximum uptime with long service life and high energy savings. These batteries are designed for all demanding applications in tough industrial environments and allow fast charging, the company says.

The TENSOR battery will fully charge in four hours, is capable of intermediate and opportunity charging, can last up to 50% longer than standard batteries in cold environments and performs well at very low temperatures.

This makes them ideal for heavy-duty trucks especially those that are operated outdoors throughout the year.

The TENSOR xGEL represents a “fusion between high performance TENSOR technology and maintenance free gel technol-

www.batteriesinternational.com

ogy”. This has the same performance as a standard battery but outperforms a standard battery at low temperatures. It has the same charging time as a standard lead battery. It can fully charge in eight hours and is also capable of intermediate and opportunity charging. It is designed for mediumsize equipment, is tolerant of extreme temperatures, can be used indoors and outdoors.

In terms of wider benefits, TENSOR batteries can increase the operating time of materials handling trucks.

They have a significantly lower operating temperature which has a positive effect on the operational life.

Additionally, their excellent energy efficiency ensures decreased energy costs and avoids carbon dioxide emissions. Compared to conventional traction batteries, an advantage of approximately 36% can be expected, the company says.

The batteries achieve this performance through their innovative design. This includes a negative copper plate with a diamond structure, an optimized positive tubular plate, conductive parts with low electrical resistance, and the use of connectors with a higher cross section.

Research on this project was kick-started by attempts to find solutions to some of the challenges faced by batteries operating in tough industrial en-

vironments where charge times could be too short and, traditional batteries struggled in extreme temperatures and also required regular maintenance.

“The background of this was to solve issues for the customer about batteries’ lack of capacity and power, for example, when the length of recharging time was too long and the running time in cold environments too short or they were looking for a maintenance-free alternative,” he says.

He says the design the company has come up with has the potential to transform parts of the industry where such batteries are required.

“It is a breakthrough for the whole battery industry, because this innovation significantly extends the areas of application and the way batteries can be used in applications,” Ruth says.

He believes it will make a big difference to companies working in the logistics sector, for example, as these batteries will mean less downtime and be more reliable. They are also better for the environment.

“It solves issues for the customers and allows them to fulfil their intralogistics task with less downtime and more power. This has a very positive impact on the whole logistic sector which is booming due to the fantastic growth rate in the internet shopping business — and at the same time it saves energy and reduces CO2,” he says.

In terms of future timelines for these batteries, the high-performance TENSOR battery is already established in the market while new maintenance-free variant TENSOR xGEL will be commercially available very shortly.

The TENSOR battery will fully charge in four hours, is capable of intermediate and opportunity charging, can last up to 50% longer than standard batteries in cold environments and performs well at very low temperatures.

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 21

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: ABERTAX ‘KD’ Merz for Abertax Technologies, explains why the one-valve battery lid for VRLA batteries is so important.

How a better valve creates a better VRLA battery Abertax Technologies has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of the one-valve battery lid for VRLA batteries, which it has developed and it claims will mean a more reliable and better performing lead acid battery.

‘KD’ Merz, vice president for technology at Abertax Technologies, who has worked on VRLA (gel) technology for more than 35 years, says that improvements can be made to a traditional VRLA battery — in either gel or AGM formats through improvements to the valve.

These batteries don’t need watering during the service as the individual cells within a battery are closed with a safety or so called ‘one-way valve’.

This has basically two functions: to avoid any ambient air penetrating inside the cells, and to keep a certain pressure inside the cells to limit the space of generated gas and support the internal recombination of the gases.

Abertax already produces a well known range of gas release valves

24 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

The efficiency of this recombination depends on the cell/battery design, the age of the battery, the charging regime and, to a high extent, on the valve quality. The tolerances of the opening and closing pressure should be as small as possible to keep the same internal pressure in all cells, Merz says.

This can be achieved by a well designed membrane inside the valve and a high quality and clean production process.

In fact the drying out of single cells is a main reason for the premature failure of VRLA batteries.

But Abertax Technologies has developed a better design that avoids this. “A new approach to guarantee an equal pressure inside the cells can be achieved with just one high quality valve using a lid with a central degassing function,” Merz says.

Abertax developed the valve with extreme low opening pressure tolerances of +/-25 mbar. The standard is more than +/-50mbar. However, different opening pressures result in different gassing rates and water loss and leads to premature failure. This new lid design guarantees the same pressure in each cell.

Merz says that Abertax started looking at the development of a new valve technology some seven years ago and started developing this design specifically one and a half years ago. The company has now finished all the tests and is close to its first prototype.

“This is going to see the sunlight — it is a new design that prevents a variation of pressures developing inside the battery. Currently, you need a safety valve on each cell; gas is generated and escapes through the valves.

Where this system is unbalanced it can lead to failure of the battery.”

The new design will mean a much better lifetime and as an additional

“We want to see the first batteries being sold this year — we have a battery company lined up to work with us”

‘KD’ Merz, Abertax Technologies

benefit since the charger can be controlled by the calibrated valve, it is thus a much more reliable and better performing lead acid battery.

The design is now finished and a prototype is being built ahead of working with a major battery manufacturer.

Eventually, he believes, this will be used in all VRLA batteries. It will also mean cost savings, making it even more appealing to manufacturers. “We want to see the first batteries being sold this year — we have a battery company lined up to work with us,” he says.

www.batteriesinternational.com

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: HIGHWATER INNOVATIONS George Brilmyer, co-founder of HighWater Innovations, explains why the company is seeking a partner to take its innovation — the Go Battery — to the next level.

Tripling power performance through better design HighWater Innovations has applied for the BCI Innovation Award for the second time on the basis of further development of its invention called the GO Battery.

This is a low-aspect ratio, spiral wound battery, which is designed for maximum power and life. It is specifically intended for use in hybrid electric vehicles at a fraction of the cost of current battery technologies such as nickel and lithium chemistries.

George Brilmyer, co-founder of HighWater Innovations, says that the GO Battery — it stands for Geometrically Optimized — has achieved some 1,000W/kg in power performance to date with a clear development path to over 1,400W/kg.

He says a conventional lead acid battery delivers some 350W/kg; lithium ion is now around 1,400W/kg (but more expensive); the Go Battery is already at 1,000W/kg and improving.

“We are close to achieving three times the power of conventional VRLA batteries,” he says. “We are now approaching what is delivered by lithium ion batteries but at a fraction of the cost. At around $100 per kilowatt hour, we are in a similar price range to any lead acid battery — and that is a tenth of the cost of a lithium ion product.

“Their costs are closer to $300-$400 a kilowatt hour because of the cost of the raw materials.

“Raw lithium prices have increased a lot in the past few years and we need a solution — we know that lead acid can provide that with the right design.”

HighWater Innovations’ co-founders, Brilmyer and Mike Gilchrist, formed the company specifically because they believed that the development of the hybrid electric vehicle market was being held back because of the cost effectiveness of the batteries used in these systems.

They determined that VRLA batteries were the most viable option for solving this challenge. They are more environmentally friendly and much cheaper than the Ni-MH or Li ion batteries that have been used so far.

The GO cell features a low aspect ratio spiral-wound construction with a stack-

26 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

able pack design. This single cell building block can be used to assemble high voltage batteries of any voltage and offers a wide range of form and fitment to the vehicle designer.

The cells are also designed to stack and interlock to form a compact, air-cooled battery pack. The end cells in the pack will be thermally insulated so that all cells will be thermally matched and will therefore operate at the same temperature.

They say the battery will produce more power and have an extended operating life compared to other VRLA batteries. Their low aspect ratio grids will increase the overall power capabilities in the HEV application. Meanwhile, its open central core is designed for improved thermal management.

Conventional VRLA batteries can operate at temperatures of 40ºC-45ºC when operated in the High-Rate Partial State of Charge cycle but this high operating temperature shortens battery life so battery life can be increased by two times through a 10ºC decrease in operating pack temperature.

But while the Go Battery is fully ready as a technology, HighWater Innovations is now seeking a partner to manufacturer it and help take it forward.

“We are not battery manufacturers, we are innovators,” says Brilmyer. We want to get someone interested to take it forward — ideally one of the big battery makers. We need the OEMs to take a good look at it and help us develop a really compact design.

“This is a truly innovative design, which has made a quantum leap forward for VRLA batteries — we haven’t achieved 10% more power, we have achieved 300% more. We need to take it to the next level now — and for that we need the right partner.”.

The GO battery is a series of cylindrical two-volt cells with four instead of two current take-off tabs, and a hole in the centre of the cell, through which air can pass. These twovolt cells can be stacked to form strings of any voltage

“We are close to achieving three times the power of conventional VRLA batteries. We are now approaching what is delivered by lithium ion batteries but at a fraction of the cost.” www.batteriesinternational.com

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: TERRAPURE Mixing lead acid and lithium ion batteries in the recycling stream can cause violent explosions. Terrapure says it has found a way to separate the two in the recycling stream.

The LI Detector – ensuring recycling safety Terrapure, a Canadian environmental services company, has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of an invention called the LI Detector, a device designed to separate lithium ion batteries from the lead battery recycling stream.

Lithium ion batteries, which are often made to appear identical to automotive lead acid batteries, have come under increasing scrutiny recently for the potential danger when the explosive mixture of sulfuric acid and lithium come into contact.

Several fires in recycling plants in the US have been blamed on these batteries. There is also the very real possibility of loss of life when the two battery chemistries are processed together.

Michael Paszti, vice president of innovation, technology and business development at Terrapure, says: “Lithium ion batteries, pose an explosion and fire hazard if they enter the lead battery recycling process and as lithium ion batteries become more common in society the danger will increase.”

Terrapure is a large battery recycler and has an interest in ensuring the safety of its operations, and equally, the well being of the industry.

The LI Detector concept and prototype was developed in just over a year, once Terrapure had established what it was trying to achieve.

The LI Detector works by using high frequency radio waves to detect lithium ion batteries by scanning for the unique charging and protection circuitry they use. The makers claim that, even when a battery is unpowered, it is easy to detect this circuitry.

“The device is designed to be used — either mounted or hand held — at the front end of a lead recycling process.

If lithium ion batteries are detected, it emits a signal that can be used as a trigger for an automatic response,” the firm says.

As the use of lithium ion batteries becomes more commonplace, such detection devices will be critical at recycling

28 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Lead acid and lithium ion batteries often look the same but in the battery breaking process the mix is explosive

plants to ensure health and safety.

“The battery recycling industry faces a growing risk to equipment and personnel within lead battery breaking operations from lithium ion batteries.

Some of the solutions proposed in the past have been impractical and very costly,” he says. “The LI Detector will be a game-changer in terms of effectiveness, cost, and ease of deployment.”

While the LI Detector will reduce the dangers posed by lithium ion batteries it will ensure the continued high levels of recycling that exist in the lead sector.

“One of the greatest attributes of lead batteries is their recyclability. The LI Detector ensures that lead battery recycling will continue to be safe and cost effective well into the future,” he says.

In terms of the timeline the company is now working to, Paszti says that the next step is to develop a production unit based on the lessons learned from the prototype.

“The technology is quite versatile —

being suited to hand-held or fixed configurations — which provides many options for how it can be deployed.

This is a good thing, but also requires us to do some work to determine the best option,” he says.

Terrapure says that it has developed a product that will make a positive contribution to the lead battery sector as well as health and safety more generally.

Paszti says the development of the product was the result of efforts by a cross-functional team comprising representation from the business, operations, and innovation parts of the business. “Each area had a hand in balancing economic feasibility, operational practicality, and implementing the right technology,” he says.

Key figures in this were, in addition to himself, Ryan Reid, executive vice president, resource recovery and Benoit Deschenes, vice president, manufacturing.

While the LI Detector will reduce the dangers posed by lithium ion batteries in the recycling stream it will ensure the continued high levels of recycling, that exist in the lead acid sector. www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: UNISEG David Bush, a director of UNISEG Products, explains why its Battery Transport & Storage container makes battery recycling safer and more efficient.

Transforming the recycling process UNISEG Products has applied for the BCI Innovation Award on the basis of its Battery Transport & Storage (BTS) container, which brings many benefits to the recycling process including better safety, increased efficiency, better compliancy and improved data transparency on what has been collected and when.

David Bush, non-executive director of UNISEG Products, says the technology will make a big difference in very specific ways. It will reduce the amount of battery acid leaking into the environment, improve public safety of an accident eliminate unnecessary double handling of batteries, protect workers being exposed to acid burns and lead contamination — and also save money,” Bush says.

The BTS container allows the batteries to be ergonomically loaded into a pallet while the rear, left and right hand panels help keep the batteries in place. When the container is full of batteries it can be closed, and secured.

A fundamental difference of the BTS container as a replacement for a conventional wooden pallet is that it entails operating a closed loop container pool. After the containers are emptied at the reprocessing plants, they are collapsed and returned for redeployment.

The firm suggests that BTS containers should be initially deployed at customer sites (used battery generators) and when full they are collected and an empty exchange container is delivered. The full BTS containers are consolidated at the collection company’s local holding yard before being shipped, usually in quantities of 20, to the battery processing plant.

The plant then decants and washes the containers before stockpiling the empty containers ready for return.

An independent costing by Kevin Jones, director of Fleetrak Consulting, demonstrated that despite the additional costs of washing and returning the BTS containers, on average there

www.batteriesinternational.com

is a saving of A$21 ($16) per tonne of batteries transported. These are due to the time and materials involved in preparing the batteries for transport on wood pallets and the efficiency gains of automatic unloading from the BTS container.

The collection system records the details of each collection, using a “proof of delivery” app. Each container has a unique serial number which is displayed on the front and rear of the pallet, as a barcode and in human readable form. The POD app enables the driver’s smart phone, to capture the serial number of the pallet by scanning the bar code.

UNISEG has investigated using networking devices for tracking the location of BTS containers by linking to the Internet-of-Things. Shortly containers will be fitted with an IoT device, including several sensors. This will provide live tracking of shipments including immediate accident reporting and useful data and statistics for the battery recycling industry and regulators.

The development of the container started in 2010, when inventor and entrepreneur, Fenton Goddard, was helping a friend in his recycling business. He noticed that the transportation and storage of used lead acid batteries was neither safe nor efficient.

Goddard thought there must be a better method and being a compulsive inventor he set about developing a container, specifically for this purpose.

The first container was produced in 2015.

Bush says the UN Basel Convention’s ‘Technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of waste lead acid batteries’, states that used lead acid batteries must be transported inside sealed containers due to the risk of leakage.

“Yet the majority of the world ignores this by using wood pallets for storing and transporting batteries,” he says.

The BTS container allows the batteries to be ergonomically loaded into a pallet while the rear, left and right hand panels help keep the batteries in place. When the container is full of batteries it can be closed, and secured

UNISEG Products’ main objective is now to supply the BTS containers to the world’s used lead acid battery recycling industry. It is gaining traction in Australia but there has been resistance from incumbent players in the industry.

It has established a demonstration battery collection company, Battery Rescue Australia, in Perth where it has 100 BTS containers deployed at customers’ sites. “And we are about to embark on a significant expansion programme throughout Australia,” Bush says.

The company is about to trial an Australian battery reprocessing firm over the automatic unloading of the batteries from the BTS container and it expects to conclude these tests by July. It is working on a revised model container, which will be lighter, stronger and cheaper than the current version. “This should be available within 12 months,” Bush says.

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 29

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BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: UK POWERTECH Mark Rigby, managing director of UK PowerTech, explains why his innovation is in the manufacturing process — and why it could make such a profound difference to battery makers.

Improving battery formation through better connectivity UK PowerTech has applied for the BCI Innovation Award not only on the basis of a specific process or design that it has invented but on the basis of an improvement to the manufacturing process for batteries.

Mark Rigby, managing director of UK PowerTech, says UK PowerTech has been involved in the industrial battery industry for over 25 years. Over the past 10 years he has provided connectors for linking batteries for charging in the formation areas of battery production.

Rigby says that for most of his career he has wondered how much it costs to charge a battery — and how much energy is being lost in the process. He understood that connectors get dirty and corroded, are often not fitted correctly, and the process must be flawed in some ways. But he had never devised a method of calculating the extent of this problem.

Increasingly, battery makers have been pushing the limits in terms of how quickly they can charge a battery post manufacturing. Formation times have dropped from 24 to six hours for SLI batteries due to advances in formation cooling technology, acid recirculation and switch-mode pulsing rectifiers.

But the resulting fourfold increase in charging currents has exposed an inherent weakness in the connections between the batteries in the formation circuits. This is the high resistance interface between the connector head and the battery terminal.

This resistance has several causes including a barrier layer on the connector head surface resulting from the hostile environment of the formation department; a reduced contact area from poorly fitted connectors due to the difficulty of making and then removing around 3,000 connectors per man in a single shift; heat generated during formation from high resistance joints; and connector damage due to battery terminals being occasional incorrectly manufactured, plus electrical arcing from damaged or loose connectors.

32 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Since average SLI formation currents have increased from 15 to 60+ amps, the damage to batteries and the likelihood of formation room fires has increased.

The resistance of the connection interface is responsible for higher voltage (giving higher energy losses), more heat generation and greater tendency for arcing and fires.

“I realised that the connectors used had not changed in 25 years,” Rigby says. “These are important because they can cause resistance to taking the charge if they are not fitted correctly or are old or dirty. This was an energy storage problem that had not been quantified — every battery company in the world is using very old connectors and had never sees them as important.”

Working with Mike McDonagh, a technical expert, they started looking at how these problems could be solved and by running efficiency tests using a range of connectors and different charging currents.

“We realised that in some instances there was a loss of energy of around 11%,” Rigby says. “That equates to a lot of money for many companies. In total, he estimates that the losses from wasted energy, production scrap and warranty returns, amount to at least €147,000 ($180,000) per million SLI batteries produced each year Rigby says there has been a misconception that the connector size needs to be increased to cope with the higher currents.

UK PowerTech formulated a two part plan. First, it developed a blueprint for changes to working practices to ensure that connectors are fitted correctly and maintained and cleaned better.

Second, it developed a new type of connector. The UK Powertech P type connector is designed to alleviate all of the problems with the standard design.

The design uses a split spring design head which will mould around the battery terminal even if placed unevenly.

This design does not provide a resistance fit as typified by standard push fit

connectors. It is easily removed by an operator, there is no incentive to loosely fit connectors.

Until recently, the connection problems associated with increasing formation currents had not been recognized by the industry. The standard connector design and working practices are at least 50 years old.

“We needed a new way of connecting — it needs to be pressurized rather than resting on the battery terminal.

While we think the P type connector is a breakthrough, the bigger point is educating customers on the best way to connect and disconnect batteries,” says Rigby.

“Even our design can be fitted incorrectly so it’s about training and education to change the working processes within formation rooms. The connector is only part of the story. It is the entire process that we are looking to fix. It is an innovative idea because it is a completely different approach to solving a problem.”

Its UK Powertech P type connector has an easy push fit, more corrosion resistant connector design with working practices which will minimize the build-up of a high resistance layer on the connector head. It is also easier to fit and remove which ensures that operators can easily make firm connections and also remove connectors easily. The ease of use is a critical parameter to enable the increased throughput of batteries.

Rigby says its UK Powertech P type connector is gaining traction and he has had advanced conversations with some of the world’s biggest battery makers.

He estimates that using the UK Powertech system it is possible for a medium sized SLI lead acid battery company to save at least €750,000 a year. Its additional benefits include: reduced energy usage; safer process with lower fire risk; higher battery throughput with less scrap and rework; fewer warranty returns; and better working conditions for operators.

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REGULATORY REVIEW The BCI would not be the same without the much-anticipated annual presentation by David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley Rein, who offers delegates an update on regulatory matters affecting the lead acid battery sector.

This year, he will argue that the industry has made good progress on many issues — but risks and challenges remain.

Still not quite out of the woods “It has been a year of twists and turns but the industry has worked hard to make its case on a number of fronts and has made good headway on many issues. That said, there is still uncertainty out there and we cannot rest on our laurels. Several threats to the industry remain on the agenda and it could be an interesting 12 months ahead as these pan out.”

That is what David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley Rein, will present at BCI on regulatory developments that have already happened since the last conference and some of those that are pending this year. He sums up what the industry will face in the next 12 months.

The number one concern for the industry at the moment is how the California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) chooses to take forward the Green Chemistry Initiative or Safer Consumer Products Program, a new environmental law designed to identify and restrict toxic chemicals in consumer products sold in the state.

The law requires a new life-cycle so-called “alternatives analysis” to evaluate alternatives and substitutes for hazardous substances in consumer products based not only upon their risk during product use, but also during their manufacture and after disposal.

The state may then condition, restrict or ban the use of those chemicals in the products of concern.

While the first three products that come under the Safer Consumer Products program do not include lead acid batteries, the concern has been that lead batteries could ultimately be identified as a ‘priority product’, which will require manufacturers to evaluate the product’s health impacts and consider ways to reduce them.

The concern is that if lead gets caught up in this, it would have the potential to disrupt the distribution channels that the industry relies on for the distribution of the product and the way in which lead acid batteries are recycled.

“The DTSC was directed by the gov-

“The number one concern for the industry at the moment is how the California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control chooses to take forward the Green Chemistry Initiative or Safer Consumer Products Program, a new environmental law designed to identify and restrict toxic chemicals in consumer products sold in the state.”

34 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

ernor several years ago to consider including lead acid batteries in the scope of that programme,” says Weinberg.

“As a result, lead acid batteries were named in the current proposed future work plan, which detailed what they may look at.

“That does not mean they will be on their formal agenda, and that is what we are trying to discourage.”

He says a meeting of the DTSC took place in November. Lead acid SLI batteries were discussed as well as the viability of potential alternatives, namely lithium ion batteries. Some misinformation was offered by DTSC before the event, because some of its staff were under the impression that lithium ion batteries can present an equivalent alternative in terms of cost, safety and recyclability.

This perspective was challenged by the automotive industry and those working in the recycling industry, and, of course, BCI. Recyclers in particular noted growing concerns about lithium ion batteries entering the recycling process and causing fires and explosions.

“There have been plenty of people telling them that it does not make sense to keep lead batteries on the work plan; we think they should be clear and reach a final conclusion on what they are looking at and what they are not,” Weinberg says. “This has now been going on for three years, and they need to make it clear what their focus is on and what potential actions they are considering.”

Conversely, lithium ion has come www.batteriesinternational.com

REGULATORY REVIEW under increased scrutiny in recent years after being blamed for a number of fires at recovery plants in California. There is no suggestion that the DTSC would look at this chemistry at the moment, but it does help dispel the notion there is an easy alternative to lead acid batteries in vehicles.

Weinberg says the second biggest issue facing the industry is the potential revision in some US states of general workplace standards for lead exposure, which relate to levels of lead in blood and air quality in factories.

California has been a big driver on this historically though staff changes in the state agency responsible for this meant it has appeared to have been put on the back burner in recent months.

He says that this issue was initially considered against the backdrop of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) having not updated its own general workplace standards for lead exposure since establishing them 35 years ago.

With no change on the agenda, California’s own Division of Occupational Safety and Health took its own initiative and has been working toward tightening these regulations.

California has often acted as a pioneer and driver of such standards and other states have often followed, especially if it is seen as demonstrating that its lead-related businesses can survive tougher regulations.

Weinberg says that any such changes should consider just how high standards are now. He says that the idea that standards have not changed since the 1970s is a misnomer. The industry’s own standards are far more rigorous that those set by regulators anyway.

As such, average lead levels in the blood of workers in a US battery plant are below the average for every member of the general population in the 1950s.

The original proposals in California could potentially reduce this standard to somewhere in the region of a tenth of the current recommended federal levels. This would be around two thirds of the accepted industry standard these days.

“However, the California authorities keep saying they will look at this but little progress has been made,” he says.

But several other states have now stepped up and considering their own regulations.

Michigan is in the process of considwww.batteriesinternational.com

Average lead levels in the blood of workers in a US battery plant are below the average for every member of the general population in the 1950s.

ering legislation relating to what constitutes safe levels of lead although, ironically, this has not been initiated by anything caused by the battery industry.

Instead, it is a response to a drinking water crisis in the city of Flint where it was discovered that lead levels in drinking water were dangerously high, mainly because of the use of lead pipes in the system. Weinberg says that he expects to see proposals made in the middle of this year. “There is an election in the state in November and this has become a big political issue. I certainly expect them to act,” he says.

Meanwhile, this has also become an issue in Washington state — not because of the batteries industry or anything in drinking water but because high levels of lead have been found in the air in shooting ranges. “It may seem a strange reason for this to have become an issue, but they are considering the safety of the people using these ranges,” he says.

“Finally, Oregon is also considering these regulations so we are keeping a watching brief on that as well. They might do something later in the year.”

A third issue on Weinberg’s radar is a concern on the use and interBatteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 35

REGULATORY REVIEW ”The second biggest issue facing the industry is the potential revision in some US states of general workplace standards for lead exposure, which relate to both levels of lead in blood and air quality in factories.” pretation of the Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, passed in June 2016, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the national chemicals management law. The aim in part was to move the US closer to the European equivalent, a legislation called REACH. Over the next few years, 20 chemicals will be identified for risk assessment and evaluation of the risks associated with them. Weinberg believes that lead should not be included on such a list, which is designed to prioritize concerns about unregulated chemicals.

In contrast, the use of lead is highly regulated and managed across all of its lifecycle.

However, progress on moving this forward has been much slower under the Trump administration than he believes it would have been had Clinton won power. “The main issue for the lead battery industry is whether lead is listed as a priority for attention under that programme.

“We should know that within the next eight months to a year. They are required to provide clarity on this by the end of 2019,” he says.

Ultimately, the Environmental Protection Agency will conduct a health and safety review of every chemical in the world, starting with this list of 20 priorities. Companies involved in the production of the chemicals named on the list will be required to fund the government’s evaluation of those chemicals, at a cost of more than $1 million per chemical.

He argues that it should focus on areas and chemicals that less is known about, thus using funds in a more productive way: “We know everything about lead — there have been many, many studies and its lifecycle has been scrutinized for many decades.

“It would be a better use of money and resources to look at areas where less is known such as where plastics are entering the food chain. That said, lead has a certain reputation and there certainly are pressures to include it.”

Weinberg says that the election of president Trump has had some other implications for the industry.

Progress has also been slow on po36 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

tential revisions to federal guidelines on occupational health standards as they relate to lead. He says that this has been a double-edged sword, as the lack of action means that states are more likely to act.

“There are other areas they have been slow, including in the implementation of the TSCA programme,” he says. “They have also been slow making appointments. On balance, it has probably been a good thing as it has given the industry breathing space. A Clinton administration would have moved a lot more quickly.”

Weinberg considers the programme designed to clean up the Exide smelter plant is turning out well. Immediate pressure on the industry as a whole was more or less put to bed when a fund was created for the clean-up of areas contaminated by lead acid batteries via the California Lead Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016.

Under this, consumers will be charged a $1 fee per vehicle battery at the point of sale, including for marine batteries. Manufacturers will pay an additional $1 fee on all applicable batteries sold in the state.

The money from the fees will be used to clean up areas of the state

that have been contaminated by the production and recycling of lead acid batteries.

Weinberg says that this new system was accepted by the industry and also achieves the goals of the original legislators.

One other important benefit of the fund, Weinberg says, was that the contribution to the fund by battery companies also acts as a credit against any claim that might be brought against that company in relation to pollution caused by its products.

Though this has been accepted by all parties, one hiccup has emerged because the state has been unable to fund a way to actually collect funds from companies based outside the state.

“Out-of-state manufactures are happy to pay, but the state cannot figure out how to collect this and give credit for it in a legal way,” he says.

“The tax authorities in the state are concerned they could not bring enforcement actions against anyone outside the state. They are trying to come up with a solution so we are watching that closely as well.” BCI is supporting legislation to overcome the authorities’ concerns, Weinberg says.

Lead safety levels has also become an issue in Washington state — not because of the batteries industry or anything in drinking water but because high levels of lead have been found in the air in shooting ranges. www.batteriesinternational.com

SEPARATOR TECHNOLOGY

How adding carbon to the separator can increase battery performance

Although the separator plays a vital role in preventing electronic shorts, it can also increase power by lower separator electric resistance.

By using the separator as a carrier, additives can lower water loss, ultimately delaying grid corrosion.

One of Daramic’s new products with a water loss feature showed that it could lower the flooded lead acid water loss and extend battery life by approximately 25% Now, one of the new requirements associated with batteries used in Stop-Start applications is fast charge acceptance. More and more batteries are operated in a partial state of charge (PSOC), and must also absorb energy in a much shorter time and therefore dynamic charge acceptance became quite critical for battery.

Scientists have found the addition of carbon to the negative electrode can be an advantage to improve dynamic charge acceptance.

Daramic’s Kevin Whear also looks at the role of carbon as one such additive.

To improve charge acceptance some have suggested that a high surface area provides a nucleation site for the formation of small lead sulfate particles that can be easily reduced upon recharge. Others claim that the capacitance effect of the carbon works quickly and accepts a surface charge which is transferred to reduce adjacent lead sulfate particles.

Another hypothesis is that the carbon is more conductive than the lead sulfate and thus particles provides a conductive path to the grid. Finally, others claim that there are multiple mechanisms working simultaneously to improve charge acceptance.

Whatever the mechanism(s) for improving charge acceptance, the addition of carbon increases the water loss of the battery.

It has been suggested that the water loss associated with carbon is due to various impurities and as result there is interest in different sources of a precursor for the carbon additive.

As this relation between carbon and water loss is being investigated, battery manufacturers are left with an optimized compromise of water loss and charge acceptance. The optimization is done around the carbon concentration and the surface area of the carbon.

Here we are proposing a different approach, namely putting the carbon where it is most effective and thus lower the total amount in the battery.

As the battery is discharged, lead sulfate is formed on the outer surface of the electrode thus this is where the carbon should be the most effective.

Typically carbon is added to the entire negative active mass before it is pasted on to the grid.

Therefore, there is carbon on the outer surface of the grid, but there is also carbon randomly spread throughout. Others have noted that as the high surface area carbon is spread throughout the entire negative active material, it will absorb the lignin and ultimately degrade the batteries power performance.

We propose to use the separator as a carrier for the carbon that will come in contact with the negative electrode.

This is achieved by coating the side of the separator facing the negative electrode with a thin, porous layer of the effective carbon of choice.

This will first lower the total amount of the carbon that is being added to the system or the battery, therefore, this gives us hope that the overall detrimental effects of high water loss and degradation of power associated with lignin absorption will be less.

Second, a coated layer of carbon on the separator surface will provide a continuous and alternative path of conductivity from the top of the electrode to the bottom of the electrode, leading to faster conversion of the lead sulfate.

If the carbon does indeed function as a capacitance layer, when coated on the separator it will now form where the carbon particles are connected and can pass on a surface charge.

As this article is written, separators have been successfully coated with a porous layer, measuring 10 to 50 microns or carbon. These separators have been assembled and tested in electro-chemical cells and batteries and we can confirm that charge acceptance has been improved. Work is underway to select the optimum carbon structure and the interaction with various ribbing profiles.

By utilizing the separator as a carrier, various additives can be employed to lower water loss, ultimately delaying grid corrosion. These same carrier properties can be used as a delivery mechanism for applying a carbon layer to the surface of the negative electrode so as to improve charge acceptance.

With all these new requirements being placed upon the battery, it is a dynamic and exciting time to be in the lead acid battery industry. Those that are fast and nimble to develop new and innovative solutions will show themselves to be the future leaders.

The separator is one important tool in the redesign.

Here we are proposing a different approach, namely putting the carbon where it is most effective and thus lower the total amount in the battery. www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 37

BCI PERSPECTIVES Ray Kubis’s presentation will examine the huge potential lead batteries have in the automotive sector in coming years.

Why transportation batteries are poised for rapid growth The transportation batteries sector will experience remarkable growth in the next five years reaching over $100 billion globally by 2022 — a trajectory that will create both challenges and opportunities for the lithium and lead based batteries sectors globally.

That is just part of the message that Ray Kubis, chairman of Gridtential and a director of EcoBat Technologies, will deliver in a keynote speech called ‘Transportation Batteries Shipments Outlook to 2022’.

In terms of the capacity that will be required, it will likely exceed one terawatt hour per year. “That will mean huge opportunities but also present challenges around costs, performance, safety and recycling,” he says.

Kubis reached that prediction after speaking to senior figures in the industry and overlaying this to sector data on every available relevant sector and country.

His presentation will deliver a number of points linked to what rapid growth in the sector will mean.

First, he says it is clear that pure electric and plug in hybrid vehicles will drive growth in larger battery pack demand. However, it will be what he calls the “harder working” batteries required for many 48V hybrid and also stop-start that will create unique opportunities for battery makers — both for producers of advanced lead and lithium-ion batteries He says that on the lithium-ion side, the five biggest producers — Panasonic

Kubis: “the scale of investment needs to be huge”

(w/Tesla), LG Chem, Samsung, CATL, and BYD — and their ability to further improve their products will likely be difficult for other lithium producers to compete with. They have also set tough standards in many applications for lead based battery producers to match.

He says the safety aspect of these batteries and their ability to be recycled will become even much more important as the scale of their presence in the market increases.

“There are huge opportunities for both chemistries, and it is clear that each chemistry has their strengths for specific applications,” Kubis says.

When you consider moving from today’s capacity to the required capacity of the future you get the true perspective of what is really needed.

38 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Wider economic factors including the pricing of key commodities of cobalt, lithium, lead and oil will play an important role determining just how fast end users will adapt to new technologies. Oil prices affect the adoption rates, and raw materials have been surprising the lithium producers of late.

Also regulatory pressures and government incentives will play an important role in determining the pace of change in different parts of the world — and thus how much of the $100 billion+ prediction will be allowed to happen.

“We can see from Norway to China the huge impact of regulations and incentives. And we have seen in the past that in countries such as China where they commit to a new sector, such as solar in the past, their progress can be remarkable,” he says.

Partly on this basis, he believes China’s role will become even more important than it is today in this sector. “They can make things happen fast. When we see some of the capacity being discussed in gigawatts scale it may sound impressive. But when you consider moving from today’s capacity to the required capacity of the future you get the true perspective of what is really needed.

“The scale of the investment needs to be huge, and it also means the risks and returns may prove equally large.”

Kubis says he will touch on all the major regions in his speech and explain growth forecasts for each sector in transportation and the penetration of lead versus lithium in these growing markets. He will also touch on the rationale behind the surge in North American shipments in the past 18 months where growth has been unusually strong.” www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI PERSPECTIVES Despite a recent dip in the price of lead, a high point of lead pricing could still come, but its window is shrinking, says Neil Hawkes.

2018 lead price factors LME lead prices fell by over 10% in late winter as part of a wider metals retreat, with LME stock deliveries providing an extra downward push.

But this is just a blip, says Neil Hawkes, lead analyst at CRU, who argues that the high point of lead pricing could still come this year.

After the strong start to 2018, LME lead prices tumbled during February from a high of $2,632/t to a low of $2,345/t in mid-March, its lowest since dipping below $2,300/t in September 2017.

The initial driver behind the fall was a turnaround in the US dollar. Since mid-2017, anti-dollar sentiment has become entrenched. A temporary halt to this weakening followed hawkish comments from new US Federal chairman Jerome Powell. However, the blip was mainly caused by US president Trump’s imposition of trade tariffs (on steel [25%] and aluminium [10%]), raising the spectre of global trade wars lifting inflation and ultimately dampening metals demand growth more widely.

There are other factors that point to a potential longer term depression of lead pricing.

There is no sign that refined lead availability has fallen short during the height of the northern hemisphere winter battery season.

Moreover, demand has weakened in some areas. The Chinese lead market is tighter, although this is more related to restrained smelter output than any notable post-holiday pick-up in demand.

“Investors have two things to worry about. They thought demand was fine but that has fallen away in some areas; and they don’t like what Trump is doing,” says Hawke. “It creates uncertainty and investors hate that.”

The situation has not been helped by a couple of extraordinary trades.

In late February, a delivery of 22,125t was made into the LME warehouse at Antwerp in Belgium providing an extra downward push to LME lead prices.

While the precise timing is always a surprise, some metal was inevitably going to be teased out into the open at some point. www.batteriesinternational.com

“This will be a year of two halves — high in the first and falling in the second as mine production starts to improve.”

Yet despite these factors, this looks to be another blip rather than a turning point in a longer-term direction.

Hawkes believes the price could still recover in the second quarter before slipping again.

Lead supply is tightening in China, mainly due to lower capacity utilization rates and extended maintenance shutdowns at smelters in February and March. This has meant that refined lead output has declined.

The European lead market has held firm in March. Although one smelter suggested a slight slip from seasonally strong January/February sales, the majority said that this month is seeing no change in lead orders and shipments.

The early March wintry blast across much of Europe should serve to run down existing stocks along the battery supply chain.

With new mine supply much less significant for lead than zinc, two key talking points revolve around the impact of environmental checks inside China on mines and smelters and the extent to which smelters outside

China can further lift processing of secondary materials at the expense of more expensive concentrates. CRU still expects 2018 lead concentrate contract terms to fall, but probably by less than last year and perhaps for the last time.

While the initial rise in Chinese lead demand after the New Year holiday has been muted, CRU reckons that business could pick up through the next quarter, as warmer weather boosts e-bike and leisure motive battery usage and perhaps turns around the shaky start the year to vehicle (and automotive battery) sales.

“This is a downward blip for the moment and there is some upside to come,” says Hawkes. “There will be a turning point that will be in the middle of the year — with zinc’s price path providing a strong cue for lead.

“This will be a year of two halves — high in the first and falling in the second as mine production starts to improve.”

CRU believes there is scope for LME lead prices to recover more of the ground lost in the recent sell-off. “Though we would not rule out a re-test of the earlier 2018 highs in the $2,600s/t, the 2011 high of around $2,850/t now seems a more distant prospect. Moreover, given the waning of the 2017-2018 winter battery season and rising mine output taking hold during this year, the window of opportunity for fresh price highs is starting to shrink. 2Q 2018 could prove to be a crucial point in the mediumterm price cycle,” Hawkes says.

Johnson Controls’ announcement that it is exploring ‘strategic alternatives’ for its Power Solutions business that includes its battery manufacturing and lead recycling operations has profound market implications. “This news represents a potentially big shift in the ownership structure not just in this region, but also in the world. JCI has a battery presence in Asia and Europe, including a secondary lead smelter in Germany,” Hawkes says.

The company is the fourth largest refined lead producer in the world outside China and the second largest refined lead producer in North America.

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 39

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: TECHNICAL Herbert Giess, a leading lead battery expert with 50 years’ experience, will argue that lead acid batteries have the potential to be not only competitive but possibly the best option for use in many large-scale electrical energy storage systems.

Why lead should be a solution for large-scale energy storage Herbert Giess, who was recognized for his contribution to the lead and lead battery industries with the International Lead Award at the Asian Battery Conference in Kuala Lumpur last year, will deliver a presentation entitled: Can Lead Batteries Be Competitive in LargeScale Electrical Energy Storage Systems?

The simple answer is yes and Giess intends to prove it. His paper will be fairly technical and will initially explain how the performance of different battery systems in energy storage systems may be assessed and compared using the IC 61427-2 — standard methodology. This allows an accurate comparison to be made between the merits of various systems including lithium ion, lead acid and other battery types.

Giess says that while the methodology is not newm many in the audience would not be familiar with how it works and why it is useful. “The idea is that the end user would — before selecting a battery for an energy storage project — use this to establish what different types of batteries can do under different conditions. In that sense, it is invaluable. It is a black box that is

neutral to the type of battery used — it just shows you the true performance.”

Giess will explore the different applications of energy storage, discussing the impact of wear and tear on different types of batteries. He will outline some of the criteria under which lead batteries can perform well.

One example he will show is in the use in rubber-tyred gantry cranes in seaports to lift and move shipping containers. Regenerative energy can be captured during their operations and stored in a lead battery efficiently.

“An application such as this is significant because it saves the user on several fronts: it reduces diesel smoke, NOX emissions and fuel used saving the environment, energy and money at the same time,” he says.

Another good application for lead batteries is in frequency regulation and consumption peak shaving.

Giess is working with Narada on an ALABC project using the IEC 61427-2 methodology to measure the performance of lead batteries and will present data that illustrates its strengths and weak spots and “ultimately indi-

Lead-acid EES systems in China – March 2018 40 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

cate that it can be very suitable,” he says.

Then, there is the paradox that in China, the main producer of lithium ion cells, energy storage projects more commonly use lead batteries.

One of the reasons for this, he says, is that companies, including those that he is consulting for, have developed VRLA/AGM type lead batteries capable of delivering many more 100% DoD cycles — around 1500 compared with the standard 300-800 typical of a battery used in Europe or the US. Narada has developed the REX battery, a carbon modified VRLA/AGM that is able to achieve good cycle life in partial state of charge.

But he says the bigger reason that lead acid is more commonly used in China is simply that the country is pragmatic in the way it chooses technology and makes business decisions.

Lead acid, for many energy storage applications, is simply the better option and is more affordable.

“In China, they don’t see lead acid as some sort of disease,” he says. “In the US and Europe, there is a perception issue and lithium ion is seen as very sexy. It is seen as the future of batteries and lead acid very old fashioned in contrast,” Giess says.

“But if people were to simply use a neutral methodology, as we are proposing, we can show that lead acid can work well and be the better option.

One problem is that very few are making very long life lead batteries but that is solvable, as China has proved.

Giess says that it would be beneficial for energy companies, investment groups and energy distributors that have perhaps fallen out of favour with lead acid to apply this methodology and then pick the best chemistry based on that,” he says. www.batteriesinternational.com

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: TECHNICAL

A CAREER STRETCHING BACK HALF A CENTURY Giess’s taste for electrochemistry came from his first job for the European Atomic Energy Commission but the love of his professional life happened after he joined the research group at the Battelle Memorial Institute Research Center in Geneva, Switzerland.

“After a project for forming insulating passivation layers on copper in liquid hydrogen fluoride I finally found my true love — the lead battery,” he says.

In those days lead battery world was an exciting place. Delco-Remy, a division of General Motors, introduced in 1971 the first maintenance-free SLI battery, made with expanded metal lead-calcium grids.

It was a game-changing moment for the industry.

Because other battery firms were trying to compete with Delco, the absence of antimony in the positive grid alloy created massive amounts of early capacity failures.

A solution was needed, and urgently.

“As Battelle Geneva we worked in a multi-year collaborative research project with 12 lead battery manufacturers from Europe, Japan and the US to carry out a fundamental research study,” he says. “The title of the programme was the ‘Shedding and Aging of the PbO2 electrode’.

“It was the ALABC before its time.

“We were able to show the importance of tin in preventing the passivation of the positive lead alloy grid after a deep discharge. Tin was more effective than our old friend antimony.”

Since then the presence of at least 0.2% tin in the lead alloy for positive grids has become the rule.

“Next to solving the ohmic passivation issue, we also tackled the so-called antimony-free effect at the heart of many early battery failures,” he says.

“Not only were we able to identify the site and mode of failure, but we could also yield recommendations for production process changes processes (curing).

“We identified three modes of negative impact of the absence of antimony on the behaviour of the positive PbO2 electrode and coined already in 1977 the terms Sb-1, Sb-2 and Sb-3 effects so to describe the failures in performance.

“These investigations were again

www.batteriesinternational.com

Herbert Giess, a leading lead battery expert with 50 years’ experience

picked up anew in the ALABC consortium about 15 years later and the terms premature capacity loss PCL 1 and PCL 2 were coined.”

His research work had brought him in contact with Gould Inc — then one of the most exciting battery firms in the US — later to become GNB and later still to become Exide. He then joined the R&D lab of Gould Inc in Rolling Meadows, outside of Chicago, in 1978.

Here he was to investigate a wide variety of promising battery chemistries such as Ni-Zn, Li-S and Zn-Br but he was soon carrying out research for advanced lead batteries for US Navy submarines.

“My team was able to develop a highly corrosion-resistant, titanium wire-reinforced large-size positive grid for 5000Ah capacity cells destined for back-up power in nuclear submarines.

After almost five years in the US, he joined Accumulatorenfabrik Oerlikon as head of R&D for one of the oldest lead battery manufacturers in the world. He moved to Zürich.

Accu Oerlikon was most famous for its Oerlikon Battery, with a gelled electrolyte, that had been developed in the 1930s.

“Because I had witnessed the birth of the Absolyte VRLA/AGM cells, I convinced management that another momentous change in lead battery design was in the making with the advent of the Gould/GNB Absolyte

and the Chloride Powersafe VRLA/ AGM stationary batteries,” he says.

“We then brought to the market the successful Compact-Power VRLA AGM range, going from 12V-26Ah monoblocs all the way to 2V-3000Ah single cells. The ride was not always smooth and we were, as early adopters of this technology, plagued by the VRLA/AGM characteristic negative terminal leakage and strap corrosion.

“But with tenacity and the Swiss drive for perfection and attention to detail we solved all the issues and were able to make the Rolex of the VRLA/AGM batteries.”

The next task for Giess was to get the VRLA/AGM hardware into multiple applications, from 48V radio base stations to 480V 2MW data centre back-ups and 1500V UPS systems in chip plants in Taiwan.

Around this time he became involved in IEC lead battery standardization work, first as a Swiss expert, then as working group leader, then finally as chairman of IEC TC21 Secondary Cells and Batteries.

The recent standard IEC 60896-21 and -22 for stationary VRLA cells and monoblocs and IEC 61427-2 for batteries for renewable, gridconnected energy storage were written and published under his guidance.

In 1995 he was put in charge of transferring, in a licensing deal, a full set of manufacturing know-how to a battery manufacturing company in the Zhejiang Province of China.

The technical excellence of its VRLA/ AGM cells and monoblocs had in the meantime spread to China and this led to another China job, when Accu Oerlikon set up a production line near Hangzhou.

In 2006, he became an independent consultant.

“Since then,” he says. “I’ve had the privilege to assist companies in solving battery production and operating issues and found it always challenging to delve deep into the ‘black magic’ of lead battery science and technology to find a solution.”

His latest challenge has been to guide an R&D team at Narada Power Source Co in China to build and qualify the best VRLA/AGM battery for renewable energy storage. He is also active in IEC chairing different working groups dealing with lead batteries.

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 41

LEAD MARKET OUTLOOK — WOOD MACKENZIE

Lead prices to remain high until at least 2020 Farid Ahmed, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, explains why despite the recent dip in prices the cost of lead will remain stable but high for several years to come.

The recent dip in lead prices was not the start of a sustained downwards slide.

The wider forces determining pricing in this market will mean that they will remain at comparatively high levels until at least 2020 and maybe until 2022.

That is the forecast of Farid Ahmed, principal analyst, lead markets at Wood Mackenzie, who says the recent dip in pricing was more reflective of a wider nervousness in dollar-priced commodity markets overall following indications that the Trump administration may impose trade barriers on a number of raw materials including many metals.

“All metals went down because of that; it also affected the exchange rate of the dollar and that affected dollardenominated commodities in turn,” he says. “But long term that won’t be a big issue for lead — it is more a challenge for metals such as steel and aluminium.

The US is very dependent on imported lead, so I can’t see them imposing tariffs on lead — that would be self defeating.”

The forces driving the price of lead, however, remain such that the price will stay strong for the foreseeable future — stable in the mid-$2000s that is, a price that is high by historical standards.

“We see lots of good reasons it will remain stable but fairly high,” he says.

“There is a tightness from mines supply which will take several years to normalize; we forecast that it will be four to five years before mine production returns to normal levels. In terms of the secondary market, the supply availability will grow at a steady pace in line with increased use of lead batteries, meaning it has a limited impact on the overall supply dynamic.

“That is why we are predicting pricing will remain as it is until at least 2020, when it will start to soften towards the lower $2000s range.”

The present dynamics in the market have been developing for a couple of years. The output from mines has fallen 42 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

well short of demand and that has led to a significant supply deficit last year.

This has meant a shortage of raw materials at primary smelters and, in some instances, has triggered a change in buying patterns from western smelters.

Many smelters have traditionally made a good margin from the treatment charges paid by miners for processing lead concentrates. But the tightness in concentrate supply from mines has led to high competition for the material and pushed treatment charges down to historically low levels in the past year.. “ Smelters are trying to protect their margins. Rather than chase every tonne of concentrate, many Western smelters have reduced volume to preserve treatment charges and protect their margins,” Ahmed says.

There has been a lack of development and investment in mines, which is more driven by the dynamics in the zinc market. “Lead and zinc occur in the same ore bodies, come out of the ground together and if there is a lack of investment in zinc mining it means the same for lead,” he says. “And when investment is made, you can’t just turn the tap on. It takes years for production to increase again.”

This assessment is based on where investment is being made in mines and

also in global automotive trends, which allows forecasting of demand for new and replacement batteries.

China’s demand for lead remains strong. Spot treatment charges for delivery to Chinese smelters were well over $100 per tonne of lead concentrate in 2016 but fell to very low levels in 2017 — sometimes even negative – such was the anxiety from smelters to fill their production capacity. Meanwhile, demand for lead batteries for automotive and industrial use remained robust, especially in China with record car production figures.

One factor that could have an impact on the price of lead is the Chinese e-bike market, which Wood Mackenzie predicts will decline faster than previously thought. The consumption of refined lead by the E-bike market is significant – it is forecast that it will consume 1.9 million tonnes of refined lead in 2018, a significant chunk of the 12.5 million tonnes global market total.

“Demand for E-bikes will decline by around 2.5% every year for the next few years as more Chinese can afford to buy cars. So that means China’s demand for lead is not as strong as we’d have thought; it will remain at around 43% of global consumption whereas at one point we thought it would get to 50%.”

Demand from India will start to increase, albeit from a much lower base.

More people in the country are starting to own cars and manufacturers acknowledge that lead-acid batteries will remain critical to this market. “They have realised the fully electric car will struggle in India to achieve similar growth rates to those in China and parts of the West,” he says.

The high price of lead for an extended period will be unlikely to affect manufacturers. Although lead remains a substantial portion of the cost of making batteries, many have found ways of mitigating this by including price escalators in the prices charged to their customers, thereby flattening out some of the variability of costs in the supply chain.

“You do see some factories reduce production when the price is really disadvantageous but for the most part we do not see much of an impact on manufacturers.” www.batteriesinternational.com

THE BCI STORY Battery Council International started in Chicago in the 1920s. And although the organization’s name is relatively new, and its host locations have been varied, it has consistently championed the lead acid battery industry.

Changing times It all started one wet, grey day on January 29, 1924. That day — one of the warmest that month hitting a still unbeaten record 3˚C above zero — a small group of battery manufacturers met in Chicago.

Their objective: to consider whether the organization of a battery manufacturer’s association was worth the effort. And if so what would be its initial remit and purpose.

Interestingly enough some nine decades later, the two topics of discussion that day are still relevant to what was later to become the BCI: how to promote a better understanding among battery manufacturers through an open discussion of their common problems; and, how to educate US consumers on the proper care of their batteries.

A more formal meeting took place two months later and was attended by some 25 manufacturers and battery suppliers — where the manufacturers were called ‘active’ members and the suppliers ‘associates’.

In June the association took its name as the National Battery Manufacturers Association (NBMA).

The association soon started to prove its worth. In the US, battery manufacturing employed some of the most dangerous practices in the world — hand painting lead paste on to plates, for example.

At the turn of the 1920s, for example, lead poisoning was accepted as a risk that went with the job; even though it was reckoned that it was six times more dangerous to work in a US plant than a UK one and 18 times more dangerous working in the US than in Germany.

One of the earliest studies moving to mitigate the risk: Lead Poisoning in a Storage Battery Plant, was commissioned by the National Battery Manufacturers Association in 1933 and — unusually at a time when ethnic and racial background was ignored, made a point of showing that the dangerous work in the mixing room of the plant was done by African Americans or migrants (93%) versus the 7% by white Americans. Although the US had lagged www.batteriesinternational.com

behind Europe in industrial hygiene in the 1910s, by the 1930s it had become a global pacesetter in working practices and the NBMA, to its credit, was one of the instruments for such change.

But this is not to say that the early founders or members of the NBMA were saints. US Light and Heat (which helped found the association) as well as the Lead Industries Association were roundly criticized — along with other well known US and UK brands — when they set up operations in Australia where health standards were allowed to be as lax.

In echoes of the present situation in China, the reason for the shift to production in Australia was simple: it was an uncomplicated way to circumvent federal import tariffs on batteries. The difference of course being that BCI members are now on the side of the angels and are helping China’s battery industry to adopt international work and safety rules.

In May 1940 the association changed its name to the Association of American Battery Manufacturers reflecting

its focus on the continent. Battery industry participation from Europe — then engulfed in war — would have been slight.

To better reflect the post-war environment and increasing global reach of the organization, the association changed its name again to Battery Council International. Four years later it held its first overseas convention in London. Attendance was huge: 32 countries were represented with some 600 delegates.

In 1976, BCI came full circle and returned to relocate its headquarters in Chicago — in the intervening years, the organization had set up operations in Ohio, New Jersey, and California.

At that time the management firm of Smith, Bucklin and Associates was retained to manage the affairs of BCI. Today BCI membership consists of corporations representing almost 100% of North American leading lead acid battery manufacturers, recyclers, marketers and retailers, suppliers of raw materials and equipment as well as expert industry consultants.

BCI ‘S INFORMATION GOALS BCI provides a governmental, legislative liaison service for the industry and has established itself as the collective voice of its members and an authoritative source of battery-related information.

BCI maintains an extensive statistical programme. BCI compiles raw data on automotive battery production shipments (original and replacement) at the manufacturer level and inventory level.

This compilation enables members to gauge their performance against those of the industry as a whole. BCI also provides its members with annual distribution reports that allow

members to keep abreast of everchanging channels of distribution.

Since 1990 BCI has been collecting and disseminating a monthly report on US industrial battery and charger sales.

The programme consist of five active reports.

• Motive power battery sales • Net sales of diesel locomotive starting batteries • Industrial truck battery charger sales • Standby power battery sales • Stationary battery cell report Members only receive the industrial battery reports in which they participate. In 2001, BCI began reporting North American sales data,

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 43

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN Bitrode Corporation

MAC Engineering

Booth: 13

Booth: 14

BITRODE CORPORATION, a Sovema Company, is a leading manufacturer of battery charging and testing equipment with over 50 years of industry experience. By partnering with customers to integrate their unique requirements into each product, Bitrode is consistently able to meet the changing needs of a sophisticated market.

The firm offers an extensive product line of formation and laboratory test equipment, user-friendly software and manufacturing automation tools appropriate to all battery applications and chemistries.

The firm’s manufacturing and engineering facility is based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA with sales and support offices in North America, Europe and Asia. In addition, Bitrode cultivates relationships with industry sales and supply networks around the globe, providing all customers with timely and knowledgeable service.

The firm’s focus on quality and commitment to providing superior technical support drives them to be the best full-service manufacturer of formation charging and test equipment for both large and small cell markets.

Contact details: +1 636 343 6112 info@bitrode.com www.bitrode.com

Eagle Oxide

MAC Engineering has supplied the lead acid battery industry with high quality downstream battery making equipment since 1965.

We offer complete systems for feeding, pasting, flash drying and stacking any continuous or gravity cast plate making technology.

From motorcycle and automotive batteries, to industrial and traction, we have equipment to handle any size of battery production.

New equipment solutions are now available for punched grids. MAC also offers finishing line equipment for automated Cast on Strap, acid filling, leak testing, heat sealing and more.

Contact us today for more information on what we can do for you.

Contact details: Doug Bornas Tel: +1 269-925-3295 E-mail: dbornas@mac-eng.com www.mac-eng.com

Sovema SpA Booth: 12

Booth: 41

AUTOMATION - OXIDE PRODUCTION - MATERIAL HANDLING - SERVICE EAGLE, a global leader in the design and manufacture of production and automation equipment. With over 25 years of experience working with battery manufacturers, material handling and oxide production systems, Eagle has the expertise to meet your battery production needs. We are the lead oxide experts!

From barton to ball mill systems, red lead and litharge furnaces, melt pots, ingot conveyors, pneumatic transfer systems, and integrated controls, to automated assembly cells, palletizers, and material handling systems, Eagle is your equipment and service team provider.

Competition in energy storage continues to increase. The ability to produce batteries with higher performance, at lower cost, and with lower environmental impact is a constant challenge. Eagle’s knowledge of lead oxides and manufacturing automation makes Eagle the strategic business partner you need in this competitive market!

Web: www.eagleoxide.com Email: sales@eagleoxide.com See Us at Booth 41

44 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Founded in 1969, SOVEMA is one of the most significant and diversified battery equipment manufacturers in the world, able to supply individual equipment for specific processing operations, as well as complete lines for the entire production cycle, using an integrated technological approach starting from the study of factory and departmental lay-out, through to product know-how and plant commissioning by specialized staff.

In 2008 SOVEMA acquired BITRODE CORPORATION, the world’s most respected supplier of electric power conversions systems for EV/HEV battery testing, as well as production and test systems used in the manufacturing of batteries; in 2011 SOVEMA set up “SOLITH” a new branch for Lithium-Ion battery machines development in Bologna.

SOVEMA is implementing its equipment range more and more, as to improve its market leadership and serve any kind of energy storage manufacturers.

Contact details: Tel: +39 045 633 5711 Web: www.sovema.it Email: sovema@sovema.it Fax: +1 203 446 8015

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN

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51

BCI THEATRE 48

47

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ENTRANCE

BOOTH 41

41

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BOOTH 12

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Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 45

NO MATTER YOUR BATTERY TECHNOLOGY,

ENERGY STORAGE TAKES ON MANY FORMS. THE SOVEMA GROUP FITS THEM ALL.

www.sovemagroup.com

WE’LL BUILD IT AND TEST IT FOR YOU.

ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT FOR BATTERY MANUFACTURING

E Q U I P M E N T F OR L E A D -A C I D B AT T ER IES

EQUIPMENT FO R L ITHIUM BATTERIES

EQ UIP M ENT FO R BATTERY FO RM ATIO N

PARTNER IN P OW E R

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN Farmer Mold & Machine Works

Hammond Group, Inc.

Booth: 34

Booth 43

Family owned and operated since 1938, Farmer Mold & Machine Works specializes in the design and manufacturing of any type of machinery, including battery assembly equipment, parts casting equipment, and plant automation and process engineering.

Further, if you need something that’s not already in our current product line, Farmer can work with you to create custom machinery for your specific applications — whether a new technology or refining an existing process.

Our portfolio of machinery not only sets the standard within the industry but is ever-growing. Plus, Farmer provides sales and support for acid dilution systems, plate curing ovens, and semi- and fully automated material handling equipment to several industries worldwide.

Our highly interactive and innovative approach to automated machine, tool and die, and mold design follows precise safety standards and utilizes the best materials to produce top-of-the-line machines and equipment that are built to last in 24/7 environments.

Founded in 1930, Hammond Group, Inc. (HGI) is a battery additives/ oxides and specialty chemical company that is advancing hybrid automotive and renewable energy markets through proprietary battery chemistry. HGI supports these emerging markets with two US manufacturing operations in Hammond, IN and another in Pottstown, PA. HGI also has International operations in Gateshead, England; and another in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Contact details: Jim Gilmour +1 727.522.0515 jgilmour@farmermold.com www.farmermold.com

WIRTZ Manufacturing at the 14ELBC;

Be sure to stop by our booth and talk with our specialists about how

The group Companies provides technical global solutions to the We world-wide HGIWIRTZ can help yourofcompany overcome challenges. battery manufacturing industry. With state-of-the-art equipment designed and offer technical assistance programs which allowand our rolled, customers to grid developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast punched and plate OXMASTER bartonreduce oxide capital production utilize ourproduction); experts to augment their(ball-mill researchandefforts, systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic and high speed expenditure and fixed costs, and rapidly develop new products. fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation).

Contact details:

Atwww.hmndgroup.com the 14ELBC, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically control, continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure Email: and customerservice@hmndgroup.com that their resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, DURABILITY Tel:PERFORMANCE. +1 219 931 9360 and WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc..

1105 Twenty-Fourth Street Port Huron Michigan 48061-5006 Booth 49 USA Tel: +1 810 987 7600 Email; sales@wirtzusa.com

WIRTZ Manufacturing

Richardson Molding, LLC Booth 16

Vision and dependability We see possibilities in engineering, design and production that other companies don’t see. The equipment and processes that we’ve designed and built are one-of –a –kind, and they enable us to produce the plastic product you need faster and with greater precision.

We have always been trustworthy and reliable for our customers, and we’re proud of that. Today we promise to continue that legacy by doing whatever it takes to be the best possible partner for you. Even though we’ve been around for a long time, we feel like we’re just getting started.

Contact details Keith W. Toll Sales & Marketing Manager Email: keitht@richardsonmolding.com Richardson Molding, LLC 2405 Norcross Drive Columbus, IN 47201 Tel: 812-342-0139 Cell: 812-350-1855 48 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

The WIRTZ group of companies provides global solutions to the world-wide battery manufacturing industry.

With state-of-the-art equipment designed and developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, punched grid and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxide production systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic and high speed fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation).

At BCI, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically control, and continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure that their resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, DURABILITY and PERFORMANCE. Contact details: WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc..

1105 Twenty-Fourth Street Port Huron, Michigan 48061-5006 USA Tel: +1 810 987 7600 Email: sales@wirtzusa.com

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN

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USA Tel: +1 810 987 7600 Email; sales@wirtzusa.co

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BOOTH 34

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Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 49

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN Entek

OMI Impianti

Booth: 9

Booth: 27

Raise your performance with OMI-NBE Formation & Finishing Equipment!

For more than 30 years, ENTEK has been an innovator and leading global designer and producer of microporous battery separators for lead-acid and lithium batteries. Our separators are used in leadacid batteries for automobiles, golf carts and industrial applications, lithium-ion rechargeable and disposable lithium batteries.

We are a trusted supplier to leading battery makers in the AsiaPacific, Europe, and the Americas, and headquartered in Lebanon, Oregon USA, with facilities in the United Kingdom and Asia. ENTEK was founded on the principle of being ‘the best supplier to our customers and the best customer to our suppliers’ and our focus on customer service has been key to our success.

Our capacity, technical field support, quality systems, logistics teams and local warehousing ensure our customers enjoy on-time and in-full reliability of supply. We continuously invest to grow with our customers and offer the product customization our customers rely on for their success.

Contact details: Western Europe & South Africa Marcus Ulrich mulrich@entek.com +49 (40) 325 902 76 Eastern Europe & North Africa Steve Gerts sgerts@entek.com +44 (0) 191 268 5054 North & South America Greg Humphrey ghumphrey@entek.com +1 541 259 3901 Asia Christophe Thuet cthuet@entek.com +86 183 0211 9036

OMI-NBE work in the field of engineering and technologies for the production and charge of different type of batteries (AUTOMOTIVE, INDUSTRIAL, FLOODED or AGM & VRLA), proposing partial or complete solutions, which satisfy the customer’s requests drawing to a consolidated and innovative know-how.

From the smallest equipment to a complete project for a new plant for the battery charging, we are able to study and supply to you with the best solution for your requirements thanks to our technical knowledge and experience, following your indications if you have any preference about the process, or giving you different choices based on our wide offer.

We can take care of your batteries coming from the assembly, starting from the acid and water preparation, forming them with our water cooling systems or with the acid recirculation formation system, test and prepare your high quality batteries for the shipment to your final client and user.

Our solutions for the battery business: • ACID RECIRCULATION FORMATION, fast formation for all your flooded batteries, plus many more advantages thanks to the integrated processes, and up to 20% saving on energy consumption.

• ADVANCED WATER BATH FORMATION, with batteries handling through free rollers, motorized conveyor belts, or with our exclusive TRAY SYSTEM, from fully automatic system to manual system.

• FILLING PROCESS FOR FLOODED & AGM BATTERIES: Filling, levelling or recirculation stations, for car and truck batteries, for industrial cells, and for AGM & VRLA batteries.

• FINISHING & DISPATCHING EQUIPMENT: dumping stations, washing and drying tunnel, poles brushing, HRD and dielectric test stations, and many more.

• ACID PREPARATION, STORAGE AND RECOVERY: automatic and flexible systems, with continuous or batch preparation, based on your preference.

Contact details: Email: info@omi-nbe.com Web: www.omi-nbe.com Tel. & Fax: +39 0363 901 9811

Daramic Booth: 31

• Local Supply From A Global Perspective: 10 Manufacturing facilities and 7 Sales offices located in 8 different countries provide local service from a global perspective Daramic is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of battery separators for automotive, industrial and specialty lead-acid applications. As the inventor of polyethylene separator, Daramic has led the way in developing innovative technology for the global leadacid battery industry nearly 90 years • Innovation: Our scientists and engineers continue to break new ground in the development of advanced separator technology. Our 3 global innovation centers in Owensboro, US; Sélestat, France and Bangalore, India are dedicated to innovation to meet everchanging industry needs 50 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

• Reliability: State-of-the-art processes and manufacturing equipment deliver consistent, reliable product quality • Full Automotive Solutions: Leverage the innovation synergy from its sister companies, the world’s largest li-ion battery separator makers, that position us to provide full solutions for automotive battery applications from basic SLI to Start-Stop to Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Contact details Website: www.daramic.com www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN

49

51

ENTRANCE

BCI THEATRE 48

47

46

41

42

43

40

38

44

45

37

36

BOOTH 31

ENTRANCE

CANYON LOBBY

31

33

34

35

30

29

28

27

26

21

22

23

24

25

20

19

18

17

16 BOOTH 27

11

12

9

1

2

13

14

8

6

3

5 BOOTH 9

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 51

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN Inbatec

Digatron Power Electronics

Booth: 48

Booth: 47

Formation systems with acid recirculation technology The Inbatec Modules – We form your batteries Inbatec is the world leader in formation systems with acid recirculation technology with more than 350 systems in operation worldwide. Our formation modules are reliable and proven and are used by many lead-acid battery manufacturers around the world.

Your benefits: • Closed formation system allows complying with MAC values and environmental regulations • Precise acid gravity and temperature control results in very uniform cell-to-cell voltage • Shorter formation time means higher productivity, less space requirement and lower work in progress / inventory • Self-contained and independent modules – to be supplied only with concentrated acid, demineralised water, compressed air, electrical power • Whole acid management is done inside the module • Production capacity grows step-by-step The Inbatec formation process combines uniform and repeatable quality with high productivity and environmental compatibility. The Inbatec modules – the benchmark for lead acid battery formation.

Digatron Power Electronics is an international group of companies with engineering, manufacturing and service facilities located in Germany, the United States, China and India.

Digatron develops and manufactures computer-controlled test and formation equipment for all kinds of batteries, ranging from batteries for mobile phones to automotive batteries to huge submarine batteries. But also for other kinds of electrical energy storage devices like fuel cells, supercaps and hybrid systems Digatron supplies high dynamic test and load simulation systems.

The combination of heavy duty power electronics in linear or switch mode technology along with digital controllers, data acquisition and comprehensive management software is what makes Digatron unique in this field.

Contact details: Digatron Power Electronics GmbH Tempelhofer Str. 12-14 52068 Aachen, Germany Phone +49 241 16809-0 Fax +49 241 16809-19 sales@digatron.de www.digatron.com

Contact details: Inbatec GmbH Konrad-Adenauer-Ring 40, 58135 Hagen, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)2331 39650-0 Fax: +49 (0)2331 39650-29 E-Mail: info@inbatec.de Web: www.inbatec.de

Sorfin Yoshimura Call us for a meeting!

We look forward for you to contact Sorfin Yoshimura.

The Source of Power!

Sorfin Yoshimura is the largest independent trading company serving the worldwide lead acid battery industry.

Sorfin Yoshimura has offices in the USA, Japan, China, France, and Brasil in addition to agency cooperation in several other countries around the world.

We are a global company sourcing the best machinery, materials, and technical services for your battery factories specific needs.

Sorfin Yoshimura offers our customers the benefit of our decades of lead acid battery industry experience. We serve hundreds of customers throughout the world each year and customize our services for each and every factory.

We are constantly combing the world for the latest innovations in both materials and machinery; seeking to add vendors to our already vast network. When you choose Sorfin Yoshimura, you will quickly identify the unique combination of commercial savvy and engineering know-how that has enabled us to become the company that we are today.

52 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

Contact details: Sorfin Yoshimura NY Contact: Paul Fink, President email: sorfin@sorfin.com Tel: + 1 516 802-4600 Fax: + 1 516 802-4601/4602 www.sorfinyoshimura.com

Sorfin Yoshimura Tokyo Contact: Tom Yoshimura, President email: tokyo@sorfin-yoshimura.jp Tel: + 81 03 5575-3111 Fax: + 81 03 5575-0826

Sorfin Yoshimura Qingdao Contact: Ms. Lisa Li; President email: qingdao@sorfin-yoshimura.cn Tel: + 86 532 8597-1191 Fax: + 86 532 8597-1192 Sorfin Yoshimura Europe Contact: Pierre de Costa Lobo email: paris@sorfin-yoshimura.fr Tel: + 33 01 7815-2715 Fax: + 33 01 7841-6778 Sorfin Yoshimura Brasil Ltda.

Contact: Mr. Mauricio Ferrentini Email: saopaulo@sorfin.com.br Tel: +55 11 3152-2223 Fax: +55 11 3151-2225

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN

49

51

BOOTH 47

ENTRANCE

BCI THEATRE 48

47

46

41

42

43

40

CANYON LOBBY

45

37

36

33

34

35

38

31

ENTRANCE

44

30

29

28

27

26

21

22

23

24

25

20

19

18

17

16

11

12

13

14

8

6

9

1

www.batteriesinternational.com

2

3

BOOTH 48

Call us for a meeting!

5

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 53

BCI POWER MART TRADE FAIR 2018 FLOORPLAN KEY — ALPHABETICALLY 49

Accuma Corp

51

Amer-sil 37

BCI THEATRE

ENTRANCE

48

47

41

Ateliers Roche

46

42

3

Accumation 44 38

B2Q Technologies

43

44

45

2

Bernard Dumas

24

Bitrode Corporation

13

Centrifugal Castings

46

Co-efficient Precision Engineering

26

Cobra Wire & Cable, Genuine Cable Group

17

Daramic 31

40

38

37

36

Digatron Power Electronics

47

Eagle Oxide Services

41

EnCharge Power Systems

22

ENTEK 9 Farmer Mold & Machine Works

CANYON LOBBY

31

30

34

33

29

35

27

28

34

Flow-Rite 18

26

Gauthier Non-Ferrous Products

11

Glatfelter Composite Fibers

29

Haijtiu Battery

6

Hammond Group

43

HOLD 5 Hollingsworth & Vose

21

Inbatec 48 International Thermal Systems

21

22

ENTRANCE

20

23

19

24

18

25

17

16

30

JBI Corporation

8

Johns Manville

19

MAC Engineering & Equipment

14

Microporous 36 OM Impianti

27

Oak Press Solutions

1

Pinco 45

11

12

13

9

1

14

8

6

2

3

5

Polymer Molding

20

Richardson Molding

16

Rosendahl Nextrom

23

Sovema Global Services

12

Superior Signals

33

TBS Engineering

42

Tulip Molded Plastics

40

UK Powertech

51

Water Gremlin

28

Wegmann Automotive USA

35

Wirtz Manufacturing

49

KEY — BY STAND NUMBER Oak Press Solutions

1

Polymer Molding

20

Amer-sil 37

B2Q Technologies

2

Hollingsworth & Vose

21

Ateliers Roche

38

Accuma Corp

3

EnCharge Power Systems

22

Tulip Molded Plastics

40

HOLD 5

Rosendahl Nextrom

23

Eagle Oxide Services

41

Haijtiu Battery

6

Bernard Dumas

24

TBS Engineering

42

JBI Corporation

8

Co-efficient Precision Engineering

26

Hammond Group

43

ENTEK 9

OM Impianti

27

Accumation 44

Gauthier Non-Ferrous Products

11

Water Gremlin

28

Pinco 45

Sovema Global Services

12

Glatfelter Composite Fibers

29

Centrifugal Castings

46

Bitrode Corporation

13

International Thermal Systems

30

Digatron Power Electronics

47

MAC Engineering & Equipment

14

Daramic 31

Inbatec 48

Richardson Molding

16

Superior Signals

33

Wirtz Manufacturing

49

Cobra Wire & Cable, Genuine Cable Group

17

Farmer Mold & Machine Works

34

UK Powertech

51

Flow-Rite 18

Wegmann Automotive USA

35

Johns Manville

Microporous 36

19

54 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI BATTERY VETERANS

The quarter century club — battery heroes reunited What is it with the US obsession with crack-of-dawn meetings? And business breakfasts too. Was a whole nation raised on farms in the mid-West? This year, BCI, continues its long-held tradition of getting everyone to bed early the night before, with a bright 7am start for its quarter century club.

This year the quarter century club — those BCI members who have supported the institution for 25 years and not forgetting the few that have even clocked up a half century — will be addressed by Mark Thorsby, BCI’s much-liked former executive vice president who retired at the end of December.

The event will be hosted by Hal Hawk, president of Crown Battery and a former head of BCI. “The quarter century club is a fine tradition to uphold,” one BCI veteran told Batteries International. “It’s more of a friendship club than anything else. We get together and have a good time.”

Asked if the press could be allowed in, the reply was a firm reprimand. “No, the only people allowed to attend the breakfast have to be BCI veterans of 25 years’ standing. Besides isn’t 7am closer to your bedtime than getting up?”

ROLL OF HONOUR ROBERT J AARON JR GUY T (TOM) ABATA HUBERT ABNER CHARLES-LOUIS ACKERMANN TERRY AGRELIUS WASEEM AHMAD DICK AMISTADI GRAHAM G ANDERSON JR T W ANTHONY DANIEL P ASKIN GEORGE W AYRTON K M AZHMAGANBETOV JOHN P BADGER ART BALCERZAK DON BARNARD BILL BARNES STEVE BARNES ROGER BARR CARLOS L BARRENECHE JAMES H BARRETT SIMON BASTACKY GIUSEPPE BAUDO WALTER BAUER BERNIE BEALS ROLF BECKERS GORDON BECKLEY DAVID BEIDLER CLEVE BENNETT ROGER BERGER ROBERT BERTRAM BILL BESSIRE JOHN A BITLER JOSEPH A BLACK ROBERT BOBBETT WERNER BOEHNSTEDT STEVE BOLANOWSKI JIM BOUCHARD DOUGLAS J BOUQUARD RICHARD BOWERS DOUG BRADLEY J ROY BRAY WILLIAM BRECHT MITCH BREGMAN DANIEL D BREIDEGAM ALBERT BRICE EDDIE BRICE HENRY BRICE BERT BRIDGEWATER

GEORGE BRILMYER PhD JOHN BRODHACKER A J BROGAN DOUGLAS BROWN GARY G BRYAN ROBERT H BUESING KATHRYN R BULLOCK RICHARD A BURKARD CHARLES A BURKHART II N KENNETH CAMPBELL KEVIN CAMPBELL TERRY CAMPBELL ENRIQUE CARREON ATTILA CARUSO RANDY CASSTEVENS GERARD CHAIX CARMEL M CLEMENTSON GEOFFREY CLEMENTSON G A CLERICI GUY CLUM ISRAEL COHEN BRUCE A COLE JEROME F COLE GEORGE COLLINS JOHN CONNELL ALLAN COOPER LEE COWAN ROBERT C CRAWFORD SCOTT CRERAR MICHAEL CROSS CLIFF J CROWE JERRY V CROW BOB CULLEN HUGH CULLIMORE THOMAS A CURTIS PETER DAN JERRY DARLING DON J DEL DOTTO BUD DeSART JOHN L DEVITT MALCOM DEWAR ROBERTO DIENER JR JOSEPH F DONAHUE WALLACE M DOBBINS THOMAS J DOUGHERTY JAMES W DOUGLAS THOMAS S DOUGLAS III GERALD Z DUBINSKI SR GERALD (JERRY) DUERKSEN DAN DUFFIELD FRANK DUMAS

www.batteriesinternational.com 55 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

HAROLD J EBERLY P MICHAEL EHLERMAN BILL ELLIS HERB ELLIS BERNARD J ELZER JR JOE ESSING PETER FABER JIM FAIST HELMUTH FAUST ROBERT FINN EUGENE P FINGER PERCY W FISCHEL ARNOLD FISCHER ROBERT FLICKER ROBERT W FRITTS ED FREY KYO FUCHIDA ROBERTO GARCIA LAURIE GARDINER SILVANO GELLENI HARVEY S GERSHENSON FOLCO GIBELLINI CHUCK GIESIGE WILLIAM C GLOVER RICK GODBER FRANCOIS GONNARD ROBERT GONZALES RAY GOODEARL ROBERT J GRACE ROBERT W GREENFIELD MICHAEL E GREENLEE BILL GREENWOOD TROY A GREISS OSCAR GRISCHKOWSKY STEPHEN J GROSS BRIAN GUNNIN JOSEPH T GUSHUE NEIL HALE VINCENT M HALSALL RANDY HANSCHU KARL E HANSLIK JAMES S HARDIGG JASPER HARDIN A M HARDMAN TERENCE EDWARD HARNETT KEITH HARNICK ROBERT B HARRINGTON MICHAEL R HARRISON PIERRE HAUSWALD HAL HAWK

B A HILL DARRELL HIMMESOETE MASATSUGU HIRANAGA DON HODGES LES S HOLDEN L SAM HOLDEN ERIC HOLTAN JOHN H HOOVER DENIS S HOWARTH KENT HUDSON DON HULL DOUGLAS F HUTTON KIYOTAKA IKAWA EMMETT R JAMIESON JOE JARVIS SAM JASSIN JOSEPH J JERGL JIM JOHNSON RICHARD JOHNSON JEFF JORDAN JEFFREY JUDS LARS KALLSTROM JOHN TC KAN JAMES KANDA RICHARD KAPPES TETSUNARI KAWASE SHUJI KAWATA WILLIAM A KEITH WILLIAM J KENNEDY RAY J KENNY HEINZ-ALBERT KIEHNE JIM KLANG DAVIS KNAUER MARK ALLAN KNOWLTON ARTHUR G KOCH LEE N KOENIG PHILIP KOWALSKI KLAUS H KRAFT WAYNE KRICK RAY KRUSING EDWARD M KSENIAK RAY KUBIS DOUG LAMBERT URBAIN LAMBERT DANIEL LANGDON TIM LAWLOR ALFRED C LAZAGA RICK LEIBY RICHARD LENTINE GUIDO LEVATI BRIAN LEWIS

MARLENE M LEWIS BILL LINCOLN ROBERT A LIND BOB LINDSAY DAVID LONGNEY JAMES W LORIO MD CHI-HWA LU ACHIM LULSDORF DAVID LUND JOHN LUTES REX E LUZADER LOUIS J MAGDITS JOSEPH MAJESKY SERGIO MALACON JOHN E MANDERS KEN MARSHALL EDWARD M MARWELL DONALD A MASSELLE GEOFFREY J MAY BO McCANN KELLY McCANN ROBERT G McCLELLAN STEVE McDONALD JOE McKINLEY JACK McLANE TIM McNALLY HARRY D McVEY S WILLIAM MEEHAN TOSHIO MEGA DANIEL A MELVILLE TROY MENGEL K D MERZ GERHARD MEYENBURG CARL F MIELKE LARRY MIKSIEWICZ RON MIKSIEWICZ ARDELLE E MILLER SR JEANITH L MILLER TOM MILLER NORM MILLER PETER MILLION JOHN A MILLS TOM MINNER CHERYL MINOR PHD GARY MITCHENER S K MITTAL HARUKA MIURA MICHAEL E MOELLER RICK MOODY BORIS MONAHOV DAVID MORRALL

Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook • 55

BCI BATTERY VETERANS

K MURATA JOHN MURPHY GEORGE NADER-LATUFF LOUIS NAGY JOHN NEES RAYMOND NEVIN ARNIE O NILSSON GEORGE E NOEL JAY NORTHEY PHIL NOZNESKY KAZUO OKADA DONALD L OKESON AYKAUN OKUMA MICHAEL O’MALLEY AL O’NEAL STUART W ORR THOMAS L OSWALD S CLARK OTTERNESS TERRY R OXENREIDER PHIL PACHECO SYNG L PAIK WILLIAM M PALLIES JAY K PARMAR ALFRED J PAUTLER WILLIAM U PAYNE ROBERT J PENSYL BOB PEPPERS GLENN PERRINI KATHY PERZEE KATHY PETERSON PETER J PETERSON SERGIO PEZZOTTI WILLIAM PICCIOLO DONALD L PIERSON WILLIAM T POLLARD VERNON J POTTS RAMA PRASAD RAY R DAVID PRENGAMAN DON PRIEBE ED PUCKETT JOSE M PUIG VINCENT PUSATERI PETE QUINLAN DONALD RABON DARYLL RARDON STEVEN RAU MICHAEL E REED THOMAS J REILLY BART REITTER RUDY RENFROW ROBERT P RESTREPO DOUGLAS GORDON RIST JOSEPH RIVERA JUNIOR ROCKHOLD S TUCKER ROE CHAD ROGERS NELSON ROMBEIRO BILL ROORK URI ROSENSHEIN JAMES B ROSKI BYRON ROTHPLETZ JR ARNIE Y SAKAI JOAO A MESTRE SALVADOR WILEY C SANDERS JR MARTIN SANNASI GARY SANTASPIRIT MANUEL SANTOS KENNETH SCHADLER LARRY SCHEINBAUM AL SCHMIDT JOHANNES SCHNEIDER ROBERT R SCHOEBERL J QUINN SELSOR ROBERT D SEMMENS JAHAR SENGUPTA DAVID M SHAFFER JERRY SHASSERRE

JOHN R SHAW JOHN SEMENIUK JAMES I SIKORA ROBERT D SIMONTON BOB SLAUTTERBACK GEORGE SMITH KEVIN SMITH TOM SMITH JIM SNOOK DONNA SNYDER PAUL J STAAB III JOHN STANPHILL RICHARD M STARK FRANCOIS STEFFENS MARK STEVENSON JIMMY STEWART GEORGE STRATIS JD SURRETTE KENNETH A SUTTON LEE SWAIN JOSEPH F SZABO LAURIE SZPARA TAKAOMI TAKII OSWALDO TAMAYO GARY TAYLOR GIOVANNI TERZAGHI FELIX TESHINSKY FREDERICK TESHINSKY JAMES H THRASH RALPH TIEGEL JIM TOEWS MIKE TOLE KEITH TOLL TOM TOMKINS DOUGLAS R TUPLING FRANCISCO TRINIDAD FROSTY TUNNELL JAMES TUNNELL DENNIS ULRICH Z UYTIEPO STEPHEN L VECHY AL VINCZE BURCHARD VON CAMPE ANDY WADDELL BARRY WALKER DONALD WALLACE WILLIAM WALTER AKIO WATANABE K FRED WEHMEYER MICHAEL J WEIGHALL DAVID WEINBERG MARK WELS DON WENSINGER II EVAN R WESCOE WILLIAM H WESTON JR STEVE WICKMAN PETER WILKE J WORTH WILLIAMS BOB WILLIAMSON DAVID WILLIAMSON DAVID WILLIS DON WILSON TODD WILSON RICK WIMBERLY LAWRENCE B WINDISCH MARK WINSLOW DAVID A WINTERBOTTOM JOHN O WIRTZ DONALD A WOJTON MIKE WONCH TERRY E WUSSOW WILLIAM B WYLAM TOMMY YOUNGBLOOD TERUHISA YUASA KENNETH E ZALECKI PIOTR ZENCZAK

56 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

ONE-HALF CENTURY CLUB GUY T (TOM) ABATA

JOHN DEVITT

R DAVID PRENGAMAN

CARLOS BARRENECHE

BILL GREENWOOD

ROBERT N QUENELL

ROLF BECKERS

JOHANNES SCHNEIDER

RALPH TIEGEL

J ROY BRAY

LEE KOENIG

KEITH TOLL

GEORGE COLLINS

JOSH LIVERMORE

ROGER WINSLOW

ALLAN COOPER

SERGIO PEZZOTTI

LEE COWAN

JOHN R PIERSON

SADLY NO LONGER WITH US HECTOR VALDEZ AGUILAR

JOSEPH GATTO

TURNEY L RICH

DICK GODBER

JOHN RICKOLT

JOHN ANDERSON

PAUL S GODBER

CHARLES R ROGERS

PETER C ASPINALL

CHARLES GRAVES

TONY SABATINO

IRA C (BUD) BAERINGER

LAWRENCE HAHN ANDREW C HARDTKE

BERNARD SCHEINBAUM

CELWYN HOPKINS

HENRY SCHEINBAUM

NORMAN HOYT

MARVIN SCHEINBAUM

WILLIE BEASON

ROLAND A JOHNSON

WILLARD SCHREINER

LARRY BENNETTS

CHARLES E JUSTICE

JOHN SEARCY

TOM B BLAIR

JAMES H KELLETT

ARTHUR SINGER

DAVID BODEN

DON KEMPTER

PAUL STAAB SR

JERRY BOYLAN

MARK KNOWLTON

PAUL STAAB JR

DON BRANDT

JOHN KOSSOW

NED L STAUFFER

DeLIGHT E BREIDEGAM

EMIL KOVACIK

GREG STEVENS

JOHN A BRUZAS

J T LAWRIE

ROBERT W STOLL

SAL CANGELOSI

BIRKE M LUCKENBILL

EARL E STOUT

HARRY CHANNING

JAMES K MASON

JAMES V STUPPIA

JOHN CORCORAN

MICHAEL MAYER

JOHN J SURRETTE

MAX CORNBLATT

BEN McKINNEY

BILL SZAKACS

E B CORNETTE

DONALD C MELNIK

ED TAYLOR

ELLSWORTH P DAVIS

SALLY S MIKSIEWICZ

ANDY DIETRICH

JIM MILLER

ERNEST GEORGE TIEGEL

JUAN DORIGA

FRANK MORGAN

FRANK DRAVES

EDWARD N MROTEK

W J (BILL) EBERLE

TOM MURANAKA

CLYDE D ELIUM

JOSEPH J NOBLES

JAMES H ENGLISH

PETER NOZNESKY

JOHN EDGAR FARMER

EGON E NURMET

WILLIAM N FLETCHER

JOSEPH A ORSINO

LAURENCE FRY

K N PIKE

PAUL-ARMAND GAMMENTHALER

ROBERT L PUCKETT

HOMER H WOODRUFF JR

ROBERT N QUENELL

BILL YEDLICKA

SCOTT GAMSTER

WILLIAM RASMUSSEN

RICHARD B YOUNG

J GEORGE GANGE JR

MALCOLM E ROSS

ROBERT GARWOOD

WIN REINEMANN

SYDNEY BANKS LAWRENCE R BARTLETT

RICHARD P TIPPEY ED TURNER G E TURNER PETE VIVIANO BYRON A WADDELL ARVIN WELCH DON WENSINGER JOHN W WIRTZ

FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND NOW RETIRED EARL E BUSDIEKER

JOSH LIVERMORE

MICHAEL SHAW

DANIEL J FETHEROLF

PETER MALONEY

ROBERT D SWAIN

CHUCK FOWLER

ANN NOLL

JAN WINSLOW

MALCOLM J GAVANT

JOHN R PIERSON

ROGER WINSLOW

JAMES R JESKIE

RODNEY SHANE

www.batteriesinternational.com

ENVIRONMENTAL,

HEALTH & SAFETY CONFERENCE

OCTOBER 22-23, 2018 + WYNDHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT + PHILADELPHIA, PA

LEARN MORE

AT WWW.BATTERYCOUNCIL.ORG/EHS

BCI MOMENTS

Everything you need at your fingertips!

The BCI Convention + Power Mart Expo mobile app and mobile-friendly site are the best way to keep up-to-date with event activities.

View exhibitor details, browse the schedule of events and more. Search “Battery Council International” in your app store, or if you have a BlackBerry or Windows device, visit the mobile website, www. batterycouncil.org/mobileapp.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, follow the step-by-step tutorial for an in-depth look at how you can get the most out of the app.

Event reminders will be sent through the app as well, so be sure to turn on your push notifications! Customize your day by using the “My Schedule” feature. This section offers the opportunity to plan out your time at the BCI Convention + Power Mart Expo, so you can make the most of your trip to Tucson.

POWER HOUR! Enjoy a cocktail while browsing the exhibit hall and chatting with exhibitors! 4pm-5pm The Power Mart Expo is open from 12pm to 5pm on April 30.

Get in the mood with the annual golf tournament The gentle swish of a successful power drive to the next hole (or bunker) — yes the other side to the BCI Convention + Power Mart Expo is the annual golf tournament. And don’t forget it’s a shotgun start!

On Sunday April 29, the BCI Golf Tournament gives you the opportunity to network with colleagues over a game of golf at the La Paloma Country Club. After the tournament concludes, come and cheer (or commiserate) with drinks at the Awards Reception. ENTEK is the sponsor.

58 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

THE

MAC

ADVANTAGE • • • •

NO

Custom solutions through listening Creates quality designs Knowledgeable field engineers Allows for future support

MATTER WHAT YOUR PASTING NEEDS, WE HAVE THE PASTER • Cotton belt pasters • Roll pasters • Steel belt pasters • Fixed orifice pasters • Hydraulic pasters • Automotive and industrial

In all parts of the process: Pasting, Dividing, Flash Drying, Stacking, Curing, C.O.S., Assembly, let us give you the MAC Advantage.

MAC Engineering and Equipment Company, Inc. Visit Our New Website: www.mac-eng.com

BCI MOMENTS

THE BCI THEATRE

Two energizing keynote presentations Shale Gas Goes Global, the Grid and the Future of Batteries: Robert Bryce will explain how the shale revolution has upended the global energy market. He will also spotlight key trends in the US electric grid, the hype around electric vehicles and the likely future of energy storage.

The BCI Theatre will feature 15-minute presentations throughout the day on bite-sized topics from premium exhibitors, and the Innovation Award winner.

Join Ateliers Roche for a presentation

Can Lead Batteries Be Competitive in Large-Scale Electrical Energy Storage Systems? An ongoing Study Using IEC 61427-2 as test methodology: Herbert Giess

on continuous grid manufacturing technologies, and don’t miss MAC Engineering & Equipment’s presentation on plate preparation while reducing lead in air.

MEET THE EXPERTS

An extra focus to the convention Want that special chat or one-on-one when a speaker has captivated your attention completely? An extra feature of the convention, introduced at the last convention, will be a special time when you can discuss the contents of speakers’ presentations with them. This is located in the Arizona Foyer.

It’s not just about Batterymen …

April 30

May 1 10:15-10:45

Farid Ahmed, Jim Pedersen and Mark Sherwood

Everyone knows that women are poorly represented in the battery industry and its corollary. BCI meetings. Julie McClure, president of MAC Engineering, would like to do something about it and with BCI she’s arranging for a women’s-only drinks and networking session “Already about 20 people have told me they’re coming,” says BCI’s Pam O’Brian, who’s organizing the event.

“This is going to be fun — and useful too.”

11:45-12:15

Lisa Dry, Alistair Davidson, Trish Haudricourt, Bruce Murray and Donna Snyder

3:45-4:15

Herbert Giess, Ray Kubis and Nicholas Starita

The only men allowed will be Kevin Moran, new EVP at BCI and Jeff Elder, BCI president.

Come for a special cocktail and canapé hour!

Time: 4pm Tuesday May 1 — an hour ahead of the closing reception Main Pool Deck of the hotel

60 • Batteries International • BCI 2018 Yearbook

10:30-11:00 12:00-12:30

Robert Bryce David Weinberg

And in the end is our beginning … the opening and closing receptions No human directionals à la San Diego meetings needed for either of these two receptions, they’re both in the hotel grounds by the pool!

On Sunday evening, head to the Fiesta Reception Area for the welcome reception. Catch up with industry colleagues and friends in a relaxed setting, and experience the flavours of the region with southwestern-inspired appetizers and a taco bar.

Tuesday evening 5pm: close out the convention at the Main Pool Deck during the closing reception. Enjoy light appetizers, drinks and entertainment by the pool.

www.batteriesinternational.com

   

Custom Solutions through Listening Creates Quality Designs Knowledgeable Field Engineers Allows for Future Support

No Matter What Your Drying Needs, We Have The Flash Dryer 

Gas or Electric



Any Length Heated Section



Adjustable Inlets to fit any Paster



Consistent Air Flow for Consistent Temperature



Trim Dry Ovens

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Automotive and Industrial

In all parts of the process: Pasting, Dividing, Flash Drying, Stacking, Curing, C.O.S., Assembly, let us give you the MAC Advantage.

MAC Engineering and Equipment Company, Inc. Visit Our New Website: www.mac-eng.com