15ELBC — Battery Street journal

The latest news from 15 ELBC, Malta • September 13-16, 2016

A Batteries International publication

What’s News

East Penn’s Bob Flicker Stirs Industry With Rousing Address

By Mike Halls Inspirational. Motivational. Just what the industry needs. Those were some of the comments that came flying back after East Penn’s Bob Flicker gave the keynote address at 15ELBC yesterday (Wednesday) morning.

“It was just what we needed to hear,” said David Prengaman, former president of RSR International. “Bob spelled it out clearly just what could be done to the performance of lead acid batteries if we cared to spend some time and money on getting there.

“This isn’t the time to be moaning about unfair rules and regulations — we’ve always had those — but getting on with it.”

Others agreed.

Bob Flicker: Keynote address “What we need is a call to arms. A call to start doing things rather than just gassing about them. Most of all a time to be

positive about what we can do,” another delegate told Batteries International.

“The video at the start [produced by Hammond] introduced this positive message — we need more of this.”

Flicker’s keynote was preceded by some introductory thoughts

by Andy Bush, head of the International Lead Association, who compared the state of siege of the lead battery industry to that of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565 when the Ottomans tried to storm the island but failed.

The battery business he assured the assembled delegates looked set to thrive and a simple look round at the range of initiatives from players such as JCI, Exide and the like showed what could be accomplished.

ALABC Leads Industry Forward — Agrees New R&D and Communications Programs Tuesday’s general assembly meeting of the new 2016-2018 ALABC Program approved a new strategy aimed at ensuring lead batteries remain the product of choice in automotive and industrial energy storage applications.

The announcement followed decisions made at the San An-

tonio general assembly in May which agreed that it was essential that ALABC identify and fund, in the future, the highest impact work that would result in tangible benefits in lead battery performance.

The work of ALABC is a key component in part of the Inter-

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national Lead Association’s larger strategy — a three pronged appraoch which involves communication, regulatory defence and product development.

“Lead batteries provide a unique combination of perforContinued on page 7 >

n Wilson Wins International Lead Award at 15ELBC in Malta — The International Lead Award was yesterday (Wednesday) presented to David Wilson, long-time head of the International Lead Association, on the opening morning of the 15th European Lead Battery Conference. It was a highly popular choice — Wilson has been a well known fixture in the lead industry for over a generation. Pages 4,5 n Prime Minister Muscat Graces Abertax Party in Endorsement of ELBC Meetings — Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat was the guest of honour in a special preconference cocktail party held

by Abertax on Monday. In a 10 minute speech Muscat praised the achievements of Maltese firms in general, and technology firms such as Abertax in particular. Page 6 n Scenes From An Exhibition — a walk through of some of the exhibitors’ booths and products in what proved to be an excellent display of the variety and quality of supplier equipment available.

Pages 8, 9, 10 n From Sitges to Valetta: Hawkes’ ELBC Journey — Battery Street Journal spoke to CRU’s Neil Hawkes a veteran speaker and delegate at ELBC conferences about his involvement in the meetings and what they provide him professionally and socially.

Page 12 n The Last Word — Tales of darkness and distress as debate over venue for next ELBC meetings heats up with entrance of Vancouver as new contender, the Secret Alpha/Beta society inducts Cooper into its clandestine organization, end of line for Verdala Palace as battery gala dinner seals its fate.

Pages 14, 15

PAGE 1

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

International Award for Long-time Head of the International Lead Association

By Mike Halls

T

he International Lead Award was yesterday (Wednesday) presented to David Wilson, long-time head of the International Lead Association, on the opening morning of the 15th European Lead Battery Conference. It was a highly popular choice — Wilson has been a well known fixture in the lead industry for over a generation. This will be his last conference before his retirement.

In his acceptance speech Wilson said: “40 years in the industry may sound a long time, but it hasn’t felt it! I joined LDA (as it was then called) in London in the hot UK summer of 1976 with no particular expectations — and with virtually no knowledge of lead.

“I certainly didn’t expect to stay for a working lifetime, but when a job is interesting and enjoyable, and when you make many good friends both in the office and in countries around the world, the years do tend to slip away and before you know it, the time has come to retire.”

Wilson, speaking to Batteries International after the event, said that for almost the whole of his career the lead industry had been under threat. “It’s come from a variety of directions but there has always seemed to be something hanging over the business.

“When I joined the industry, total lead use amounted to about 3.5 million tonnes a year. There were quite a number of important uses — batteries were of course one, but there were also lead sheaths for power cables, solders for electrical connections and food cans, lead pipes and lead roofing for use in buildings,

lead weights, and of course lead additives for gasoline. At the time some 43% of the lead (about 1.5 million tonnes) was used in batteries, and everyone said that the battery market might have another 10 years to run at best — and they had already been saying that for many years before I became involved.

“In practice it was most of those other uses that gradually declined, some because of alternative products becoming available, some because of legislative restrictions, and it is the lead battery that has survived and be-

come more and more important so that in 2015 batteries accounted for almost 90% of lead use — a staggering 10 million tonnes.

And still growing!

“Yes, there are threats to this market from competing battery chemistries, but I have a feeling — and certainly a hope — that, just like the predictions I heard 40 years ago, the warnings that the end of the lead battery is approaching may well be premature.”

Part of Wilson’s achievements over the years has been spent in seemingly endless and complex

David Wilson: Stepping down after 40 years

negotiations over the regulation of lead.

“The subject of legislation is one which dominated my work for many years — indeed it continues to be a preoccupation today for the current ILA team.

Over the years, a quite disproportionate amount of time has had to be spent in resisting the attempts

by NGOs, governments and intergovernmental organizations which wanted to ban particular uses of lead, or even all uses of lead. It has been quite surprising — and amazingly frustrating — to work over long periods with these bodies and (at least sometimes) arrive at practical solutions to the management of lead products, only to see a nearidentical proposal pop up shortly afterwards under the aegis of another similar body!

“I have often wondered whether this was in practice a coordinated effort to eliminate lead completely from the range of materials available to industry — but if it was, it has certainly not succeeded as the strength of the battery industry clearly shows.

“Moreover, the regulatory challenges are often misguided or come from bodies that don’t understand the industry and our huge contributions — voluntary contributions in many ways, just think about the way we’ve been ahead of everyone in tackling subjects like lead levels in blood — to worker safety and the environment. I could accept free and fair competition between other chemistries but the playing field we’re on isn’t fair.”

Wilson said that in a sense it was a relief not to be spending additional years on the struggle.

“For many people job satisfaction occurs when a goal is achieved but the endless negotiations are wearing as, as soon as one regulatory initiative has been moderated or blocked, another one appears. There’s no clear end to give you the satisfaction of a job accomplished.

“I’ve always loved, for example, the closing night of a conference when everything has been done and you can step back and have a momentary break. The task is over.”

Delegate reaction to his ap-

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

“Everyone said that the battery market might have another 10 years to run at best — and they had already been saying that for many years before I became involved” pointment was enthusiastic — Wilson has been a popular figure in the industry since the early days of the ELBC and many were sad to hear that he was stepping down from the industry. “He’s probably deserved that medal several times over,” one delegate told Batteries International.

“With some people their achievements are immediately obvious, but with David it’s been his persistence — I can’t imagine the number of endless meetings he must have attended — and willingness to go the extra mile that has helped the lead industry to thrive through some very difficult times.

“He’s going to be solely missed.”

Wilson, now 65 says it’s a perfect time to retire. I tried to retire five years ago,” he says. “When I stepped down as head of the ILA. But I was almost immediately needed for other work. But don’t worry I’m not planning a comeback, though of course I don’t expect my lifetime associations with my friends in the industry to cease with my retirement.”

Wilson says that over the last couple of years he had gradually been working shorter weeks in anticipation of his departure.

And his plans for the future?

“Well five years ago I was half serious in cultivating roses but there are still plenty of things to do.”

He and his wife Olwen — they met at Nottingham University when he was studying for his doctorate — have just bought a house outside of Guildford and he anticipates the next few months after the conference will be spent in finishing the move.

Highlights of David Wilson’s Career LDA became alarmingly dependent on funding by UK lead producers, despite representing the whole European industry in Brussels. Wilson oversaw a change of name to Lead Development Association International — LDAI —and an expansion of membership to include almost all European lead producers.

Around this time LDAI, along with the industry’s research body — the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO), also took on the role of coordinating and representing the global lead industry in dealings with several intergovernmental organizations which were attempting to introduce widespread restrictions on the use of lead.

These included the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which was pursuing a “sunset chemicals” programme and thought the world could cope without any lead use, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) (which included the US and Canada despite its name) which wanted to ban certain chemicals including lead, and the United Nations Environment Program, which wanted to phase out all uses of lead, cadmium and mercury.

By 2000, the number of initiatives to restrict the use of lead in Europe had become so great and so time-consuming for the Association, that a solution was needed that would address all the issues simultaneously. As a result it was decided to launch a Voluntary Risk Assessment of Lead, which could stand as a single reference point for all such initiatives.

Funded by both producers and users of lead, the Risk Assessment took a number of years to complete but served its purpose well and was a significant factor in reducing the pressures on lead. It also formed the basis for later legal requirements under the EU REACH Directive.

In 2004, the lead industry faced the loss of

its research body, ILZRO, due to reorganization of the zinc industry, and LDAI was asked to take over responsibility for management of ILZRO’s lead activities.

Wilson thus found himself with two organisations to manage from two offices in two countries, the UK and the USA. ILZRO and its battery organisation, the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium, thus came under LDAI’s management.

With LDAI’s role and activities becoming increasingly global, and the association coming into closer contact with lead producers in all parts of the world, it seemed appropriate to reflect this in the name, remit and membership of the organisation. In 2008, Wilson oversaw the transition of LDAI into the International Lead Association, with a greatly expanded membership and a new structure for managing its wide range of activities. n 1972 — BSc in Chemistry from the Uni-

versity of Nottingham, UK. n 1975 — PhD in Physical Chemistry from

the University of Nottingham. n 1975-1976 — Spent a year as an editor

of the Faraday Transactions of the Royal Society of Chemistry. n August 1976 — joined the Lead Devel-

opment Association in London to work on technical, analytical and environmental aspects of lead. n 1979-1987 — worked on parallel issues

concerning cadmium for the Cadmium Association. n 1987 — appointed Marketing Director of

the Lead Development Association. n 1990 — becomes director of the LDA. n 1996 and beyond — During the 1990s

the LDA became alarmingly dependent on funding

Not so Well Known…

Not so well known — and Wilson is characteristically modest about this — apart from the International Lead Award he has received one other award during his working life with lead.

In 2004 when, under the UK Honours system, he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty the Queen for services to the lead industry.

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was the Guest of Honour in a Special Pre-Conference Cocktail Party Held by Abertax on Monday In a 10 minute speech Muscat praised the achievements of Maltese firms in general, and technology firms such as Abertax in particular, for their contribution to the healthy economy of the island.

The speech was given at the Fort Saint Angelo, a huge bastioned fort located at the centre of the Grand Harbour, the ancient port at the centre of Valetta.

The cocktail party started with a short cruise around the Grand Harbour as the sun was starting to set. “It was absolutely beautiful,” said one of the roughly 100 delegates that were invited.

“The whole of the harbour was bathed in a golden orange light as the sun dipped lower and lower.”

The party then climbed the huge ramparts

to a large open area where cocktails and canapés were served to the music of a quartet of classical musicians.

“It was a fantastic evening for all of us,” said Karen Hampton, publisher of Batteries International. “We were both fortunate and privileged to have been gifted the experience by the kindness and generousity of Abertax. Thank you!”

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

ALABC Leads Industry Forward — Agrees New R&D and Communications Programs > Continued from page 1

mance, low cost, safety and reliability, that we believe no other battery technology can match,” says Andy Bush, managing director of ILA. “However, it is important that lead batteries can adapt and improve such that this continues to be the case”.

The new 2016-2018 program will consist of four work areas — two technical research and development and two technical communication ones.

The goal of the technical R&D programs is to ensure that advanced lead batteries in automotive 12V and 48V applications and in industrial and energy storage applications continue to deliver the required performance at a lower cost than alternative technologies.

The ALABC membership is discussing quantifiable targets that will be set to ensure future R&D projects deliver on the overall goal of the consortium. The research for the automotive program will specifically focus on improving DCA (dynamic charge acceptance) and lifetime at a Partial State of Charge (PSoC).

Similarly the technical R&D program for industrial and energy storage applications will set targets on improving cycle life at PSOC and longer deep cycle life.

Recent improvements in lead battery performance have brought some products up to a level equivalent to lithium titanate batteries.

Boris Monahov, program manager at ALABC said: “This gives us a clear line for future development work for this three year period. We’re very excited about the future of R&D. ” The full details of which technical programs will be advanced and their budget allocations has yet to be announced.

The strategy also contains two information transfer programs aimed at communicating the current benefits of lead batteries to end users such as car manufac-

turers and energy storage specifiers. The automotive program will involve analysing and communicating the results of previous demonstration programs to car manufacturers.

The other program, focussing on energy storage, will involve documenting the technical parameters that demonstrate the superior performance that lead batteries can bring to renewable energy storage and utilities applications.

“A priority for ALABC going forward is to ensure that end user specifiers for utilities, renewable energy storage and domestic users are aware that current lead batteries already provide an excellent option,” says Alistair Davidson, director for products and sustainability at the ILA. The new program has already raised close to $3 million of investment for the next three years.

The research is called “pre-competitive” meaning that its findings are open to all the ALABC’s 72 members.

The final details of the programs will be released to ALABC members next week.

The ALABC was originally

formed in 1992 by prominent members of the lead and battery industries to advance the capabilities of the valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) battery for use in numerous applications.

During the early years of its existence, the consortium’s main focus was to assess VRLA battery performance for pure electric vehicle operation as a response to

A priority for ALABC going forward is to ensure that end user specifiers for utilities, renewable energy storage and domestic users are aware that current lead batteries already provide an excellent option

MEMBER UP 2016-2018 Program Member sign SIGN up for 2016-2018 program

proposed government mandates for lower vehicle emissions.

Over the years, however, the focus shifted to developing advanced lead-acid (and eventually, lead carbon) battery systems for micro- and mild-hybrid electric vehicles, as well as for frequency regulation, utility and other renewable energy storage applications.

In more than 20 years of existence, ALABC research has: • Resolved many of the problems that have minimized lead-acid battery performance (corrosion, sulfation, capacity loss); • Produced optimized grids, materials and additives to enhance lead-acid battery performance; • Established optimal charge regimes to get the most of leadacid batteries; • Created standards for testing and testing profiles to better evaluate battery performance; • Driven the evolution of advanced lead-acid and lead carbon technology; and • Expanded existing market applications and created new market applications for lead-acid and lead carbon batteries.

1

• 72 members • 20 battery manufacturers • 32 lead producers • 13 suppliers • 7 research & testing

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

First Timers in More Ways than One H Folke Sandelin AB from Sweden is attending ELBC for the first time to launch its continuous lead extruder to produce accurate flatstrip without rolling or preforming from widths ranging from 18mm to 600mm wide and thickness of 0.4mm to 6mm.

“We’re bringing in our extrusion technology from the wire and cable industry — we’ve got more than 50 years of proven lead extrusion experience — as the lead extrusion product can be used for expanding or punching,” says David Smith, sales director for HFSAB.

Engitec’s Monica Zientara, Alberto Bergamaschini and Thomas Kaspars

EcoBat’s Stephen Downed and Sabine Flemming

“Our unique selling point is that as we extrude the lead we can control the crystal grain structure very accurately — from 5 microns to 340 microns. We can do various binary and tertiary alloys as well as the new pure lead products. There’s not another company in the world that can offer this.

“ELBC appears to be a very well attended and organized conference — we’ve been more than pleased to have met so many people who are genuinely interested in what we are doing.”

Froetek’s Gerd Hoogestraat, Sascha Brothuhn and BfS’s Karim Boutayeb

Kraftpowercon’s Kshitij Pandya and Manoj Pagar

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

Cellusuede: From 14ELBC Onwards 14ELBC in Edinburgh proved such a hit with US precision cut pasting fibre firm, Cellusuede, that it expanded its operations into Europe and it has returned to ELBC to let customers know of the next phase in its expansion.

“We’ve formed a partnership with French cutting house Pin Floc to better serve the European market. Our goal is to increase our European business by 50%,” says Andy Honkamp president of the firm.

“This is our second visit to ELBC and we’re again pleased to be able

to announce our expansion plans.

Pin Floc has proved to be a natural fit for ourselves and we’ve already picked up one significant battery manufacturing customer.”

Cellusuede is going through the qualification process with other battery manufacturers across Europe.

The firms has also been expanding in the US and has recently invested $4.5 million in a new plant and equipment — doubling its work area to 125,000 square feet.

The facility is located in Rockford, Illinois.

Batek’s Kudret Aydin, Celal Saricam and Yusuf Karaahmetoglu

BfS’Julius Oschmann, Berra Rieder-Oschmann, Elke Oschmann. Lina Rieder. Sabine Schinzel and Anna Oschmann WWW.BATTERIESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Akumusan’s Ugur Gunduz, Huseyin Bingol and Eren Unlu PAGE 9

THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

Another Day, Another Patent …

Congratulations to George Brilmyer and Mike Gilcrhist once more!

A fortnight ago the two co-founders of HighWater Innovations received the patent award for their revolutionary GO Battery.

The GO Battery — the letters stand for Geometrically Optimized — is a low-profile VRLA spiral wound battery that offers extreme pulse power, ease of thermal management and a new concept in battery design.

George, pictured, a speaker on

Friday morning will be explaining how this works. He’s also looking for a battery manufacturing partner to take the GO Battery to the next level of performance.

The batteries power has now exceeded 1000W/kg and is closing in on the performance of NiMH and lithium-ion cells.

“Our goal is to reach 1400W/kg,” says Brilmyer. “And that’s easily achievable with the right manufacturing partner.”

Proud to be an Integral Part of 15ELBC When sponsorship opportunities for the 15ELBC became available, ENTEK, as a world-class supplier to the lead acid battery industry, naturally decided to participate as the gold sponsor, aware of the importance of the contribution of this vital event and the inherent value it represents.

Larry Keith, CEO for ENTEK said, “ELBC is the premiere technical lead acid battery conference for Europe, and this fits in well with ENTEK as a technical company and a major supplier to the industry.”

In addition to its booth presence, ENTEK is participating in the technical program with a presentation given by its vice president of research and devel-

opment, Richard Pekala, entitled, Separator Electrical Resistance – How Low Can You Go? Carri Moffatt, marketing manager for ENTEK, was in attendance for the first time. “I have been working extensively with the ILA, as well as local organizations here in Malta, and have been extremely impressed with how well run this show is, and how well the different groups work together to make the conference a success.

“Being a gold sponsor enables ENTEK to be at the forefront of the European battery industry. It demonstrates our deep commitment to our customers and suppliers and we expect to join the 16ELBC in a like manner!”

DSC Group’s Jin Jian, Linhai Zheng and Adam Chen PAGE 10 WWW.BATTERIESINTERNATIONAL.COM

WIRTZ AWARDED PATENT FOR THE KEY PROCESS STEP IN PRODUCING PUNCHED POSITIVE GRIDS. From the world of Wirtz comes a new process that is so innovative, it’s been awarded a patent. This patented process will make longer lasting batteries.

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INNOVATION. PERFORMANCE. RELIABILITY.

THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, MALTA • SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016

Battery Street Journal spoke to CRU’s Neil Hawkes a veteran speaker and delegate at ELBC conferences.

Neil, how long have you been attending ELBC conferences?

and also gather from these meetings?

My first conference was at Sitges, near Barcelona, in 1996. I’d been invited to speak and I was curious to hear more about these meetings which had already gathered a reputation for being the place to go to hear about everything in the world of lead and batteries. For myself as a speaker — and I’ve represented CRU at most of these events — it gives me a chance to let the industry understand the workings of the lead market.

One of the points in my presentation today is that the imbalance between supply and demand has created an effect similar to an iceberg — the amount of supply is what’s visible above the water but the rest is being held discreetly elsewhere.

Which means?

That if demand picks up then the price will remain stable as this hedged supply becomes available.

So will primary supply, coming from the mines be able to fill the supply gap between demand and secondary scrap/supplies.?This is one of the fundamental questions out there that is peculiar to lead.

How have they changed?

Probably the most obvious is in terms of size and increased reputation. However, the essential components of ELBC haven’t changed. This is the place to be if you want to find out some of the latest things in the world of lead but also want to meet the people that are making things happen in lead.

Nowadays too the whole lead industry is under threat — which we really haven’t seen the like of in the past 20 years — and there’s definitely a siege mentality, which can be a creative thing, underpinning perhaps the last two meetings.

And what do you derive from the meetings?

Though I enjoy listening to many of the presentations, the most important for me is the networking that goes with the event. At its simplest a great deal of my job is to work out the balance between

And at a personal level what do you like about coming here?

One of the points in my presentation today is that the imbalance between supply and demand has created an effect similar to an iceberg — the amount of supply is what’s visible above the water but the rest is being held discreetly elsewhere. supply and demand for lead. The supply side is the easier part to calculate but the demand side — the trends, the larger picture of what’s going on — is something that you obtain from these conferences. Sometimes the picture

is not so clear, market trends are difficult to decipher , and it tends to work in an osmotic kind of way.

So what kind of conclusions do you bring to the ELBC

The ILA chooses great places to go to. And that creates an easy, chilled environment in which to talk about things. Normally too there’s a relaxing flow of a few beers that helps people loosen up.

I remember Warsaw in particular was a great place in that respect.

Last Neil, as an insider to the organizers of these events: where do you think the next ELBC conference will be held?

Me, I think they’ll head north this time, possibly the Baltics given the ability of beer to smooth the wheels of the lead industry. But Bavaria would be my preferred location.

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d r o w t s a l e Th ELBC conference watchers have long predicted that the ILA, the secretive and super-sensitive choosers of event venues across Europe, would one day lose its marbles and its cherished rules (see box) would fall to pieces.

Or that was up until mid-August.

Most popular choices had been Moira’s favourite shopping weekend spots — think Rome, Zurich and Brussels. More shameless cynics continued to believe that ILA’s senior management, and their known predilection for the cheaper varieties of the sauvignon grape meant Bordeaux, would eventually have to come around.

But surprise mounted to panic when David Wilson, long-time veteran of picking ELBC venues admitted that he had spent time in British Colombia this year.

“BC of course was the clue to it all,” said one event watcher. “And what better way could the ILA try to pull the wool over our eyes by electing to put a European battery conference on the other side of the Atlantic.

“It makes perfect sense.”

Although betting on Vancouver narrowed from 1000-1 to 5/2 in early

Debate Rages as Next ELBC Venue Called into Doubt

September — and Batteries International’s hot tip of Southend-on-Sea languished at 500-1 — there was mounting speculation that Italy could be the next point of call.

“Andy’s been seen wearing Italian shoes, Alistair’s been saying Ciao on the phone and Moira keeps humming a tune that might be Italian or French in origin (which is almost the same thing),” said an insider. “And there’s now a rumour that Mr Binks wants to be called Stefano. I’m plumping for Rome.”

How the rule book was formed Look through the list of where ELBC has been to and you’ll see the conference has criss-crossed Europe over a dozen times. The ELBC secretariat are notoriously tight-lipped about announcing where the next conference will be held.

Omertà, the mafia’s code of silence, has nothing on these sturdy souls. “We continue to deny any link between the deaths of four office staff ahead of the Berlin announcement and the disappearance of two others,” said an ELBC spokesman who later said he could neither confirm or deny his name.

But ELBC watchers say some general principles apply.

1: The Price per Pint Rule Some parts of Europe are out of bounds, mostly on the grounds of affordability. So bye, bye Scandinavia, where the price of a beer is €7.10 in Norway. And perhaps hello Kyev? With the civil war effectively ended and a pint is just €0.60, this must prove an interesting possibility. However, growing international tensions in the Baltics could prove awkward for Estonia which is known to want to attract lead battery types for reasons that are not immediately obvious. Or sanitary for that matter.

2: The Not-Near A Golf Course Rule US delegates are known to choose attendance by a one step process — “where are my golf clubs? followed by “I wonder what this event all is about?” ELBC organizer thinking is more complex. Golf courses are out.

The previous ELBC’s tournament at St Andrew’s was an exception, based on You’ll Never Guess It Right Rule (suckers), see later for fuller details.

3: The One-Flight Rule.

There should be direct flights from across Europe, the US and Asia to the city. Last time Edinburgh broke the rules here, most US and Asian visitors had to fly in through Glasgow.

The reasoning was not that after Glasgow, Edinburgh would seem a dream but further evidence of the You’ll Never Guess It Right Rule (suckers). The One Flight Rule to Malta this year was yet again a master stroke by the ILA in deception. “They’d never dare to do the same trick twice in a row,” says one observer.

They did.

4: The Never The Same Destination Twice Rule.

For the first 13 ELBC meetings, this was the golden rule for conference watchers making their predictions. Unfortunately ELBC organizers wised up to this, see You’ll Never Guess It Right Rule (suckers) and wrong-footed everybody two years ago. The sneaky return to Paris — and to the same venue as the very first 1988 meetings — was reckoned

by ILA insiders as a master-stroke of deception.

5: You’ll Never Guess It Right Rule (suckers).

In recent years delegates’ clever money on where the event will be held has been more accurate than before. The result has been this rule which goes: “All rules are made to be broken (including this one)”. This last clause apparently makes perfect sense to the higher echelons of the ELBC and ILA.

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THE BATTERY STREET JOURNAL • 15 ELBC, Malta • September 13-16, 2016

Birthday Surprise — it’s as Simple as 16ABC The organizers of the Asian Battery Conference have told Batteries International that they have settled on dates and venues for the next meetings. “I’m a rising Pisces with an ascendant Gemini on the cusp,” said Mark (the Australian one) and my birthdays always happen during the event.

“Last time a meteor

shower over Bangkok — as pictured in this excellent newsletter — announced miraculous signs ahead of my 25th birthday. And this year has been the best in all my years as a veteran in the battery business.”

The next ABC meetings will be held in Kuala Lumpur between September 8-11.

Alpha Beta Gamma The clandestine lead battery club known only for its terrifying initiation rituals met yesterday (Wednesday) at a hidden location, but close to a bar in the conference hotel for security reasons, to induct its newest member: Alpha Beta Cooper.

As solemn rituals were pronounced Allan Cooper — known best for his love of driving Honda cars endlessly round test circuits — was admitted to the Secret Order of the Alpha Beta Society.

“It’s a great honour to be admitted to a society founded by the Great Galvani and his Voltanic Twitching Frogs,” said El ‘Mini’ Cooper as he circled the bar with pride. “Just another few thousand laps and my LC Hybrid will be broken in.”

The anonymous Master Sergeant In Arms — sometimes known as famed electrochemist Pat Moseley — has also stepped down to let in new blood. “I am now only entitled to wear the black hood of my office on feast days,” he sighed.

The Alpha-Beta society was formed in the early 1990s when the then prominent electrochemists of their day decided to form a forum to discuss topical issues in an informal and occasionally liquid fashion.

One prominent member known only through a pseudonym via the uncrackable codename of “D’ And Rave” said that past and present members now had risen to the low 20s and only a few signs of potential candidates were capable of boosting their number.

Gala dinner: a potted history

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Just think the air conditioning can be on all day while you’re out busy at the conference.

But why be wasteful when you can pick up a non-mechanical hand-held human-directional Batteries International air conditioning utensil for nothing at the top magazine’s booth?

And these fans emblazoned with the names of two leading energy titles are free!

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Well, it’s certainly different. Tonight’s gala dinner is going to be held in the Verdala Palace. And what a venue!

“It shows that time works in a geometric march to perfection,” says one battery historian clutching a glass firmly to his chest. “A couple of centuries ago the former hunting lodge was a prison, then it became a silk factory, then it was a minor hospital, then the summer residence of the governors of Malta and of late the summer residence of the president of Malta.

“Now of course it’s reached its zenith as the site of the ELBC gala dinner. There’s nothing left for the place from now on.”

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