BCI YearBook 2014

San Diego, USA • April 27-30, 2014

& Special Pre-2014 Convention Report

• Why 2013 work will dominate 2014 agenda • Follow our full convention session analysis • Battery Council origins, goals and successes • Quarter-century and 50 year BCI heroes • Full committee and membership listings • Cutting edge BCI, next generation leaders

Bringing the industry together www.batteriesinternational.com

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CONTENTS

BCI Yearbook & Special Pre-2014 Convention Report Battery Council International’s 126th Convention and Power Mart Expo, looks set for another year to be the hottest meeting of the North American lead acid (and more) battery community this year. With an exciting agenda covering many issues that urgently need to be discussed, the almost 600 delegates heading to San Diego between April 27 and April 30 should find much to talk about.

Regulation and the art of the possible

2

BCI’s Mark Thorsby: agendas for the year ahead

5

From then till now, the BCI story

11

Tapping the council’s resources, why the data matters

14

The environment committee: setting standards for health and safety

15

The business of running the business — BCI committee directory

16

Find us! Power Mart floor plan for the San Diego convention

20

Convention highlights — pre-session reflections

23

The quarter century club, battery heroes reunited

32

BCI members directory

34

Cutting edge BCI: members first footfalls into advanced energy storage

37

East Penn and ALABC, Trojan Battery Company, Axion Power International, HighWater Innovations, Hammond Expanders www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 1

EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@batteriesinternational.com

Regulation and the art of the possible ‘Health and safety gone mad’ ran the internet’s Huffington Post recently talking about new bans of yo-yos in school playgrounds.

But it’s also the same issue for the battery business.

At its most basic, one such health and safety issue put simply is: ‘what is the right amount of lead to have in the blood?’

For the open-toed sandal community across the world, the answer has to be nil. For the hard-bitten, business chief, the answer could, at least conceivably be, “as much as we can get away with”.

And clearly the proper answer would lie somewhere between the two: a kind of nexus where idealism and pragmatism meet.

For the last few years we’ve seen institutions such as Battery Council International in the US, its European colleague EUROBAT and a host of important associations that have links with the lead acid battery community — including European and US regulatory authorities — debate the subject.

cooperate. Rather than have a head-to-head with the regulators, who have both the iron fist and the iron glove (and where trade associations are unlikely to ever be winners), they understand that irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the issue, they must engage with them.

It’s pragmatic. The art of the possible.

But in another sense, it’s also unfair. The world that the regulatory agencies inhabit is one where the notion of a level playing field is alien. It’s parochial, it’s frequently distorted by political maneuvering, and notions of scientific impartiality are dominated by those with the loudest voice.

The issue of who regulates what is an important one. It’s also very topical for this year’s BCI convention.

The US lead recycling community is up in arms — and rightly so — at the way that huge volumes of lead acid batteries are being shipped across the border to Mexico for reprocessing.

So much so that last year BCI and EUROBAT committed themselves and their member organizations to reduce blood lead levels for all employees below 30 microgrammes per deciliter (μg/ dl) by the end of 2016.

Mexican regulations are slack — RSR head Robert Finn said just this April: “Mexico’s proposed allowable limit of lead emissions from the exhaust stacks of secondary smelters is 140 times higher than those in the US.”

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization suggest that a blood lead level of 10 μg/dL or above is a cause for concern. (But to put this into context, the present US government level set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is 50 μg/dL, the European Union’s is 70 μg/dL while the so-called ‘derived-no- effect level’ set by industry under the EU legislation is 40μg/dl.)

Because Mexican recyclers don’t have to pay the burden of regulatory conformity to that of the US, it’s worth our hard-bitten business chief shipping megatonnes of lead acid battery some thousands of miles to reclaim the lead at the best price possible.

There is no doubt that we should applaud BCI and EUROBAT for being ahead of the regulatory curve which is seeking to impose ever tighter levels of blood level — by showing their willingness to cooperate, they’re also demonstrating that this is an industry that is a responsible one.

The damage done to Mexican workers is not their concern. And, for the Mexican authorities, their feeble attempts at regulation are so wishy-washy that it’s hard to believe that they don’t want to be bothered and keep the jobs and profits south of the border.

As an approach it’s a clever one.

And so, in the US where the future of resmelting lead acid batteries looks ever close to coming to some kind of an end, the regulatory burdens are getting ever-tighter and, thus, ever more costly to comply with.

It deflects regulators’ eagerness to jump down on the recalcitrant and shows a willingness to

One European commentator told us recently that the European Union’s regulations called REACH

2 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

EDITORIAL — Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals — seemed to him to be the most simple expedient of driving manufacturing completely away from the region. “Just look at the SVHC category,” he says.

“These are called ‘substances of very high concern’ but in fact they are the building blocks for lead acid batteries!”

Sadly, EU regulation, wellmeaning as it may aim to be, is sometimes on a par to commercial madness. Their only parallel — and companion in their desire to champion ever stricter regulation — comes from Californian regulators, which leads the way for the rest of America.

But surely there must be room to find a middle way; a balance between what is acceptable for public health as well as for commerce to go on.

The short answer is probably going to be no.

The trouble is that the middle way rarely arrives.

Particularly so when it comes to health issues. The fact of the matter is that human society lurches from opinion to opinion.

One day it’s carbohydrates good, fats bad, the next it’s been flipped on its head.

A case in point is our understanding of lead. Lead was taken out of petrol to much self-congratulation in the 1990s.

But now it turns out that it was better for us than diesel — or that’s what a group of air quality experts working for the UK’s DEFRA said recently.

Diesel gives higher levels of nitrogen dioxide — which the environmental agency’s report suggests causes 29,000 premature deaths a year in the UK as well as autism and schizophrenia in children. A recent Californian study painted a similar picture of its health consequences.

The shift to diesel was a well intentioned one by the regulators. The background was that leaded petrol — where the use of the additive tetraethyl lead was designed to slow up pre-ignition in ICE cars — was clearly dangerous to human health.

But the move to catalytic converters burning unleaded petrol in the 1990s was troublesome, car performance was poor, there was also cases of engine damage. Diesel offered a no-nonsense route to dealing with lead in a sensible fashion.

Governments endorsed it — often making it cheaper than unleaded — and we voted with our feet. www.batteriesinternational.com

The picture painted shouldn’t be one of bumbling ineptitude but one of unexpected consequences.

Regulators frequently get it wrong. Often they are misled — just think how the tobacco giants put pressure and financed dubious research proving that cigarette smoking was not dangerous.

Often too the very process of setting regulations is innately flawed. And the debate can get heated — remember the debate over whether pizza could be defined as a vegetable? (The answer was yes!)

So when scientists talk to politicians and try to hammer out an agreement on, for example, lead levels, the routine scientific reasoning about what is dangerous and what is not, get lost in the bargaining. “Everyone’s out to reach a deal,” a senior lead spokesperson told us many years ago.

“Rather than look dispassionately at the facts and agree what is right — which incidentally is frequently difficult to agree on by scientists — a bargaining process goes on.

“If the safe level of something is, say, five, a counteroffer will suggest one — so we agree on three. In one sense, the standards are being set too high (and there’s an expense for that) but at least we’re in business and that’s key to it all.”

In this sense the question we ask at the beginning — ‘what is the right amount of lead to have in the blood?’ — verges on the irrelevant.

One famous statesman said that politics was the art of the possible. So too — if sometimes sadly — is the relationship we have with our regulators.

Mike Halls Editor Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 3

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THE VIEW FROM BCI Batteries International talked to BCI’s Mark Thorsby ahead of this year’s annual convention for his views on the year gone by and the year ahead.

A look back, a look forward 2013 will be remembered as a busy year for Batteries Council International. It’s been a year of consolidation of existing policies and lobbying, investigating areas that will affect the battery industry, and a steady expansion with BCI acting in a number of roles in North America and also around the world.

The hot topic of the moment continues to be health and safety and the two main themes are prominent in the policy debate — and lobbying — going on in BCI: lead levels in the blood and the safe disposal of lithium batteries when there is a growing likelihood that, when crushed and smelted with lead acid batteries, explosions will happen.

Of course lead levels in battery workers’ blood has been an issue from the very start of BCI. The poisoning that lead can inflict is well documented and, over the past generation in particular, permitted levels of the metal have become increasingly stringent.

Last year BCI and EUROBAT, its European counterpart, committed to reduce blood lead levels for all employees below 30 microgrammes per deciliter (μg/dl) by the end of 2016.

This is well below the limits set by current European Union and US legislation. It was a clear demonstration that the battery industry can take its fair share of responsibility without the involvement of government.

“In the US we embarked on a voluntary compliance program 20 years www.batteriesinternational.com

ago and have enjoyed a great deal of success,” says Mark Thorsby, executive vice-president of Battery Council International. “Europe adopted its own program in 2001. We’re going further by adopting the same objectives to ensure the same level of protection of workers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Safe blood levels

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that employees of lead-based battery manufacturing companies be removed from their jobs if their blood lead levels exceed 50 μg/dl. The BCI’s current voluntary removal level of employees is 40μg/dl.

The European Union’s biological limit value for lead in blood is 70μg/ dl, while the so-called ‘derived-noeffect level’ set by industry under the EU’s REACH legislation is 40μg/dl.

Moreover the commitment to this new yet lower level involved other international bodies such as the International Lead Association (ILA), PRBA (the Rechargeable Battery Association), the ALABC (Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium), the

Battery Association of Japan and the Association of Battery Recyclers.

“It’s another step in the right direction,” says Thorsby. “The aim is to be one-step ahead of legislation so that we as an industry are prepared. California wants to reduce the acceptable lead levels yet further. And where California goes, the rest of the US tends to follow.”

Indeed the latest deliberations of the California Department of Public Health suggest that it is looking to impose a new level of 20μg/dl.

“At the same time, we’re aware that this is an issue that has shades of complexity,” he says. “For example, the size of the lead particles in the air has a direct relationship with absorption into the blood, according to research we commissioned. The smaller the size of particles, the greater the absorption. Talk only about the amount of lead in the air is just part of the story.”

The BCI initiative has to be put in a wider context — that of the gradual tightening of regulation of lead in the atmosphere and blood levels.

The big leap in lead standards in the US came in October 2008 when

“The quantities of lithium and lead in the recycle mix will be the determinant of why an explosion will happen. But what people don’t realize is that its violence could completely destroy a smelter while killing anyone in the vicinity.”

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 5

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THE VIEW FROM BCI the government’s Environmental Protection Agency tightened the previous 1978 standards by 10 times. The total suspended particles of lead was changed from 1.5µg/m3 to 0.15µg/ m3. (The relationship between air lead and blood lead in an occupational setting suggest that there is an increase between 0.02µg/dL and 0.08µg/dL of lead in blood for each µg/m3 of lead in air.)

Oddly enough, although the cost to the lead industry in the US was estimated as being somewhere around $1 billion while the health benefits — including factors such as a longer working life for employees — could be as high as $4 billion.

In Europe similar moves came into play with the REACH reforms and, internationally, mostly through the work of the International Lead Association (ILA), there has been a gradual tightening up of standards across the world.

As part of this, BCI organized a conference in Orlando, Florida this January, as a means of opening up the discussion on the subject as well as informing its members and other delegates what the issues are. In a bold move to get to the heart of the issue, BCI invited Michael Kasnett, an academic and noted advocate of removing all lead from air in the workplace, to speak at the meetings.

One possible path might include making the use of respiratory equipment by lead workers compulsory.

“The January conference was a success,” says Thorsby. “We attracted almost 80 delegates from all around the world and hope to repeat this again next year. This is an important issue and needs to be thought through thoroughly.”

Explosive recycling

The new topic on the BCI agenda however is the potentially fatal consequences when lithium and lead batteries are recycled at the same time.

“It’s more than an accident waiting to happen,” says Thorsby. “It has the potential to be a disaster.”

At its simplest when lead and lithium batteries are crushed in the initial separation process to extract the plastic casing the sulphuric acid in the lead acid reacts with the now exposed lithium with such violence that the lithium can explode.

In a recent interview with Batteries International, Tim Ellis, president of the ALABC as well as vice president of research and development at RSR www.batteriesinternational.com

“Our industry goal is 100% recyclability.

Every little helps.”

Technologies, the international metals firm, said: “The quantities of lithium and lead in the recycle mix will be the determinant of why an explosion will happen.

“But what people don’t realize is that its violence could completely destroy a smelter while killing anyone in the vicinity.”

One aspect of the problem is that at present there is no standardization in the packaging of lead or lithium batteries.

Some lithium battery manufacturers produce battery cases that are identical in shape, for example, to a standard lead acid car battery. Also given the variety of shapes of industrial batteries available — compounded with the fact that when batteries are recycled the outer packaging is old and worn — there is no easy way to tell the two types of battery apart.

Manual sorting, as well, is impractical. Huge volumes of spent lead acid batteries — as much as 60 tonnes an hour in some plants — are recycled every day.

“If there’s a bright aspect to this, it’s the fact that we’re tackling this problem right at the start,” says Thorsby.

“The amount of larger format lithium batteries in circulation is still comparatively small and most of this is relatively new — from the next generation of electric vehicles — won’t arrive at the smelters for a couple of years.”

BCI is investigating two possible ways of creating safety. One would be devising a set of initiatives for automotive firms or scrap dealerships to do the separation ahead of recycling.

Another, but more expensive way would be the insertion of a RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip into the battery. But like all such initiatives this would only make sense if this were to become a universal standard. The automotive market is a global one.

“The move is to set standards that can be applied everywhere,” says Thorsby. “This kind of thing can never work properly if we take a piecemeal approach.”

As part of this, BCI is again coordinating its activities with other battery trade organizations. This increase in

Thorsby: “If there’s a bright aspect to this, it’s we’re tackling this problem right at the start. The amount of larger format lithium batteries in circulation is still small and most won’t arrive at the smelters for a couple of years.”

international cooperation has been another theme of the council over the past year — and based on a series of meetings between BCI, EUROBAT, ILA and ALABC in 2012.

Closer interaction

“The energy storage world is getting smaller by the year,” says Thorsby.

“And the issues of how we interact together are becoming both more important and more complex. From an international perspective, we all need to know, for instance, what other countries are doing. And this could be as varied as talk in Sweden of lowering blood lead levels to 10 μg/dl to sourcing difficulties and quality issues in Costa Rica.”

One idea that continues to be discussed is the idea of an occasional, perhaps tri-annual summit for the battery industry across the world to get together.

Although the issues of standardization and regulation may seem dull to large parts of the industry, every battery manufacturer is aware of their importance to the future health and direction of the industry.

Other initiatives of the BCI over the past year may seem mundane when compared to the big issue of lead poisoning and potential explosions, but they will still affect members in a very real way.

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 7

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THE VIEW FROM BCI “We’ve spent a lot of time and effort on putting our battery data and specifications — our Databook — on to the web but in this first year of doing so we’ve haven’t had any particularly great take-up,” says Thorsby. “What we want to do now is help people use the internet when looking for battery specifications. We’ve made the search engine faster and we’ve giving more information than the printed Databook details.”

It will also cut down on waste considerably. Thorsby reckons that some 10,000 of the heavy 50,000 manuals are simply binned each year.

Some of the smaller items on BCI’s radar include elimination of the cap on lead acid battery deposits — in some US states for example, Wisconsin, the cap on the deposit of just $5 proves only a minor incentive to recycle. “Our industry goal is 100% recyclability,” says Thorsby. “Every little helps.”

The BCI meetings themselves are now falling into a more ordered pattern than before and will alternate between the east and west coasts of

One change that will please exhibitors — who have been moaning about this for years — is going to be opening up the restrictive hours of the Power Mart, that accompanies the meetings.

America. Two years ago the meeting was held in Phoenix Arizona, last year, Baltimore, Maryland. This year it’ll be San Diego, California and the next will be held in Savannah, Georgia followed by a visit to the centre of the country — San Antonio, Texas — in 2016.

Some of the formats of the committee meetings are changing too.

Thorsby says the existing system of open meetings had been problematic in that members attending the meeting spent their time catching up on the activities of the committee rather than let the committees plan for the year ahead.

One change that will please exhibitors — who have been moaning about this for years — is going to be opening up the restrictive hours of

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the Power Mart, that accompanies the meetings.

“At present we just get a few hours to strut our stuff,” one exhibitor told Batteries International last year (and the year before). “And if you think of the time, effort and cost of shipping our stand from one end of the country to another, you’ll realise that these hours are not enough.”

The attendance figures for the BCI meetings themselves continue to grow. Last year over 450 came to Baltimore. Thorsby anticipates that some 550-600 people will be attending — a little over BCI’s target level — with some 45 exhibitors.

As part of the increase in BCI activities, this year the council has appointed Claire Sereiko as its new press and marketing officer.

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THE BCI STORY The origins of Battery Council International date back to 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.

From then till now

— the BCI story I

t 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.

Two consistent BCI themes have been: 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

Imagine life before BCI and the rise and rise of the motor car? Here a northeast suburb of Chicago in the early 1920s www.batteriesinternational.com

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 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.

Although the early years of the organization were clearly focused on national developments, it was not long before the very nature of the battery manufacturing business — which largely followed the fortunes of the rapidly expanding car manufacturing industry — required an organization more global in scope. Something that would embrace members from Canada, Mexico and the rest of the Americas.

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 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 11

THE BCI STORY 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

Today BCI membership consists of close to 300 corporations representing the leading lead acid battery manufacturers, recyclers, marketers and retailers, suppliers of raw materials and equipment as well as expert industry consultants.

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.

BCI GOALS — THE INFORMATION CHALLENGE (AMONG OTHERS) BCI’s primary role is to provide its membership with up-to- as the collective voice of its members and an authoritative date information on marketing and technical developments, source of battery-related information. plus regulatory and legislative initiatives that could affect the BCI maintains an extensive statistical programme. BCI worldwide industry. compiles raw data on automotive battery production shipSome of this information is immensely valuable to its ments (original and replacement) at the manufacturer level members, allowing them to get a clearer picture of the entire and inventory level. battery market.

This compilation enables members to gauge their perforOne of the most fascinating BCI surveys — conducted mance against those of the industry as a whole. BCI also every five years and now eagerly awaited in 2015 — looks provides its members with annual distribution reports that at failure modes of batteries. This shows that the quality of allow members to keep abreast of ever-changing channels lead acid car batteries and their expected life continues to of distribution. improve.

Since 1990 BCI has been collecting and disseminating a While the average life of a car battery in 1962 was just 34 monthly report on US industrial battery and charger sales. months in 1962 when BCI first started compiling statistics, it The programme consist of five active reports. had reached 55 months in 2010 — itself a further improvement of five months when compared to the last BCI survey • Motive power battery sales • Net sales of diesel locomotive starting batteries in 2005. In 1995 the average battery life was 44 months.

The survey also shows that batteries are more resistant • Industrial truck battery charger sales to hotter climates than ever before. In the 2000 study, a • Standby power battery sales change of 12°F affected battery life by approximately a year. • Stationary battery cell report In this study, this temperature factor increased to approxiMembers only receive the industrial battery reports in mately 22°F. which they participate. In 2001, BCI began reporting North As expected, batteries used in the hotter southern cli- American sales data. mates of the US did not last as long as those used in the In addition, BCI promotes the development and implecooler north of the country. The batteries sampled from the mentation of workable environmental, health and safety north had an average life of 59 months while those sampled standards for the industry. from the south averaged 47 months.

BCI focuses much of its attention on increasing the overall Plate related failures still remain the most common de- lead battery recycling rate. BCI has developed and is adfect. Plate/grid related failures increased to 39% from 30% vancing model battery recycling legislation at the state and in 2005, however the average life for these failures was 60 federal level. months, up from 51 months five years before that. Shorted The model legislation prohibits lead batteries from being batteries accounted for 18%, with a life of 54 months. Five placed in landfills or incinerated and imposes a mandatory years before that, shorted batteries were 31% of the sam- take-back system at the point of sale. BCI’s goal is to reach ples and lasted 56 months. a 100% lead battery recycling rate.

(In many cases there is little difference between a ‘shorted’ battery and one that failed due BCI 2010 US battery survey — batteries removed from service to a ‘plate//grid’ failure. Positive plate growth North South does not stop when the battery has been re30% moved from service. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish which failure caused the battery to 25% be removed from service.)

The failure rate of ‘worn-out’ batteries in20% creased to 17% from 12%, while ‘serviceable 15% ‘batteries accounted for 15%. Batteries with open circuits were at 9%. Only 2% of the bat10% teries failed for reasons other than these five mentioned.

5%

12 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

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BCI DATA

The importance of BCI monthly market statistics

One of the most valued benefits of being a member of BCI are its industry statistics which cover the size and shape of the automotive lead-acid battery industry by the number of shipments in North America.

Each month BCI aggregates figures from member companies which are split into original equipment automotive batteries and replacement automotive batteries.

The data is useful because, without revealing the performance or growth of individual companies, it gives a reasonably accurate picture of the size and recent growth of the whole market and segments within it.

This allows members to compare this wider picture with their own performance and potentially make strategic decisions based on this.

Gary Taylor, marketing analyst at Exide Technologies, is involved in the compilation and analysis of the data for BCI. “It is very much a barometer of how the whole industry is performing and in that sense it becomes a vital strategic tool for companies. Many will make decisions about where they invest and the parts of the market they target based on this,” he says.

“If we didn’t pull this data together nothing like this would exist. You would be relying on things like companies’ reports, which are far less accurate when it comes to breakdowns such as this.”

Individual slices of the market are also broken out including light passenger car and light commercial, heavy duty commercial and marine.

14 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

This can give a useful indication of how some of the more niche sectors are growing. In a separate annual report, a breakdown is also given of the distribution channels in the market.

“This information can be very useful to members — they can see which are growing and which are declining,” says Taylor. “There is also a breakdown by the size of shipment. Some companies may start moving into new products or new sizes based on this information.”

Strong growth seen for 2014

The data shows month-on-month, growth for the same period a year earlier and a rolling 12 month comparison for the aggregate figures, giving users a sense of how much the total market size has changed annually.

The most recent figures, for February, showed a couple of notable trends.

Total shipment figures — combining original equipment and replacement automotive batteries — were down 10% to 10.2 million in February compared with 11.4 million the month before. The level of shipments for the year to date, however, (January and February combined) was up 3.7% compared with the same period a year earlier. For the 12 months to February 2014, however, shipment levels were slightly down (0.43%) compared with the same period to February 2013.

Taylor says the 12 month rolling comparison is an interesting barometer of the market’s overall perfor-

mance but the 0.43% decline is not significant for such a mature and stable market. “Generally, we see growth of around 1%-1.5% and we see now no reason for this to change drastically,” he says. “We’d expect a positive trend to return soon.”

The light passenger car and light commercial category represents some 70% of the total market and members pay special attention to trends here. This is also split between 12V, 6V and AGM batteries. In the most recent data, this sector enjoyed a 6% year-on-year increase compared with February 2013 and an increase of 7.8% for the year to date compared with the same period last year.

The next biggest category is heavy duty commercial. This increased 3.5% in February compared with the same month in 2013 but its performance for the whole of January and February combined was up 1.5% compared with the same two months a year earlier.

When the same numbers are considered for OEM batteries alone, the growth for both sectors looks more impressive. The light passenger car and light commercial category grew almost 8% in February compared with February 2013 and is up 6% so far this year. For the heavy duty commercial, which starts from a lower base, growth is even more pronounced with the equivalent growth figures being 42% and 44% respectively.

Taylor says much of this is down to the start of an economic recovery in the US and much higher levels of new car sales. The 12-month rolling improvement for all equipment manufactured batteries is 8.6%. “If you look at US automotive figures, vehicle production is up 5% and these figures are closely linked to that,” he says.

The replacement market does not look so strong in this data. On a rolling 12-month basis, the sector is down 1.8% overall and up 0.4% when February 2014 is compared with 2013. But within this, the light passenger car and light commercial category grew by 8% for the year to date. “The colder winter will have an effect on those figures,” Taylor says.

“That will have generated some pentup demand.” www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI DATAFILE, THE COMMITTEES

Setting the standards for health and safety One of the most keenly followed and most active committees in BCI is its committee that covers government/ industry relations or more precisely anything to do with health, safety or the environment.

In fact, there are three committees that cover related fields: the Environmental Committee chaired by Tim Lafond from JCI; the Industrial Health Committee chaired by Randy Reyer from Enersys; and the Product Safety committee chaired by Jim Anderson from Crown Battery.

These three committees work very closely together, however, and also encompass various sub-committees looking at specific issues. They generate a monthly newsletter for members and hold regular briefings and conference calls where relevant.

But the culmination of these committees’ work comes together at the BCI Health, Safety & Environmental Protection Conference, which takes place every two years. Most recently, the event was held in January in Orlando, Florida. Some 80 delegates attended the most recent event.

Saskia Mooney, a senior regulatory analyst with law firm Wiley Rein and a committee member, explains that the event has two main goals: education members of regulatory and legislative developments in relation to health, safety & environmental issues globally; and to act as a forum at which members can share experiences and skills in a series of intimate workshops.

“We cover all the high level issues in terms of new scientific research www.batteriesinternational.com

that might be relevant and the practicalities of how various governments and regulators are responding based on that. We update members on what has changed over the previous two years but also give a longer term historical perspective for new members on some of the key issues,” Mooney says.

“But we also provide skills workshops where members can share experiences. Generally, those attending are at the sharp end of actually implementing new guidelines and legislation and as standards get higher all the time they need more help and expertise in making that happen.

Members certainly find that part of the event very useful.”

She notes that the type of attendees range from industrial health directors in large companies and their staff to nurses who work in the front line measuring workers’ blood levels and implementing practical measures to reduce them where needed.

Roger Miksad, legal counsel for BCI and an associate at Wiley Rein specializing in health and safety issues, says one of the biggest themes of the January event was around the on-going voluntary programmes to reduce the levels of lead present in workers’ blood, a topic that transcends national boundaries and is a big issue for the batteries industry globally.

Miksad says the purpose of the conference is to inform members about what the latest scientific research is saying, what regulators are doing and how they can respond in practical terms.

“This has been a big issue for our members for a few years now and it is an ongoing issue,” he says.

He notes that the batteries industry in the US is committed to achieving a voluntary standard of 30 microg/d lby 2016, which he argues is leading the way compared with other industries. But it is still an issue for members in terms of how to achieve this and in terms of keeping pace with different guidelines emerging from different jurisdiction from California to the EU. “We try and inform people what is happening in other regulatory regimes.

This represents the perfect forum for that,” he says. “The idea is that people learn what is required and also some practical lessons that they can take with them back to their factories and actually implement. We say, here’s the law; now here’s some suggestion for how to comply with that.”

Mooney notes that this recent conference was especially notable because of the large number of international delegates that attended, offering an interesting perspective on developments in other parts of the world including Europe, Canada, Mexico and parts of Latin America.

“It was the most global-orientated event we have had yet,” she says. “A more global outlook is certainly on the agenda of the main BCI board and that was certainly reflect in this event.”

Miksad notes that another big theme of the January event was around general safety issues incorporating everything from equipment design to the layout of manufacturing plants.

He notes that many of the breakout sessions provided a good forum for members to compare notes and ideas around these issues.

Mooney and Miksad expect a number of health, safety and environmental issues to feature as prominent talking points at the annual BCI conference at the end of the month. Miksad says that the importance of these issues to members grows every year.

“All BCI members are committed to protecting their workers and implementing high standards of health and safety,” he says. “But as target constantly change and become more difficult to achieve, the more they turn to the BCI for help in implementing them. These targets get harder to hit and members must become ever more sophisticated to achieve these targets.”

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 15

BCI DATAFILE

The business of running the business B

atteries Council International has 15 committees that are designed to advance the variety of needs of its membership. Some are merely administrative, for internal use, while others are active internationally or work at a technical level.

Although the committees meet throughout the year, typically appointments to the committee are verified at the annual convention.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Audit and finance committee Convention program and arrangements committee Data book committee Deep cycle and electric vehicle battery committee Environmental committee Industrial battery and charger committee — marketing Industrial battery and charger committee —technical Industrial health committee Investment committee Marketing committee Materials committee Membership committee Product information committee Product safety committee Technical committee

AUDIT & FINANCE COMMITTEE Hal Hawk Daniel Langdon James Surrette, chairman Roger Winslow CONVENTION PROGRAM & ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE Gordon Beckley Lisa Franklin Robert G. Gruenstern Hal Hawk, chairman S. Tucker Roe David Trueba Steve Vechy DATA BOOK COMMITTEE David Beidler Bill Bessire Robert Boss Bill Clark

BCI BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRE-CONVENTION Jeff Elder Trojan Battery Company

Non-voting members of the BCI board

Silvano Gelleni Acumuladores Duncan

Howard Meyers Quexco Incorporated

Randy Hart Superior Battery Hal Hawk Crown Battery President Terry Agrelius (above) US Battery Manufacturing Co

Executive vice president Mark Thorsby, Battery Council International

Vice-President (currently vacant)

Voting directors Robert Caruso Exide Technologies

Treasurer James Surrette Surrette Battery Secretary Maurizio Masotti Bitrode Corporation

John Craig EnerSys Alessandro Dolcetta FIAMM

16 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

Brian Kesseler Johnson Controls Daniel Langdon East Penn Manufacturing Hitoshi Ohta Yuasa Battery Jerry Pyatt The Doe Run Company Christian Rheault C&D Technologies, Inc.

Roger Winslow Richardson Molding

Honorary affiliate members of the BCI board President, EUROBAT Johann-Friedrich Dempwolff (Power Solutions EMEA Johnson Controls) President, Battery Association of Japan Makoto Yoda (GS Yuasa International)

John Connell (alternate) Lee Cowan Joy Czerwonky Malcolm Dewar Frank Dumas Ian Edmonds Ed Fink (alternate) LeAnn Fisher Chuck Fowler Robert Fritts Donna Giles Ray Goodearl, vicechairman Mark L. Hough Kalyan Jana Richard T. Johnson Jeffrey H. Juds, Davis Knauer (alternate) Alan Kohler William Lincoln Bill Lipsey Peter Maloney Steve McDonald Dave McMullen Mike Miller Greg Moffitt George E. Noel Philip A. Noznesky AyKaun Okuma Maria Orlando-Krick Bill Peretto Kathy Peterson Pete Quinlan Scott Rissell (alternate) Al Schmidt Joe Semens Donna Snyder Steve Stoll Marshall Stull Laurie Szpara Marilyn Tarbet Gary Taylor Bill Walter Roger Winslow (alternate) Robert (Smokey) White DEEP CYCLE & ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY COMMITTEE Terry Agrelius Carlos Manuel Aguilar Torres Dick Amistadi Jon Anderson Joseph M. Arvai, IV Arthur T. Balcerzak Gordon Beckley,

chairman David Beninato Michael F. Berger Peter Berson David Boden Robert Boss Matt Bridge George H. Brilmyer Rob Brock Daniele Calasanzio Kevin Campbell Luis Cedeño Bruce Chamberlain Michael Chames David Cho Allan Cooper Jim Davis Jeff DePietro John L. Devitt Malcolm Dewar Frank Dumas Dwayne Ellis Timothy Ellis Mike Fraley Ed Frey Robert Fritts Mike Gathman Silvano Gelleni Jim Gilmour Colby Godber Ray Goodearl Robert G. Gruenstern Hal Hawk Nick Henen Mark Herrema Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Parth R. Jain Mark Jesko R. Steven Kay James K. Klang Davis Knauer Paul Korinek Joe Liedhegner Achim Lulsdorf Carl Madory John McMillion John Miller Munawar M. Moin Boris Monahov Dr. Patrick Moseley Howard Muchnick Antonio Muñoz Philip A. Noznesky Maria Orlando-Krick Richard W. Pekala Shawn Peng R. David Prengaman Pete Quinlan Nawaz Qureshi Greg Reich David Rice (alternate) Dave Rittenhouse Ronald Rizzo

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI DATAFILE

(alternate) Darby Rockney William J. Ross Eric Rueter Will Sampson Joe Semens Aaron Smith Clark Smith (alternate) Brian Stanhaus Spencer R. Stock Keith Toll Mike Troy Don Wallace Fred Wehmeyer John Wertz Philippe Westreich Kevin Whear Tony Wilson Roger Winslow (alternate) Jeff Zagrodnik ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE Joseph M. Arvai, IV Dan Askin Jerry Bailey William Beauchamp Steve Binks Robert Boss Chip Bremer Terry Campbell Andrew Carr Randy Casstevens Timothy Coggins Anthony Campiteli Steve Delmar Marc Desautels Frank Dumas Ian Edmonds Eckhard Fahlbusch Pascal Ferron Travis Foley Ed Frey Jim Frock Frederick Ganster John Godber Troy A. Greiss Hal Hawk Jerry Hoffman H. Gerald Jowers George Kerchner Walter E. Kozlowski Timothy J. Lafond.

P.E., James M. Lanzafame Gerry Manley, CHMM Joe D. Marquardt Cheryl L. Minor Michael E. Moeller Ismael Pedroza, Jr. Jeff Reddick Randy Reyer Alfredo Rodriguez Dean Rossi Shane Russell Mark Stadler John Tapper Dan Vornberg Jack E. Waggener David Willis

INDUSTRIAL BATTERY & CHARGER COMMITTEE (Marketing) Jon Anderson Gordon Beckley Doug Bouquard Matt Bridge Kendra CarterMansfield Michael Chames Geoff Davies Mike Fraley Dave Godber Mark Jesko Mark Kelley Jim Keyser John Kleba Mike Kuznetsov William Lincoln Klaus-Dieter Merz Pete Quinlan Daryll Rardon Ronald Rizzo (alternate) Darby Rockney Jim Rubright Rob Salach Al Schmidt Steve Spaar Spencer R. Stock Todd Stukenberg Mike Swift Gary Taylor Keith Toll Steve Vechy Fred Wehmeyer Patrick Williams INDUSTRIAL BATTERY & CHARGER COMMITTEE (Technical) Gilberto Acosta Terry Agrelius Dick Amistadi Jon Anderson Joseph M. Arvai, IV George W. Ayrton Gordon Beckley Michael F. Berger David Boden Doug Bouquard Matt Bridge Gilberto Castillo Michael Chames Mike Fraley John Gagge Mike Gathman Hal Hawk Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Gerd Hoogestraat Joe Jergl Bernard Kadow James K. Klang Mike Kuznetsov William Lincoln Sebastian Mathes Klaus-Dieter Merz

www.batteriesinternational.com

Sean O’Brien Christian Papmahl Rob Payne Daryll Rardon Greg Reich Ronald Rizzo (alternate) Darby Rockney Jim Rubright Al Schmidt Rod Shane Clark Smith Brian Stanhaus Spencer R. Stock James Stockhausen Mike Swift Mike Troy Steve Vechy, chairman Fred Wehmeyer John Wertz Kevin Whear INDUSTRIAL HEALTH COMMITTEE James F. Anderson Dan Askin Arthur T. Balcerzak William Beauchamp Steve Binks Joseph Bolea Anthony Campitelli Michael J. Casper Timothy Coggins Steve Delmar Jeff DePietro Pascal Ferron Travis Foley Frederick Ganster Troy A. Greiss Hal Hawk Walter E. Kozlowski Timothy J. Lafond Cheryl L. Minor Randy Reyer, chairman Dean Rossi Shane Russell Ralph Tiegel Mike Tole James Tunnell Clement Vincent INVESTMENT COMMITTEE Raymond Burns Phillip Damaska Howard Meyers Chris Pruitt\ MARKETING COMMITTEE Dick Amistadi Jon Anderson Bruce Ash Chad Christ John Connell (alternate) Amber DuBose Lisa Franklin Karl Froelich

Elke Hirschman John A. Howes Mark Jesko Stephanie Kusibab Ellen Maxey Dave McMullen Saskia Mooney Bruce L. Murray Patrick O’Brien Vince Pusateri Claire Sereiko Donna Snyder, chairman Tammy Stankey Gary Taylor Bob Tolliday Fred Wehmeyer David Weinberg Michele Zgola MATERIALS COMMITTEE Charles L. Ackermann Larry Atkins Larry Axt Arthur T. Balcerzak Daniel D. Breidegam, Larry Burkert Randy Casstevens Paul Chidiac Lee Cowan Bud DeSart Thomas Fleming Bryan Godber Jose Hansen Peter Hochschild L. Sam Holden Charles Hwang Jeffrey G. Jordan William Keith Lou Magdits Phillip McGreevy Joe McKinley Jim Pedersen Edward Puckett Steve Rau Lee D. Raymond Greg Schmitt Joe Spiciarich Felix Teshinsky James H. Thrash Keith Toll (alternate) Thierry Touzeau Alan Wirsul

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Paul R. Fink Jim Gilmour Rick Godber Hal Hawk, chairman Al Schmidt PRODUCT INFORMATION COMMITTEE Peter Berson Robert Boss John Connell Amber DuBose

Dan Fetherolf (alternate) Chuck Fowler Dave Godber Ray Goodearl Rick Hallock Jose Hansen Hal Hawk Elke Hirschman Kalyan Jana Wayne Krick Dave McMullen Greg Moffitt Kathy Peterson Pete Quinlan S. Tucker Roe Paul Staab, III Gary Taylor, chairman Todd Wilson Michele Zgola PRODUCT SAFETY COMMITTEE James F. Anderson, Joseph M. Arvai, IV Gordon Beckley Bill Bessire Terry Campbell Gil R. Cubia Joy Czerwonky Steve Delmar John L. Devitt Frank Dumas Ian Edmonds Pascal Ferron Chuck Fowler Mike Fraley Ray Goodearl Rick Hallock Hal Hawk Charles Hwang Walter E. Kozlowski Joe Kumper Tony M. Lamb John Leto Joe Liedhegner (alternate) Peter Maloney Greg Moffitt Ralph Quinter Jon Savage Donna Snyder Mark Stadler David Willis Todd Wilson Feng Xue (alternate) Rich Young

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Terry Agrelius (alternate) Carlos Manuel Aguilar Torres Chris Antoniou Pierre-Jean Arvers George W. Ayrton Joseph Badger Arthur T. Balcerzak Gordon Beckley David Beninato

Michael F. Berger David Boden Robert Boss George H. Brilmyer David Bryan (alternate) Gary Bryan Kevin Campbell Luis Cedeño Michael Chames John Connell Guy Dauwe Malcolm Dewar Wayne Duerfeldt Frank Dumas Timothy Ellis Pascal Ferron Thomas Fleming Mike Fraley Clark Frederick Robert Fritts Mike Gathman Ray Goodearl Robert G. Gruenstern Rick Hallock Terry Hartman (alternate) Daniel M. Henke Mark Herrema Jeff Hires Gerd Hoogestraat Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Richard T. Johnson Davis Knauer Paul Korinek Mike Kuznetsov Joe Liedhegner Bob Malley Sebastian Mathes John McMillion Layna Mendlinger Todd Milner Boris Monahov Antonio Muñoz Philip A. Noznesky Mike O’Malley Shawn Peng R. David Prengaman Nawaz Qureshi Daryll Rardon Greg Reich David Rice (alternate) Dave Rittenhouse Ronald Rizzo Joe Semens Clark Smith (alternate) Kevin Smith (alternate) Spencer R. Stock Steve Stoll Chasen Stout Ralph Tiegel Keith Toll (alternate) Thierry Touzeau Mike Troy (alternate) Steve Vechy Fred Wehmeyer John Wertz Philippe Westreich Tony Wilson Roger Winslow Alan Wirsul Jeff Zagrodnik

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 17

NO LUBRICANT

SOVEMA S.p.A.

Villafranca di Verona (VERONA) - Italy www.sovema.it

SOLITH - division of Sovema SpA Casalecchio di Reno (BOLOGNA) - Italy www.solith.it

NO COST

SOVEMA GS and Bitrode Corporation St. Louis, MO 63123, USA www.sovema-gs.com - www.bitrode.com

NO POLLUTION

ONLY BENEFITS

The Sovema PunchPlus® is the innovative “oil-free” punching machine which doesn’t require any lubricant during the punching operation: so, there is no need to wash the grids, enabling a significant drop of production costs and environmental impacts. The machine performs the punching cycle in 10 milliseconds without heat production and provides the maximum flexibility in the grid design at same time allowing an easy mould change. Designed to work with a continuous strip flowing, it punches up to 600 grids per minute.

Sovema PunchPlus®: benefits with innovative technology

ESPL’s BEST magazine Lead-Acid Award 2012 to Sovema S.p.A. for the most innovative lead-acid process technology developed in the last 3 years

POWERMART FLOORPLAN MAC Engineering Stand 22

MAC Engineering supplies 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

BM-Rosendahl Stand 41

BM-Rosendahl provides manufacturing solutions for all lead acid battery types to the battery industry. They cover four fields of expertise - enveloping and stacking, caston-strap, assembly and plate sleeving and stacking. Their core business unit - assembly lines for starter batteries - provides entry to high-end assembly to battery manufacturers worldwide.

BM-Rosendahl’s product portfolio covers production equipment for the manufacture of automotive, motorcycle and industrial batteries in all technologies with PE-, AGM or leaf type separators, and they develop solutions for E-Mobility and turnkey projects. They offer ahead of the curve technology with the most advanced machinery, equipment and service and the highest quality standards.

Customer-focus is a central value at BM-Rosendahl. In order to cope with today’s and tomorrow’s demands, they always strive for the right solution with the best service to fulfil customers’ needs for different applications. To ensure a quick and reliable reaction to continuously changing market requirements, BM-

Rosendahl has installed a worldwide network with sales, service and logistic centres in Austria, the USA, South Korea and China.

Contact details: Rosendahl Maschinen GmbH A-8212 Pischelsdorf, Schachen 57 Tel.: +43 3113 5100-106 Fax: +43 3113 5100-9106 Mail: office@bm-rosendahl.com Web: www.bm-rosendahl.com

ITS Stand 36

The Battery Manufacturing Division of International Thermal Systems engineers energy efficient equipment for the Lead Acid Battery Industry. With over thirtyfive years of experience and expertise serving, International Thermal Systems offers innovative design in equipment to maximize production efficiencies and minimize energy consumption.

Approaching each project as a partnership, the goal of our Engineering Staff is to share the customer’s vision to produce the best solution for the application.

Providing a distinct competitive advantage, International Thermal Systems offers a number of patent protected processing solutions.

Our Technical Service Department provides international support for ALL makes/models of thermal processing equipment to keep the heat processing equipment running efficiently.

Contact details: Susan Hoffmann Tel: +1 414.902.5309 Susan.Hoffmann@itsllcusa.com www.internationalthermalsystems.com

Sovema SpA Stand 37, 38

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 LithiumIon 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: Phone: +39 045 6335711 Web: www.sovema.it Email: sovema@sovema.it

CEMT Energy Equipment Co Stand 44

Founded in 1999, Jiangsu CEMT Energy Equipment Co is China’s leading supplier of machinery for leadacid battery production.

We offer state of the art technology with most advanced machinery, equipment and services based on highest quality standards.

CEMT specializes in the following machines: Enveloping & Stacking, Cast on Strap, Assembly Lines, Finishing Lines, Chargers, Strip Caster, Plate Cutting and Brushing machines, Pasting Machines, and Spine Caster.

Contact details: Mr Guo/Nancy Xie +1 727.522.0515 Xingmin S115outh Road Jiangning Science Park Nanjing 211100 Jiangsu People’s Republic of China Tel: +86 1381 3049 476

Hammond Group Stand 4

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

20 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

Hammond Expanders is the world’s leading developer and producer of pre-blended expanders for SLI/engine starting, valve regulated, motive power, standby power, hybrid/electric vehicle and solar/wind power applications.

With locations in the USA, UK and Malaysia, Hammond Expanders has the

ability to supply your battery company no matter where you may be located.

Our expanders are custom packaged to provide you with the easiest introduction to your paste mix per a one bag per batch ratio.

Our expanders are the most technically innovative and reliable expanders available on the market; with decades of expander formulation and experience under our belt, you can rest assured that you are getting the highest quality product available.

Also we are introducing the new K2 range for today’s Partial State of Charge Applications.

Contact details Bonnis Mescal, Customer Services Tel: +1 219 852-7223 email: bmescal@hmndgroup.com

Inbatec Gmbh Stand 53

Inbatec is the world leader in formation systems with acid recirculation technology with 200 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-tocell 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 stepby- 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.

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

www.batteriesinternational.com

POWERMART FLOORPLAN

EXIT

F

SERVICE CORRIDOR DOR

EXITT

EXIT WS

Buffet / F&B &B

FA

Buffet / F&B F

Vehicle cle

11 10

WS

9

12

27

8

13

26

28

41

42

7

14

25

29

40

43

20'

54 FE

6

15

24

30

39

44

53

5

16

23

31

38

45

52

4

17

22

32

37

46

51

3

18

21

33

36

47

50

2

19

20

34

35

48

49

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www.batteriesinternational.com

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Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 21

POWER MART EXPO FLOORPLAN

EXIT

F

SERVICE CORRIDOR

EXIT

KEY — BY STAND NUMBER

EXIT WS

Buffet / F&B

FA

FH

1

Buffet / F&B

Vehicle

11 10

WS

12

9

27

13

8 7

26

14

28

25

29

41

42

40

20'

43

54

OWENS CORNING

3

ELANTAS PDG

4

HAMMOND GROUP

5

P.C. DI POMPEO CATELLI

6

CO-EFFICIENT

7

BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL

8

KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING

9

TBS ENGINEERING

10

OMI-NBE

11

EIRICH MACHINES

12

ACCUMALUX GROUP

13

AMER-SIL

14

AUTO METER PRODUCTS

16

ENERGY STORAGE PUBLISHING

17

15

24

30

39

44

53

5

16

23

31

38

45

52

4

17

22

32

37

46

51

3

18

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21

19

33

20

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48

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ENTRANCE

KEY — BY COMPANY NAME ABERTAX TECHNOLOGIES

SHENYANG JUGU EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING

FE

6

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING

2

CENTRIFUGAL CASTINGS

19

GLATFELTER COMPOSITES

20

HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE

21

OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS

22

MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT

23

FLOW-RITE CONTROLS

24

CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE

25

JBI CORPORATION

26

FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS

27

POWER-SONIC CORPORATION

28

MICROPOROUS

29

ABERTAX TECHNOLOGIES

30

RICHARDSON MOLDING

31

SUPERIOR GRAPHITE

32

HOFMANN POWER SOLUTIONS

33

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS

34

WATER GREMLIN CO. (OKABE CO.)

35

DARAMIC

36

BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES

37

BITRODE

38

SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

39

COBRA WIRE & CABLE

29

DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS

43

MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT

ACCUMA CORPORATION

51

EIRICH MACHINES

11

MICROPOROUS

28

ACCUMALUX GROUP

12

ELANTAS PDG

MIDTRONICS

46

AMER-SIL

13

ENERGY STORAGE PUBLISHING

OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS

21

AUTO METER PRODUCTS

14

ENTEK INTERNATIONAL

OMI-NBE

10

42

BERNARD DUMAS

2

43

DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS

BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL

7

3 16 54-55

22

18

40

TULIP MOLDED PLASTICS

41

BM-ROSENDAHL

FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS

26

OWENS CORNING

BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES

36

FLOW-RITE CONTROLS

23

P.C. DI POMPEO CATELLI

5

44

CEMT

BERNARD DUMAS

42

GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS 48

POWER-SONIC CORPORATION

27

45

BFR BATTERY SEPARATOR

BFR BATTERY SEPARATOR

45

GLATFELTER COMPOSITES

RICHARDSON MOLDING

30

46

MIDTRONICS

BITRODE

37

HAMMOND GROUP

47

M. A. INDUSTRIES

BM-ROSENDAHL

41

HOFMANN POWER SOLUTIONS

CAM

50

48

GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS

CEMT

19 32

SHENYANG JUGU EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING

17

HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE

20

SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

38

44

INBATEC

53

SUPERIOR GRAPHITE

31

CENTRIFUGAL CASTINGS

18

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS 33

TBS ENGINEERING

CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE

24

JBI CORPORATION

TULIP MOLDED PLASTICS

CO-EFFICIENT

6

KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING

4

25 8

WATER GREMLIN CO. (OKABE CO.)

COBRA WIRE & CABLE

39

LAP LASER

52

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING

DARAMIC

35

M. A. INDUSTRIES

47

YACHT BATTERY COMPANY

22 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

49

YACHT BATTERY COMPANY

50

CAM

40

51

ACCUMA CORPORATION

34

52

LAP LASER

1

53

INBATEC

54-55

ENTEK INTERNATIONAL

9

49

www.batteriesinternational.com

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS Ahead of the Battery Council International’s 126th Convention to be held in San Diego, Batteries International spoke to some of the keynote speakers and attendees to review what they believe will be the highlights of their own presentations and the event more generally.

It’s health and safety madness!

Perhaps the above isn’t the headline David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley & Rein would have chosen. But it makes its point. Where California goes, the US — rightly or wrongly — follows. And where Californian legislation is going has enormous implications on the battery industry.

Weinberg, who has more than 35 years of experience in administrative and environmental law, specializing in environmental, occupational health and safety and transportation, will give a presentation called What’s Happening in North America and Around the World: a Global Regulatory and Legislative Update. In short he will speak on occupational health issues as they relate to the batteries industry.

Much of his presentation will focus on the status of a number of proposal laws and safety standards in the state of California that could have wide reaching consequences for the batteries industry. The state is considering the findings of a new study that suggests that the level of lead regarded as safe in blood levels should be lowered substantially.

“The main focus of the speech will be around occupational health issues — California is certainly very topical at the moment,” Weinberg told Batteries International. “I will talk a lot about air pollution levels in California and the current legislative thinking around that and some of the recommendations coming out around the safe levels of lead in the blood.

“There has been a lot of development on the scientific thinking around that. Most notably, the California Department of Public Health recommended a modification on the levels regarded as acceptable for

workers and employees at lead plants. Where it goes above a certain level it could be that they must be removed from work.”

Weinberg says the reduction being proposed is substantial and a meeting to address the issue should take place this May. The issue is being followed with close interest by the batteries community because it could set a precedent for similar legislation to follow in other US states and potentially even at a federal level.

“The BCI has also been studying the report that this recommendation is based on and has been doing its own analysis,” Weinberg says. “I think this will be a big issue at the conference because people recognize the po- David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley & Rein tential for this to have national implications, even if those are cerns were raised. “There have been not immediate. There could be lots of constant issues and some enforcement implications for the industry.” actions against these and it will be inHe says that while this will be the teresting to see what happens there,” most important topic covered by his Weinberg says. speech, there are several other things The second will be the issue of liththat he expects to be big talking ium-ion appearing in the recycling points at the BCI meetings. chain and the safety issues that preThe first will be the fate of smeltsents for lead processing plants and ers in California generally. Against a smelters. This is a big and growing backdrop of ever-tightening regulaproblem for the industry. Another tion, these find themselves under intopic linked to this involves solvcreasing scrutiny. Exide’s smelter in ing the problems caused by Mexico the state has opened and then closed having hugely different— for differagain several times over pollution ent read lower — safety standards to concerns and the RSR-owned Quemthe rest of North America yet large etco lead smelter was also forced to amounts of lead moving between the perform a health risk study after contwo regions. “This is also an issue that needs addressing by the industry urgently,” he says.

Another big talking point will be the The California Department of Public Health has development of alternative battery recommended a modification on the levels regarded as technology for hybrid and electric vehicles. He believes that advanced acceptable for workers and employees at lead plants. lead-acid batteries will ultimately deWhere it goes above a certain level it could be that they liver the best solutions for this form of technology. must be removed from work www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 23

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

LC super hybrid bumps up to 48V Allan Cooper, the European Project Coordinator for the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), will present an update on the progress being made by ALABC in relation to the body’s LC super hybrid programme.

Cooper last presented on this topic two years ago and this presentation, entitled, ‘Demonstrating low cost fuel and CO2 reduction with lead carbon batteries — the ALABC’s LC super hybrid programme’ will give delegates an update on some of the progress that has been made.

Cooper is European project coordinator for the ALABC. He retired from the lead industry in 1991 and became a consultant, and has worked closely with the ALABC and with the International Lead Association in the UK. In 2008 he was awarded the International Lead Medal for exceptional contributions to the lead industry in the areas of lead metallurgy and lead-acid battery development, particularly in the field of hybrid electric vehicles.

“Compared with the position two years ago, a lot more work has taken place and the battery is working well in hybrid vehicles,” he says. “We have made many improvements in terms of the space it takes up and its efficiency within the engine. We have made good progress and there are some specific developments I will be unveiling greater details.”

Cooper says it is important to understand the realistic operational parameters of the battery. It can never compete with lithium-ion in terms of energy density, for example, but if used in the capacity whereby it assists the engine in some functions, it can have many benefits.

He says there is a long way to go towards full commercialization. Although now in the position where the batteries have been tested for as much as three years, he concedes it is still a long way off getting them used by manufacturers due to the further stringent testing procedures needed ahead of full commercialization.

The project is diversifying into new areas, however. It has traditionally focused on a 12V battery but has now developed a 48V version that it is testing, which initial indications showing that significant efficacies could be gained.

The original tests indicated that the battery could achieve 19% lower fuel consumption and in some cars like the naturally aspirated 2.0 l Volvo the performance was better, with 26% lower consumption.

The secret to this performance was the addition of an electric supercharger, which is driven on demand by the regenerated energy from an enhanced ISG stored in an advanced lead-carbon battery. This delivers significant fuel savings at a quarter of the cost of normal hybrids.

The ALABC has decided therefore to further develop this concept to a dual 48/12V micro hybrid vehicle.

This will allow even further fuel savings by enabling additional functionality such as engine assist, but still employing low-cost lead-carbon battery technology.

“We are looking at different voltages which could make things cheaper and therefore more attractive as a commercial proposition,” he says.

“It could be as much as a third of the cost. We originally focused on the 12V but we think cars have gone as far as they can at the moment in terms of making engines more efficient. That means electrification is the way forward and this 48V battery can make a big difference to efficiency. The design is also a lot better now and it can fit into the engine easily.”

He predicts that the development of the 48V battery will attract considerable interest at the conference.

“Our aim is to keep this product at the forefront of people’s minds,” he says. “These are interesting times for the concept of electric vehicles and hybrids and there is now no reason that lead acid should not have its fair share of the hybrid market.

Changes in the legislation governing this should be interesting too in terms of how it could push the market forward.”

“These are interesting times for the concept of electric vehicles and hybrids and there is now no reason that lead acid should not have its fair share of certainly the hybrid market”

24 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Strong growth ahead as economic pick-up rolls on David Shaffer, the president of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at EnerSys, says he expects a number of executives from the business will attend the BCI conference this year, especially from its procurement and engineering teams to take advantage of the easy availability of the key suppliers. As it is held in San Diego this year, he also expects numbers to be higher than usual.

He anticipates that the annual review of the industry statistics will be well attended, describing it as an annual highlight of the conference.

Another interest topic, likely to be touched on in several presentations and discussed among delegates, will be the impact that lead premiums and recycling costs could have on various the economics and markets around the world.

He also believes there will be high interest on occupational health issues as they relate to lead in the context of pending regulatory developments in both Europe and California that could lower the level of lead regarded as safe in the bloodstream.

A speech on this topic will be given by David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley & Rein, entitled What’s Happening in North America and Around the World: a Global Regulatory and Legislative Update on the Monday morning.

Another big topic, Shaffer believes, will be the future of microhybrid and start-stop technology in terms of which chemistries will come to dominate these sectors.

Some of the technologies competing in this space include flooded batteries, absorbed glass mat and several other alternative chemistries.

This could be partly complemented by a discussion on electric vehicles at the event, especially in the context of the massive investment Tesla Motors is making in its socalled giga-factory, a massive facility that will produce more lithiumion batteries annually by 2020 than were made worldwide in 2013 all with a rapid growth of the electric vehicle market in mind. www.batteriesinternational.com

Shaffer also believes the issue of grid storage will feature on the agenda noting that it would be nice to hear of some success stories in this space at the event.

Shaffer is also a board member of the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers (EUROBAT), the body that promotes the interests of the European automotive, industrial and special battery industries to EU institutions, customers and the media.

‘Good potential ahead’

On the Tuesday morning, a likely well attended presentation will be given by Alan Beaulieu, a wellrespected economist who is a principal of ITR Economics where he is its president. Since 1990, he has been consulting for companies throughout the US, Europe, and Asia on how to forecast, plan, and increase their profits based on business cycle trend analysis. Beaulieu is also the senior economic adviser to NAW, contributing editor for Industry Week, and the chief economist for HARDI. In a talk entitled Fiscal Reality, Beaulieu will give his take on the future direction of the economy both in the US and globally. He will predict that despite some slowdown worldwide in the latter part of 2014 and early 2015, companies should prepare themselves for much more positive growth after this point.

“I will be covering where we see the economy headed over the next few years and focus on some specific markets important to the batteries community. The general message is that there is good potential ahead.

Despite something of a slowdown in 2014, we will not enter recession again and things will improve thereafter through the remainder of 2015 and right up to 2017.”

Beaulieu says although he will discuss some sectors of particular interest to the batteries community, the speech will focus more on global mega trends in terms of what is anticipated for economic growth.

He anticipates that wages, inflation, interest rates and taxes will all embark on an upwards trajectory around this time but that these will partly serve to keep growth on track.

One of his key messages to businesses, he says, is to start thinking about how to prepare for this period of growth now. “Many businesses have been running relatively lean operations for several years now thanks to the recession. But now is the time to loosen the purse strings and start to invest again,” Beaulieu says.

“It is time to stop being afraid and start looking to make business decisions that will stand you in good stead for the future. It is important to remember that any such investment can take time to fully implement. That means the time to start strategic planning is now.”

He says that the margin for error in his economic forecasts is pretty small with more than 90% of predictions of this nature accurate.

He believes businesses will find the presentation informative and helpful as they plan for the next few years. “All good business people just want to know which way the wind is blowing,” he says. “This will help them establish that.”

Finally, he notes that once potential distraction on the horizon for businesses will be the US mid-term elections. “In fact, these will have very little influence on economic forecasts,” he says. “They will no doubt represent great political theatre but they will have very little bearing on the economic future for the US or the world.”

Beaulieu will predict that despite some slowdown worldwise in the latter part of 2014 and early 2015 companies should prepare themselves for much more positive growth after this point.

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 25

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON POLYPROPYLENE

Howard Rappaport, a senior director covering chemicals at IHS, will give a presentation entitled ‘A Global Perspective on Polypropylene’.

After a 20 year chemical industry career, Howard joined Chemical Market Associates as a director in 1999. He later became a partner in the firm, acting as the global business director for plastics. The company was bought by IHS in May, 2011. Rappaport now is the senior director, chemicals for the IHS OE&RM Group, pricing & purchasing team. He collaborates with the European, Latin American, Asian and Middle East affiliates to contribute to various multi-client reports and global studies, as well as contributing to single client consulting projects for IHS. Polypropylene is one of the world’s largest volume commodity plastics and it is also widely used in the batteries industry. It represents over 25% of global commodity plastics consumption and nearly 70 million tonnes of annual demand. The widely used polymer is consumed across numerous durable and non-durable applications.

Polypropylene has found its way into applications ranging from potato chip bags to car bumpers.

Propylene is also the major raw material used to make polypropylene. Over the last several years in North America there has been a tremendous amount of volatility in the availability and the price of propylene. This high-volume petrochemical product has a history of being a byproduct of other petrochemical and refining processes. Rappaport

28 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

will focus on the dynamics around its supply and demand.

“This inconsistency of supply has resulted in a roller coaster ride for many companies consuming polypropylene raw material and finished products. Prices for both propylene and polypropylene have seen significant increases and decreases compressed into very short time periods,” Rappaport says.

As the chemical industry in the US shifts away from crude oilbased stocks in favour of ethane and propane from natural gas, the resulting impact on the dynamics of the propylene business will be profound, Rappaport will explain.

“Unfortunately for polypropylene users in the US, this has meant higher prices and occasional supply constraints as the sources of propylene have contracted.”

One of the major sources of propylene over the years has been from ethylene crackers utilizing naphtha feedstocks from crude oil.

With the advent of abundant low-cost natural gas from shale in North America, chemical companies have been shifting their production over to ethane based feedstocks in their ethylene crackers.

“This has severely cut back on the amount of propylene coming out of these facilities and in turn translates into higher costs for polypropylene producers,” Rappaport says.

“Another source of propylene is from refineries whose main objective is to produce fuel for automobiles, home heating and aeronautics. Here too we have seen limitations develop

Rappaport: “Prices for both propylene and polypropylene have seen significant increases and decreases compressed into very short time periods”

for increasing production of reasonably priced propylene that can be converted into polypropylene.”

Rappaport says there is some good news on the horizon, however, for polypropylene consumers. The industry is transitioning over to a strategy of making propylene on purpose utilizing propane from natural gas.

“As we begin to develop our abundant supplies of low cost natural gas in North America the industry will produce increasing volumes of propylene from extracted propane in a process known as “PDH” or Propane De-Hydro. We will be examining this development along with other important aspects of the business that will be impacting polypropylene consumers over the next several years,” he says.

www.batteriesinternational.com

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS The dynamics around the supply and demand of lead globally will, as ever, be a big talking point this conference.

A bumpy ride

The Doe Run plant in Herculaneum, Missouri closed in December 2013, it was the last primary lead smelter in the country

Neil Hawkes lead analyst at CRU, a London-based commodity research consultancy says a big talking point will be how the market has coped with the closure of Doe Run’s Herculaneum primary lead smelter at the end of last year. Although this had implications globally, the US market has borne the brunt of the fall-out in terms of supply and demand.

The situation in the US in particular was also made worse by the very bad winter and cold conditions that persisted for some time, a scenario that would have also hit battery stocks.

“Last year, the talk was all about what might happen post-closure. But that has now happened and it is more a case of the reality how the markets have adjusted and are coping in terms of supply and demand.”

Hawkes says the immediate response has come from traders which

have started importing higher levels of lead from all over the world. “Despite the very cold winter, which provided perfect conditions for killing lead acid batteries, and the closure of Herculaneum, there seems to be enough stock as things stand,” Hawkes says.

“Traders have met that demand so far and battery makers have been able to keep rebuilding their stocks.

“But although they have been finding enough lead so far, as stocks further run down, that could mean more tightness down the line.”

This has also meant that the supply chain is more global and stretched than it has ever been. This also poses risks for battery makers because it is more vulnerable to problems and dislocations that can potentially have far reaching affects.

One of the knock on effects of this dynamic is that the price of ‘scrap’

More interesting than the price of lead is the price of zinc at the moment. A lot of big zinc mines are closing and long-term this could have a knock-on effect on the price of lead www.batteriesinternational.com

or ‘spent’ lead-acid batteries has risen dramatically in recent years as the scrap industry appears to have cottoned on to the higher value of lead contained within spent batteries. They have increased their selling prices, putting pressure on smelters’ profit margins, in turn.

There has also been a move by some disgruntled secondary smelters in North America to pricing lead based on scrap prices as opposed to using the LME as a reference.

Hawkes says. “Higher feed costs, combined with higher environmental compliance costs associated with tighter EPA regulations, and new smelter capacity additions, have finally prompted smelters to close.”

He says there is no easy solution to this problem for the smelters themselves, unless they actually start buying scrap metal companies. It is possible, smelters could start doing this, he says. “It is expensive on the scrap side and that is squeezing the margins for smelters. It is an issue.

“It is a misconception that scrap supplies are tight — the costs simply continue to rise because scrap demand is even greater and that means scrap is spread more thinly around the smelters. The topic is raised every year but basically why would the scrap companies take any less? So do the smelters buy them? That is something we could start to see. Otherwise, the price looks like it will remain high for the foreseeable future.”

He also highlights several other issues to watch globally that could influence the global supply and demand balance. Australian lead smelter Nyrstar is still attempting to negotiate a multi-million dollar upgrade of its lead smelter at Port Pirie making it a cleaner operation.

An advanced poly-metallic processing and recovery facility will be built, substantially reducing lead emissions in the Port Pirie area by replacing the ageing 120-year-old smelter with a much cleaner metal processing operation.

Hawkes believes an announcement on the upgrade is overdue and expects something to be revealed soon.

In the meantime, however, China and South Korea could up their own production levels.

Another story to watch will be the future of Exide, which remains in Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 29

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS “Investors obviously think there is enough primary supply out there whatever is going on the secondary side” Chapter 11 pending a restructuring.

The company has had a number of environmental issues with its California-based smelter and Hawkes reckons this could ultimately close.

The real question, Hawkes says, is whether the supply side can keep pace with the steady growth seen in terms of demand. With so much uncertainty of the smelters in North America, the industry looks set to become increasingly reliant on a somewhat fragile global supply chain.

Yet demand continues to grow and he sees very few factors that could hold this back. He says demand for lead globally is very steady and reliable and has been relatively immune to the global economic downturn. Despite some changes in technology and other factors, he expects growth to remain robust for some time to come.

Regulation in China could have an impact. As the country attempts to tackle pollution and congestion, various regulations could affect the batteries used in vehicles including electric bikes. “But I think manufacturers have already adjusted. There are very few clouds,” he says.

There is also the question over whether stop-start technology will grow at the same rate in North America as it has in Europe. This too could drive demand but it may not be as rapid as some expect.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty in the supply chain, the actual price of lead on the LME has done very little. He says it has been very flat for some time now, the price is stuck at around the $2,100 a tonne mark.

“It occasionally moves up or down a little but basically it is a sideways trend,” he says.

“Investors obviously think there is enough primary supply out there whatever is going on the secondary side. There is probably some frustration that it has not moved, especially in the US, but investors are cautious.”

He notes that more interesting than the price of lead is the price of zinc at the moment. A lot of big zinc mines are closing and long term this could have a knock on effect on the price of lead, he notes. “But not yet.”

30 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

INTERESTING TIMES FOR RECYCLED BATTERY METALS

Ray Kubis, president & managing director at ECO-BAT, on Tuesday morning. should attract a packed audience.

In a speech called Interesting times for new and recycled battery metals, Kubis will give an overview of the patterns in terms of supply and demand in the secondary and primary supply of lead and the potential impact this could have on the wider markets.

“The future of a few smelters is an interesting issue and the supply chain has certainly been evolving creating some important changes and challenges for the industry,” Kubis says.

The closure of Doe Run’s Herculaneum primary lead smelter at the end of last year has created a number of knock-on effects in the market with the supply side having to find ways of keeping up with what has been steadily growing demand.

He will also touch on some of the issues about lithium-ion batteries.

As well as covering the supply and demand side of the materials used in these, Kubis will discuss the growing problem of lithium-ion cropping up in the lead recycling

process. There are many safety implications associated with this, which the industry is attempting to find ways of resolving.

He believes China will be key to growth in the future, the robustness of that economy combining with regulatory initiatives in the country to establish a demand for lead.

“There are certainly interesting times ahead,” he says. “So first I will focus on the shift in the market from primary to secondary supply and then also look at lead versus lithium in terms of the anticipated growth and the implications of this for the supply chain. We anticipate this to continue at a healthy level driven by certain fast growing sectors such as storage.”

He also notes a short-term spike in demand could come about because of the severe winter experienced

by North America that would have harmed battery stocks.

He also notes that although different battery users have different demands and needs when it comes to the type of supply they use in terms of the purity, the market is increasingly becoming focused on the cost and what improvements are possible within that.

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI SUBSCRIPTION OFFER The days are getting warmer which puts us at Batteries International in a fresh air and exercise mood — so much so that we’d like to give a little bit back to you — our readers!

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BCI BATTERY VETERANS

The quarter century club — battery heroes reunited

W

hat is it with the US obsession with crack-ofdawn meetings? And breakfasts too. Was a whole nation raised on farms in the mid-West?

This year, BCI, deciding that last year’s 7.30 am breakfast start for the quarter century club was getting on the late side has pulled it back to 7am.

This time 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 — looks like a strong program. The co-hosts are Roger Winslow, president of Richardson Molding, and himself

a half century club member, and Hal Hawk, president of Crown Battery and a former head of BCI. The speaker will be quarter century club member Richard Johnson.

“The quarter century club is a fine tradition to uphold,” one BCI veteran told Batteries International. “It’s more of a friendship 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 — BCI quarter century members (As of April 2014)

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 JOHN H. HOOVER CELWYN HOPKINS DENIS S. HOWARTH KENT HUDSON DON HULL DOUGLAS F. HUTTON KIYOTAKA IKAWA EMMETT R. JAMIESON JOE JARVIS SAM JASSIN JOSEPH J. JERGL JAMES R. JESKIE JIM JOHNSON RICHARD JOHNSON LLC JEFF JORDAN JEFFREY JUDS LARS KALLSTROM JOHN T.C. KAN JAMES KANDA RICHARD KAPPES TETSUNARI KAWASE SHUJI KAWATA WILLIAM A. KEITH DON KEMPTER WILLIAM J. KENNEDY RAY J. KENNY HEINZ-ALBERT KIEHNE JIM KLANG DAVIS KNAUER MARK ALLAN KNOWLTON

ROBERT J. AARON, JR. HUBERT ABNER CHARLES-LOUIS ACKERMANN TERRY AGRELIUS HECTOR VALDEZ AGUILAR WASEEM AHMAD DICK AMISTADI GRAHAM G. ANDERSON, JR. T. W. ANTHONY DANIEL P. ASKIN GEORGE W. AYRTON K. M. AZHMAGANBETOV IRA C. (BUD) BAERINGER JOHN P. BADGER ART BALCERZAK DON BARNARD BILL 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 WILLIAM BRECHT

MITCH BREGMAN DANIEL D. BREIDEGAM ALBERT BRICE EDDIE BRICE HENRY BRICE BERT BRIDGEWATER GEORGE BRILMYER, JOHN BRODHACKER A. J. BROGAN DOUGLAS BROWN GARY G. BRYAN ROBERT H. BUESING KATHRYN R. BULLOCK RICHARD A. BURKARD CHARLES A. BURKHART, II EARL E. BUSDIEKER N. KENNETH CAMPBELL ENRIQUE CARREON RANDY CASSTEVENS GERARD CHAIX CARMEL M. CLEMENTSON GEOFFREY CLEMENTSON G. A. CLERICI GUY CLUM MICHAEL J. COAD ISRAEL COHEN BRUCE A. COLE JEROME F. COLE LEE COWAN ROBERT C. CRAWFORD MICHAEL CROSS JERRY V. CROW BOB CULLEN HUGH CULLIMORE THOMAS A. CURTIS PETER DAN JERRY DARLING ELLSWORTH P. DAVIS JAMES C. DeBRAY DON J. DEL DOTTO BUD DeSART MALCOM DEWAR ROBERTO DIENER, JR. JOSEPH F. DONAHUE WALLACE M. DOBBINS THOMAS J. DOUGHERTY JAMES W. DOUGLAS

32 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

THOMAS S. DOUGLAS, III GERALD Z. DUBINSKI, SR. GERALD (JERRY) DUERKSEN DAN DUFFIELD FRANK DUMAS HAROLD J. EBERLY P. MICHAEL EHLERMAN BILL ELLIS HERB ELLIS BERNARD J. ELZER, JR. JOE ESSING PETER FABER JIM FAIST HELMUTH FAUST DANIEL J. FETHEROLF ROBERT FINN EUGENE P. FINGER PERCY W. FISCHEL ARNOLD FISCHER ROBERT FLICKER CHUCK FOWLER ROBERT W. FRITTS ED FREY KYO FUCHIDA ROBERTO GARCIA LAURIE GARDINER MALCOLM J. GAVANT SILVANO GELLENI HARVEY S. GERSHENSON FOLCO GIBELLINI WILLIAM C. GLOVER PAUL S. GODBER RICK GODBER FRANCOIS GONNARD ROBERT GONZALES 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

ARTHUR G. KOCH 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, M.D. CHI-HWA LU DAVID LUND JOHN LUTES REX E. LUZADER LOUIS J. MAGDITS JOSEPH MAJESKY SERGIO MALACON PETER MALONEY JOHN E. MANDERS KEN MARSHALL EDWARD M. MARWELL JAMES K. MASON DONALD A. MASSELLE GEOFFREY J. MAY MICHAEL MAYER BO McCANN KELLY McCANN ROBERT G. McCLELLAN STEVE McDONALD JOE McKINLEY JACK McLANE CHARLES K. McMANUS TIM McNALLY HARRY D. McVEY S. WILLIAM MEEHAN

TOSHIO MEGA DANIEL A. MELVILLE K. D. MERZ GERHARD MEYENBURG CARL F. MIELKE LARRY MIKSIEWICZ SALLY S. MIKSIEWICZ ARDELLE E. MILLER, SR. JEANITH L. MILLER TOM MILLER NORM MILLER PETER MILLION JOHN A. MILLS TOM MINNER CHERYL MINOR GARY MITCHENER RICK MOODY S. K. MITTAL HARUKA MIURA MICHAEL E. MOELLER DAVID MORRALL K. MURATA JOHN MURPHY GEORGE NADER-LATUFF LOUIS NAGY JOHN NEES RAYMOND NEVIN ARNIE O. NILSSON GEORGE E. NOEL ANN NOLL MALCOLM NORDSTROM 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 ROBERT J. PENSYL

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BCI BATTERY VETERANS

KATHY PETERSON ALFRED J. PAUTLER WILLIAM U. PAYNE BOB PEPPERS GLENN PERRINI KATHY PERZEE PETER J. PETERSON WILLIAM PICCIOLO DONALD L. PIERSON WILLIAM T. POLLARD VERNON J. POTTS VINCE PUSATERI RAMA PRASAD RAY R. DAVID PRENGAMAN DON PRIEBE ED PUCKETT

JOSE M. PUIG VINCENT PUSATERI PETE QUINLAN NAWAZ M. QURESHI DONALD RABON STEVEN RAU MICHAEL E. REED THOMAS J. REILLY WIN REINEMANN BART REITTER RUDY RENFROW ROBERT P. RESTREPO DOUGLAS GORDON RIST JOSEPH RIVERA JUNIOR ROCKHOLD S. TUCKER ROE

BILL ROORK URI ROSENSHEIN JAMES B. ROSKI BYRON ROTHPLETZ, JR. JAMES RUBRIGHT ARNIE Y. SAKAI JOAO A. MESTRE SALVADOR WILEY C. SANDERS, JR. MARTIN SANNASI GARY SANTASPIRIT MANUEL SANTOS LARRY SCHEINBAUM AL SCHMIDT JOHANNES SCHNEIDER ROBERT R. SCHOEBERL ANTON SCHWETZ

JOHN SEARCY J. QUINN SELSOR ROBERT D. SEMMENS JAHAR SENGUPTA RODNEY SHANE JERRY SHASSERRE MICHAEL SHAW JOHN R. SHAW JAMES I. SIKORA ROBERT D. SIMONTON BOB SLAUTTERBACK GEORGE SMITH KEVIN SMITH TOM SMITH JIM SNOOK DONNA SNYDER

AND SADLY THOSE NO LONGER WITH US Quarter century club members JOHN ANDERSON PETER C. ASPINALL SYDNEY BANKS LAWRENCE R. BARTLETT WILLIE BEASON LARRY BENNETTS TOM B. BLAIR JERRY BOYLAN DON BRANDT JOHN A. BRUZAS SAL CANGELOSI HARRY CHANNING JOHN CORCORAN MAX CORNBLATT E. B. CORNETTE ANDY DIETRICH JUAN DORIGA FRANK DRAVES W. J. (BILL) EBERLE JAMES H. ENGLISH JOHN EDGAR FARMER

WILLIAM N. FLETCHER LAURENCE FRY J. GEORGE GANGE, JR. PAUL-ARMAND GAMMENTHALER SCOTT GAMSTER ROBERT GARWOOD JOSEPH GATTO DICK GODBER CHARLES GRAVES LAWRENCE HAHN ANDREW C. HARDTKE NORMAN HOYT ROLAND A. JOHNSON CHARLES E. JUSTICE JAMES H. KELLETT JOHN KOSSOW EMIL KOVACIK J. T. LAWRIE BIRKE M. LUCKENBILL BEN McKINNEY DONALD C. MELNIK JIM MILLER

FRANK MORGAN EDWARD N. MROTEK TOM MURANAKA JOSEPH J. NOBLES EGON E. NURMET JOSEPH A. ORSINO K. N. PIKE ROBERT L. PUCKETT ROBERT N. QUENELL WILLIAM RASMUSSEN CHARLES R. ROGERS TURNEY L. RICH JOHN RICKOLT MALCOLM E. ROSS TONY SABATINO BERNARD SCHEINBAUM HENRY SCHEINBAUM MARVIN SCHEINBAUM WILLARD SCHREINER ARTHUR SINGER PAUL STAAB, SR. PAUL STAAB, JR. NED L. STAUFFER

ROBERT W. STOLL EARL E. STOUT JAMES V. STUPPIA JOHN J. SURRETTE BILL SZAKACS ERNEST GEORGE TIEGEL RICHARD P. TIPPEY ED TURNER G. E. TURNER PETE VIVIANO BYRON A. WADDELL DON WENSINGER HOMER H. WOODRUFF, JR. WILLIAM B. WYLAM BILL YEDLICKA RICHARD B. YOUNG Half-century members JERRY BOYLAN SAL CANGELOSI WILLIAM J. EBERLE ROBERT N. QUENELL ED TURNER

PAUL J. STAAB, III JOHN STANPHILL RICHARD M. STARK FRANCOIS STEFFENS GREG STEVENS JIMMY STEWART KENNETH A. SUTTON LEE SWAIN ROBERT D. SWAIN JOSEPH F. SZABO LAURIE SZPARA TAKAOMI TAKII OSWALDO TAMAYO GARY TAYLOR ED TAYLOR GIOVANNI TERZAGHI FELIX TESHINSKY FREDERICK TESHINSKY JAMES H. THRASH JIM TOEWS MIKE TOLE KEITH TOLL TOM TOMKINS DOUGLAS R. TUPLING FRANCISCO TRINIDAD FROSTY TUNNELL DENNIS ULRICH B. 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, ESQ. ARVIN WELCH MARK WELS DON WENSINGER, II EVAN R. WESCOE

WILLIAM H. WESTON, JR. STEVE WICKMAN PETER WILKE J. WORTH WILLIAMS BOB WILLIAMSON DAVID WILLIS DON WILSON TODD WILSON RICK WIMBERLY LAWRENCE B. WINDISCH JAN WINSLOW MARK WINSLOW DAVID A. WINTERBOTTOM JOHN O. WIRTZ JOHN W. WIRTZ DONALD A. WOJTON MIKE WONCH TERRY E. WUSSOW DAVE YANIK TOMMY YOUNGBLOOD TERUHISA YUASA KENNETH E. ZALECKI PIOTR ZENCZAK

Battery Council International One-Half Century Club TOM ABATA DAVID P. BODEN J. ROY BRAY DeLIGHT E. BREIDEGAM GEORGE COLLINS ALLAN COOPER JOHN DEVITT CLYDE D. ELIUM MARK A. KNOWLTON LEE KOENIG JOSH LIVERMORE SERGIO PEZZOTTI JOHN R. PIERSON RALPH TIEGEL ROGER WINSLOW

BILL WYLAM, Batteryman, 1935-2014 Bill Wylam — a lifelong BCI member of some 35 years’ standing and one of the bestknown figures in the US battery industry of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s — died on March 8.

www.batteriesinternational.com

A much-loved man for his generosity of spirit and willingness to pass his knowledge on to the next generation of batterymen, he was also at the forefront of a generation that sought to explore and integrate other chemistries into the energy storage world.

Bill will perhaps be best remembered for the way he led General Motors to adopt the socalled ‘maintenance free’ battery and so changed the face of the lead acid battery industry.

From his first years at the Delco Remy Division of General Motors, Bill was the driving force behind pushing the corporation into accepting and developing new battery technology.

Mike Greenlee, a former chief engineer at Exide Technologies recalls: “He was passionate about turning the firm away from the then-standard antimony-based

batteries to the new maintenance free calcium-based batteries. He understood that for an automotive firm to be successful they had to stay ahead of the curve. Quite literally he was the father of the maintenance-free battery.”

Bill ultimately was the mastermind in moving GM to the so-called Delco Freedom batteries.

Bill — with a cast of hundreds of engineers reporting to him — was responsible for the creation of plants across the world manufacturing batteries for GM. He is equally well remembered for his work on the motor and battery system for the GM EV1 electric vehicle — nowadays regarded as the 1997 forerunner of the Chevy Volt.

After retiring, he set up his own successful consultancy.

Bill was a great believer in giving back to the industry what the industry had given to him, using

his lifetime of expertise he served on numerous advisory committees, both paid and unpaid, until the very end.

He was known equally for his personal touch as his ability to forge friendships with those above and below him professionally.

He was highly active in the community from his involvement in the church — he was a devout Christian — and also with youth and scout groups.

“We’ve lost one of a kind,” a colleague said. “He was a great friend, colleague, and a mentor. We will dearly miss his infectious smile, unshakable wisdom and kindness.

He was a gifted teacher, an inspiration to all underneath him and a fine human being.”

Bill died of a brain cancer in the early hours of March 8. He had been aware of the disease from the summer before.

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 33

BCI DATAFILE

Membership directory: the great and the good MANUFACTURER MEMBERS

Arthur T Balcerzak

AT BALCERZAK CONSULTING SERVICES

Edward Puckett

ATOMIZED PRODUCTS GROUP, INC

Silvano Gelleni

ACUMULADORES DUNCAN

Scott Crerar

AUTO METER PRODUCTS, INC

Parth R Jain

ALF TECHNOLOGIES (INDIA)

Cindy Song

BAIN AND COMPANY

David Hector

AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS LIMITED

Elke Oschmann

BATTERIE FULLUNGS SYSTEME

Philippe Westreich

AXION POWER INTERNATIONAL, INC

Richard T Johnson

THE BATTERY CONSULTANCY

Christian Rheault

C&D TECHNOLOGIES, INC

Julie Elliott

BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES

Hal Hawk

CROWN BATTERY MFG COMPANY

Daryll Rardon

BENNING POWER ELECTRONICS, INC

M A Knowlton

DYNO BATTERY INC

Maurizio Masotti

BITRODE CORPORATION

Daniel Langdon

EAST PENN MANUFACTURING CO, INC

Peter Rumsey

BLINQ DIAGNOSTICS

John D Craig

ENERSYS

Greg Schmitt

BORREGAARD LIGNOTECH

Eladio Cardona

ENERYA SA de CV

Helen Matthews

BROOK HUNT

Robert Caruso

EXIDE TECHNOLOGIES

Bill Curtis

CARLSON TOOL & MFG CORP

Alessandro Dolcetta

FIAMM SpA

David Honkamp

CELLUSUEDE PRODUCTS, INC

Michael Gilchrist

HIGHWATER INNOVATIONS,

Dwyn von Bereghy

CENTRIFUGAL CASTINGS

Glenn Hollett

INTERSPACE CONCORDE BATTERY

Gary Bryan

CHROMA CORPORATION

Brian J Kesseler

JOHNSON CONTROLS, INC

Itay Michaeli

CITIGROUP

Smokey White

MOTOBATT BATTERIES,

Michael Wipperfurth

CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE

Attila Türker

MUTLU AKÜ VE MALZ SAS

Bob Baginski

COBRA WIRE & CABLE, INC

Ling Chung Hwa

NAVANA BATTERY LIMITED

Jozzepi Foo

CO-EFFICIENT PRECISION ENGINEERING

Jerry Hoffman

NORTHSTAR BATTERY COMPANY

Andrew Carr

CP ENVIRONMENTAL, INC

Munawar M Moin

RAHIMAFROOZ BATTERIES LIMITED

S Tucker Roe

DARAMIC,

Clifford J Crowe

RAMCAR BATTERIES, INC

Darby Rockney

DHC SPECIALTY CORPORATION

Michael E Moeller

REMY BATTERY CO, INC

Rolf Beckers

DIGATRON INDUSTRIE-ELEKTRONIK

Shigeru Ito

SHIN-KOBE ELECTRIC MACHINERY CO

Pierre-Jean Arvers

DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS,

Syed Al-Hossain

SILICON POWER

Jose Hansen

THE DOE RUN CO

Randy Hart

SUPERIOR BATTERY MFG CO, INC

Michael A Doyle

DOYLE SHAMROCK INDUSTRIES

J D Surrette

SURRETTE BATTERY CO

Thierry Touzeau

BERNARD DUMAS, SAS

Michael Shaw

TELEDYNE BATTERY PRODUCTS

Nick Semitka

EIRICH MACHINES INC

Jeff Elder

TROJAN BATTERY COMPANY

James Stockhausen

ELANTAS PDG, INC

Terry Agrelius

US BATTERY MANUFACTURING CO

David Trueba

ENTEK INTERNATIONAL

Darren Chen

VISION BATTERY USA, INC

Russell S Kemp, PE

ENVIRON INTERNATIONAL CORP

Chuck Fowler

YACHT BATTERY COMPANY,

Dan Askin

ESCA TECH, INC

Hitoshi Ohta

YUASA BATTERY INC

Jim Gilmour

FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS

Sanford Leavitt

FERRIE DI STABIO

Rob Brock

FLOW-RITE CONTROLS,

Geoff Davies

FROETEK PLASTIC TECHNOLOGY CORP

SUPPLIER MEMBERS Anna Stuehrman

ABERTAX TECHNOLOGIES

Robert Gauthier

GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS INC

Lee Cowan

ACCUMA CORPORATION

Joseph H Coudon

GLATFELTER COMPOSITE FIBER, NA, INC

Brett Beal

ACCUMALUX AUSTRALIA PTY

Paul Chidiac

GLENCORE CANADA CORPORATION

Charles Ackermann

ACCUMALUX SA

Daniel Leach

GOPHER RESOURCE,

William Lincoln

ADDISON ENERGY INC

Lee D Raymond

GREENWICH METALS INC

Guy Dauwe

AMER-SIL, SA

Terrence H Murphy

HAMMOND LEAD PRODUCTS

Julia Lutz

AMETEK PRESTOLITE POWER

Sean O’Brien

HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE CO

Dick Amistadi

AMISTADI ASSOCIATES

Ryan Sanderson

IHS GLOBAL

34 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI DATAFILE Norbert Ahnemann

INBATEC

H Gerald Jowers

US LEAD, INC

Jeff DePietro

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS

Erik Eberlein

WEGMANN AUTOMOTIVE

Joseph P Badger

JBI CORPORATION

John O Wirtz

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING COMPANY

John L Devitt

JOHN L DEVITT CONSULTING ENGINEER

Bo Johansson

KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING AB

Max Mandt-Merck

LAP GMBH LASER APPLIKATIONEN

Camden Arthur

LAUSCHA FIBER INTERNATIONAL

Charles Carr

A-1 BATTERY, INC

Spencer R Stock

LESTER ELECTRICAL

Ed Fuxa

ACTION BATTERIES UNLIMITED

Thomas Windham Jr

MA INDUSTRIES

Bobby Stafford

ACTION BATTERY CENTER

Douglas Bornas

MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT

Richard Swearingen

ADVANTAGE POWER BATTERY

J Morales-Caramella

MAYCO INDUSTRIES, INC

Aron Haynes

ALL-PAK BATTERY

Joseph P McKinley

MCB ENVIRO, EAGLE OXIDE SERVICES

Steve Hixdon

ART’S ELECTRIC, INC

Steve McDonald

MICROPOROUS,

Robert Petersen

ALL-TRA BATTERY

Will Sampson

MIDTRONICS, INC

Pete Dufaud -

AMERICAN BATTERY CORPORATION

Steven W Swogger

MRLEAD PLUS

Steve Dufaud

AMERICAN BATTERY CORPORATION

James Histed

NATIONAL ACID PROOFING, INC

Dennis Loso

AMERICAN BATTERY CORPORATION

Marc Desautels

NEWALTA CORPORATION

Orville Cottrell

ASSOCIATED BATTERY SUPPLY

Kenichioro Fukae

NIPPON SHEET GLASS CO

Steve Stoll

AUTOZONE PARTS, INC

Kent Lancaster

OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS

Bob Williamson

AZTECH ENERGY

Nada Bursac

OKABE CO, INC

Bill Yates

B & B BATTERY GROUP, INC

Jacopo Maggioni

OM IMPIANTI SRL

Bob Giardina

B & B BATTERY GROUP, INC

Steve Rau

OMNI OXIDE

Jeff Tunks

BATTERIES NOW

Michael Chames

ON BOARD SOLUTIONS,

Monica Tunks

BATTERIES NOW

Julie Hayes

OWENS CORNING CORPORATION

Frank Groccia, III

BATTERIES UNLIMITED

Cal Houdek

PALICO INSTRUMENT LABORATORIES,

Kent Curry

BATTERIES UNLIMITED

Cesare Catelli

PC DI POMPEO CATELLI SRL

Ed Cunningham

BATTERY BARN OF VIRGINIA, INC

Joe Spiciarich

PENOLES METALS & CHEMICALS, INC

Melvyn Digitale

BATTERY BILL, INC

Alan Wirsul

PENOX, SA

Brad Winkler

BATTERY BOYS UNLIMITED

Jeff Hindman

POLYMER MOLDING INC (PMI)

Kerry Landis

BATTERY BOYS UNLIMITED,

James Tunnell

POWERLAB, INC

Mike Cash

BATTERY DISTRIBUTORS, INC

Joseph M Arvai, IV

QUICK CABLE CORPORATION

Joe Carter

BATTERY EXPERTS

Roger A Winslow

RICHARDSON MOLDING INCORPORATED

Marcus Compton

BATTERY EXPRESS

Richard Jonach

ROSENDAHL MASCHINEN GMBH

Rick Kagle

BATTERY ONE HAGERSTOWN

Richard Aulenbach

RPA ENGINEERING

Miles Hopson

THE BATTERY PROS

Robert E Finn

RSR CORPORATION

Scott Stephens

BATTERY SALES, INC

Charles Hwang

RUIHUA/MEGAPOWER ELECTRONICS

Scott Winchester

BATTERY SERVICE, INC

J Roy Bray

SANDERS LEAD COMPANY, INC

DanGafford

BATTERY SOLUTIONS, INC

Frederick Schneider

SCHOLLE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

Margaret Gafford

BATTERY SOLUTIONS, INC

Duane Shooltz

S&E SPECIALTY POLYMER

Brad Streelman

BATTERY SYSTEMS INC

Yanfang Zhao

SHENYANG JUGU EQUIPMENT MNFG

Josh Lassiter

BATTERY WAREHOUSE

Timothy G Davis

SMS DIV OF SANDMOLD SYSTEMS, INC

David Pulley

BATTERY WAREHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA

Paul R Fink

SORFIN YOSHIMURA

Sam Williams

BATTERY WAREHOUSE WHOLESALE

Sandy Saye

SOUTHERN WEAVING COMPANY

Charlie Williams

BATTERY WAREHOUSE WHOLESALE

L E Gardiner

TBS ENGINEERING LIMITED

Jennifer Zalecki

BATTERY WHOLESALE

Alberto Pezzotti

TECHNOFIN ’98 SRL

Roland Best

BEST BATTERY CO INC

Jim Pedersen

TECK METALS LIMITED

Richard Price

BULLDOG BATTERY

Gilles Boucher

TERMACO

Patrick Crowley

CAPITALAND FILTER & SUPPLY

Ralph Tiegel

TIEGEL MANUFACTURING CO

James Parker

CAPITALAND FILTER & SUPPLY,

Steve Stack

TONOLLI CANADA,

Ken Turner

CC BATTERY CO, INC

Peter Hochschild

TRAXYS NORTH AMERICA,

Ted Turner

CC BATTERY CO, INC

Frederick Teshinsky

TULIP

Shane McMahon

CDN ENERGY AND POWER CORP

Jack E Waggener

URS CORPORATION

Ian Anthony Pinson

CHLORIDE TECHNICAL AND TRADING

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MARKETER MEMBERS

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 35

BCI DATAFILE Edgar Dueñas

COMERCIAL DE REPUESTOS Y SERVICIOS

Brian J Ricketts

RG AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING,

Frank Dumas

COMPLETE BATTERY SOURCE /START-ALL

Lou Neuf

SPRINGFIELD BATTERY CO

Jim McCann

CONTINENTAL BATTERY MFG CORP

Paul Staab, III

STAAB BATTERY MFG CO

James Gengler

COPPERSTATE BATTERY, INC

Traci Sterling

STERLING BATTERY CO, INC

Charlie Craig

CRAIG BATTERIES

Mike Stevens

STEVENS BATTERY WAREHOUSE

Peter Maloney

CROWN BATTERY OF CANADA - CBC

Bonnie Hughson

SUR-POWR BATTERY

Joy Czerwonky

C-TROL,

Phil Simmons

S&W BATTERY INC

Rick Swan

DIXIE BATTERY SUPPLY

Mike Swift

SWIFT INDUSTRIAL POWER, INC

Stephen Pal

EDMONDS BATTERIES

Arnold Truelove

TNT BATTERY COMPANY, INC

Candi Meana

ELECTRO BATTERY, INC

Judy Truelove

TNT BATTERY COMPANY, INC

Ron Zeller

ELECTROLIFE BATTERY

Tom McConnell

TNT DISTRIBUTING

Dwayne Ellis

ELLIS BATTERY COMPANY

Steve King

TREASURE COAST BATTERY

Darren Ellis

ELLIS BATTERY COMPANY

Gerald Johnson

TRI-CITIES BATTERY & AUTO REPAIR, INC

Craig A Pahl

EMERGENT BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES, INC

Randy Clark

TRI-STATE BATTERY SUPPLY, INC

Tim Shoepe

EMPIRE BATTERIES

Ian Edmonds

UNIVERSAL POWER GROUP, INC

Clay Johnson

FACTORY MOTOR PARTS

Nick Stratigeas

US POWER OF MIAMI

Robert Boss

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

Ryder Keller

VOLTAGE SYSTEMS, INC

Anthony Echols

GM CUSTOMER CARE AND AFTERSALES

Joe Jarvis

VOLTAGE VENTURES, INC

Jay Northey

GS BATTERY (USA) INC

Jim Douglas

VOLTAGE VENTURES, INC

Jerry Harris

HARRIS BATTERY COMPANY, INC

Tim Ruth

WAREHOUSE BATTERY OUTLET

Greg Shull

INTERSTATE BATTERY SYSTEM

Dan Bell

WHATCOM ELECTRIC COMPANY INC

Jerry Muller

JEFFERSON BATTERY CO, INC

d/b/a

BATTERY SPECIALISTS OF ALASKA

Jeremy Jowers

JOWERS BATTERIES - GJ BATTERIES

Ken Owens

KEN OWENS BATTERY COMPANY

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Keith Owens

KEN OWENS BATTERY COMPANY

Anoop K Sunkara

KRAUS INTERNATIONAL, INC

Todd Milner

Philip A Noznesky

LEOCH BATTERY CORPORATION

Alan Hyde

AUSTRALIAN BATTERY INDUSTRY ASSOC

Del Downey

LIBERTY BATTERIES

Michael S Halls

BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL

Peter Berson

LVP DISTRIB-POWER SOURCE BATTERIES

Richard Dee

CLUB ASSIST

Justin Bakhsh

MAGNACHARGE BATTERY CORPORATION

Rick Hallock

ENERGY BATTERY GROUP, INC

Brian Mathis

MATHIS BATTERY COMPANY

Andy Bush

INTERNATIONAL LEAD ASSOCIATION

John Farrell

MILLENNIUM BATTERY EXPRESS

Boris Monahov

ILZRO

Gus Drosos

MOUNT VERNON BATTERY

George Kerchner

PRBA – RECHARGEABLE BATTERY ASSOC

Nate Mullet

MULLET BATTERY, INC

Lynn Mullet

MULLET BATTERY, INC

Jan Zogmaister

NATIONAL BATTERY SALES

AAA (AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOC.)

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS

Darrow Zogmaister

NATIONAL BATTERY SALES

DeLight Breidegam

EAST PENN

Dave Saienni

NEWARK BATTERY CO, INC

Harvey Gershenson

KAPPA CONSULTING

Mark Fulchwantz

NEW ENGLAND BATTERY

Dalton Fulghum

NORTH STATE BATTERY (NSB)

MULTIPLE MEMBERS

Jim Beck

NORTHWEST BATTERY & ELECTRIC

Carmen Robertson

PA BATTERY & TRUCK ACCESSORIES

Robert Flicker

EAST PENN

Jim Frock

P&H AUTO ELECTRIC

Daniele Calasanzio

FIAMM ENERGY,

Steve Ahmann

PACIFIC POWER BATTERIES

Bob Aaron

HAWKER POWERSOURCE

David Brown

PASCO, INC

Peter Victor Cheng

NEPO INC

Ronald A Weber

PENMA COMPANY

L Sam Holden

RICHARDSON MOLDING INC

Ralph Quinter

PIQUA BATTERY

Alessandro Fossemo

SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

Pete Polete

PLP BATTERY SUPPLY

Rick Hallock

POWERMASTER BATTERIES

Guy Clum

POWER-SONIC CORPORATION

Peter Vander Linden

PRAIRIE BATTERY

Joe Elras

REACO BATTERY

36 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

CUTTING EDGE BCI BCI members continue to push out the possibilities of lead acid batteries.

Batteries International looks at some of the more exciting product lines under development.

First footfalls into the promised land of advanced lead acid energy storage The UltraBattery — BCI members East Penn, ALABC The UltraBattery is probably the most well known lead acid product in the advanced battery universe — but it’s only now going to become a major hitter. Essentially, it’s a hybrid energy storage device combining ultracapacitor technology with lead acid battery

www.batteriesinternational.com

science in a single cell with a common electrolyte.

In 2008, East Penn entered into an exclusive agreement with Furukawa Battery, a Japanese battery manufacturing company, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Australian national science agency, to release the UltraBattery technology in North America.

The battery was manufactured by East Penn for the SLI and motive power markets (including Japan and Taiwan).

This new battery technology was invented by CSIRO and developed

by Lan Lam, the now retired inventor and mentor of the project. East Penn also holds the exclusive licence to develop, test, and release the UltraBattery technology for stationary applications through its subsidiary, Ecoult.

The technology has been supported by governments in Australia, Japan, and the US. The benefits of supporting UltraBattery were clear, says Sally Miksiewicz, chief executive of East Penn. Investment in this technology could not only assist in the more

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 37

CUTTING EDGE BCI widespread acceptance of hybrid electric vehicles (with the potential to reduce both emissions and fossil fuel dependency) but also provide a solution to the problems addressed by grid-scale storage.

She says that regulators have long been aware that great financial and environmental benefits could be achieved from the integration of large-scale energy storage into power grids.

But while the needs of energy storage were creeping up every government’s agenda, there were few technology options that offered sufficient levels of safety, recyclability and longevity to contemplate widespread installation across the grid.

The UltraBattery has been recognized by some government funding bodies as a breakthrough technology.

“Moreover, lead acid batteries have a great safety record and are already the most recycled product in the US,” says Miksiewicz.

Leveraging investment

TESTING POSITIVE In January 2008, the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium tested a Honda Insight medium hybrid vehicle and replaced the original NiMH pack with an UltraBattery. The test vehicle ran over 100,000 miles without a conditioning charge and demonstrated better cycle life performance than the original battery pack.

Today, two other moderate hybrid Honda Civic UltraBattery cars are proving that advanced lead acid technology has a seat at the table of hybrid electric vehicle technology, according to East Penn.

Over two years ago, these moderate HEVs were retrofitted with an UltraBattery pack with batteries made

by East Penn.

A moderate HEV has a petrol and an electric engine as well as other electronic controls, and traditionally comes standard with NiMH battery packs. However, these vehicles, both retrofitted with UltraBattery packs, are producing some impressive results.

38 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

One of these UltraBattery cars, supported by the US’ Department of Energy and ALABC, has reached over 130,000 miles in some of the country’s hottest conditions in Phoenix, Arizona. Not only has it performed exceptionally well in the heat, but it is also running in a fleet operation that creates extreme and severe service conditions.

A second UltraBattery car undergoes consistent road testing and battery system analysis at East Penn Manufacturing’s large manufacturing complex in Lyon Station, Pennsylvania. The battery pack in this car was recently evaluated during its milestone of 50,000 miles (it is currently over 80,000).

The battery pack showed no performance degradation and the individual battery voltages of the pack actually converged as they aged — proving UltraBattery technology can diminish the complexity and expense of other battery technologies and their battery monitoring systems.

“When test results for UltraBattery began to reveal that the technology excelled in continuous partial state of charge applications, it became clear that the massive investments made in over a century in lead acid battery manufacturing and recycling could be leveraged to give a rapid path to market for a product with applications across power grids and transportation.”

The technology has made headway on a number of fronts and a number of grant-assisted projects have been launched recently.

One project, done in partnership with the US Department of Energy American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) programme, is designed to show how advanced VRLA and UltraBattery energy storage solutions can be used to optimize renewable energy. The batteries provide simultaneous voltage smoothing and peak shifting that optimizes the harvested energy for integration to the grid.

Miksiewicz says the dual technologies have been shown to successfully (and simultaneously) shift solar energy to meet peak demand times and smooth the intermittent renewable source to create a firm, dispatchable resource.

“This project shows how advantageous energy shifting and smoothing can be for the grid, particularly in altering the profile of grid scale renewawww.batteriesinternational.com

CUTTING EDGE BCI bles,” says Miksiewicz. “The smoothing was required because the ramp rate of the output of the 500 kW solar PV array had been measured at 136 kW per second (when solar access was lost to cloud cover).

“Such large fluctuations in energy output will become unsustainable as renewable penetration increases. UltraBattery technology is successfully controlling the PV output and demonstrating the viability of combining PV with a battery-based energy storage system.”

Another project with the US Department of Energy Smart Grid Storage Demonstration Programme is designed to demonstrate the ability of Deka UltraBattery technology to enhance the reliability and efficiency of the electrical grid by providing regulation services. “The utilization of advanced energy storage systems and its role, particularly in managing power variability, is making significant strides toward managing energy in a cleaner, more efficient way.

“This project is a leading model in the implementation of this technology and the UltraBattery solution underpinning it can be widely deployed to enable a smarter grid on a much broader scale,” says Miksiewicz.

Finally, a project with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is designed to show UltraBattery technology’s suitability and efficiency (both in energy and economic terms) for microgrid and remote area power supplies, particularly in the support of increased renewable penetration and improved efficiency in the use of diesel backup systems.

“The project also aimed to demonstrate that UltraBattery technology can provide local voltage regulation services to the grid, particularly where there are dense concentrations of solar photovoltaics in residential areas,” says Miksiewicz.

Advanced lead

East Penn recently upped its production lines to manufacture higher volumes of advanced VRLA batteries, the UltraBattery, and other lead acid batteries following funding by a US government grant.

Miksiewicz says: “The company’s current customers support the demand for these advanced lead acid batteries to serve as an essential component in supporting the future of the hybrid electric vehicle market and other fossil fuel-reducing transportation applications. www.batteriesinternational.com

Lan Lam: father of the UltraBattery

“East Penn’s goal is to serve the global vehicle market with a viable, safe, cost effective, and highly recyclable alternative by assisting OE manufactures and automotive aftermarket suppliers in providing a commercially viable power alternative for today’s global consumer.”

The company’s timeline towards full commercialization varies by the type of application.

Its large-scale, battery systems are being integrated in installations within the US as well as Australia. Ecoult has been awarded a contract in Tasmania to supply the largest batterybased renewable energy storage system in Australia for the King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project. The 3MW/1.6MWh UltraBattery storage system will complement other elements of Hydro Tasmania’s project, the aim of which is to reduce King Island’s reliance on diesel fuel to supply the island’s energy needs.

Miksiewicz says there are many current UltraBattery projects being planned, researched, developed, and initiated on a more global basis.

Many of its advanced battery projects in the transportation/SLI market are through partnerships with automotive manufacturers. As they move forward on integrating this technology in their vehicles, the timeline of market implementation is proprietary to them.

“Over the next few years, however, we will see the industry and overall

general marketplace become more familiar with UltraBattery technology.

Especially when it means more costoptimized solutions and an environmental advantage of being a highly recyclable product compared to other current alternative battery technologies,” Miksiewicz says.

UltraBattery technology is well suited to a large number of industry sectors including: grid/microgrid support, including frequency regulation, power quality, spinning reserve, energy shifting and demand management and smoothing and ramp-rate control (particularly for renewables); micro and medium HEVs; dual-use for data centres and buildings; diesel efficiencies; residential energy management; and other transportation (particularly railways).

“We are very excited about the possibilities for dual-use applications,” she says. “These exploit UltraBattery’s ability to provide grid and UPS support in a single installation (ie selling grid support services while the grid is available, but switching to UPS for any grid-outage event). The cost for such applications suggest that businesses such as data centres could gain an attractive return on their battery investment.”

The UltraBattery technology is still being explored, researched, and developed as well as in the early stages of commercial integration, says Miksiewicz. She expects further benefits to emerge as its full potential starts to emerge.

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 39

CUTTING EDGE BCI

Deep cycle advances — BCI member, Trojan Battery Company It’s a problem that’s been known for decades. Deep-cycle batteries used in off-grid and unstable grid renewable energy, telecom and inverter backup systems are heavily cycled at partial state of charge and are often never fully recharged on a regular basis.

The result: unnecessary cost “Operating at PSOC can quickly diminish the overall life of a battery, which results in frequent, costly battery replacements,” says Gordon Beckley, senior vice president of energy and quality assurance at Trojan Battery Company.

“This is an example of how a traditional chemistry can be updated” Based on more than five years of R&D, Trojan’s team developed a proprietary formula of carbon additives designed to enhance life and performance of Trojan batteries operating in PSOC. The firm says it is the first manufacturer to introduce a carbon additive in a deep-cycle flooded renewable energy battery model.

The implications are enormous.

PSOC is a reality of most off-grid and unstable grid, renewable energy and telecom systems. PSOC is also common in inverter backup systems.

Telecom applications which operate off-grid, rely on an unstable grid, or depend on a hybrid renewable energy/battery system for power face the same PSOC issues as does solar.

In many diesel generator installations, the system is often set up to purposely not bring the deep-cycle batteries to a full SOC on a daily basis in order to save money on fuel costs, once again resulting in batteries operating in PSOC conditions,” says Beckley.

“This is an example of how a traditional chemistry can be updated and its offering widened through innovation.”

40 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

THE GRID, THE GRID AND NOTHING BUT THE GRID One of the future problems facing utilities is the rapid introduction of renewable energy sources into the grid.

Both photovoltaics and wind power are troublesome to utilities because of their intermittency — the sudden changes to their output, as well as their overall unpredictability of supply.

However, when renewable energy is introduced on a massive scale to the grid, this extra intermittency of supply could prove highly destabilizing. For example, having the wind slacken at a 400 MW wind farm could have the same impact on the grid as thousands of people turning their kettles on at the same time.

Frequency regulation will be more important than ever.

Frequency regulation — the ability to fine-tune the transmission load on a grid — looks set to be the next area for the energy storage world to explore. In November 2011, Axion, set an industry first by providing frequency regulation, demand response and the mechanism for other services to PJM Interconnect, the largest of nine regional grid systems operators in the US. Although other battery and energy storage firms had already made moves to tap into the sector — A123 Systems, Beacon, Altairnano, for example — what made this a first was that the services were provided

by Axion’s PowerCube technology behind the meter.

The design allowed Axion to act as a bi-directional energy asset and earn itself revenue in the process.

For example, when the PowerCube receives a so-called “curtailment signal” from PJM Axion’s factory reduces power intake from the grid and switches to PowerCube power to run the plant.

The Cube will also be able to assist the utility in shedding load, when there is excess power in the system, because of the battery’s ability to accept fast charge. The Cube is currently network connected and, will shortly be able to supply power back to the grid when requested. All of these services are revenue generating for the Cube owner.

A key player in the link up between power consumers like Axion’s plant and power providers like PJM is a relatively new company called Viridity Energy, which has formed a strategic alliance with Axion. Viridity is a socalled “curtailment service provider”.

This means that it sits between PJM and Axion and electronically —perhaps most similarly to an electronic broker — quotes prices for buying and selling power. Viridity’s software allows for the bidding process, the PJM signal integration and the execution of the curtailment agreement www.batteriesinternational.com

CUTTING EDGE BCI THE GRID, THE GRID AND NOTHING BUT THE GRID continued all in real time.

The speed which Axion’s PowerCube responds, is also key to the arrangement, now and even more so in the future. If Viridity tenders a bid from Axion, that is accepted by PJM, a regulation signal is sent to the PowerCube which in turn can respond within 50 milliseconds.

Frequency regulation is typically required when a utility has either too much power, or too little power, in the system. Too little power can result in brownouts or even blackouts, as the stability of the grid is compromised.

Too much power results in the same instability.

To guard against too little power, the utility is typically forced to have spinning reserve, in the form of standby turbines. This power is often wasted. In the case of too much power, imbalances, caused for example by renewables overproducing due to environmental or other causes (windmills overproducing because of prolonged high winds) which force the utility to shed power quickly.

In either scenario, the PowerCube can provide quite a stunning advantage — PJM gets to operate a better service at a reduced cost. And, of course Axion and Viridity earn from the venture.

Speaking early on in the alliance with Axion, Audrey Zibelman, chief executive officer at Viridity, and a former chief operating officer at PJM, said a 1MW PowerCube, if fully utilized, could achieve a projected revenue of between $160,000 to $240,000 annually.

In October 2011, the US’ Federal Energy Regulatory Committee made two important rulings. First it approved the use of power resources less than 500kW as curtailment responders and second, it approved the use of pay-for-performance metrics in demand response that measure payment amount by a resource’s speed of response.

In 2012, that second change became effective and the pay for performance model looks set to lead to additional revenue for those that can respond quickly.

The implications of all this are

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significant. Entities seeking power quality, or power back up, or a means to regulate or smooth power resources — such as wind or solar farm operators — or any combination of these services that can be provided by a PowerCube, will be able to offset some, or all, of their initial capital costs by taking advantage of this potential revenue.

Theoretically, of course other battery chemistries could be used that offer these services.

However, the two obvious alternatives — lithium ion and sodium sulfur — are hard pressed to compete because of either price (lithium ion), safety or the length of time required to recharge (sodium sulfur). Similarly, flywheels have proven to be too expensive, immobile and their providers have fallen on hard times of late.

Tom Granville, chief executive officer at Axion, says the PowerCube will be able to offer a myriad of services to electricity grids and the Cube’s role will increase as more renewable energy resources come on line.

Frequency regulation is all about matching the supply of electricity and its demand: too little or too much will destabilize the grid. Regulation is normally achieved by having excess capacity — typically around 1% of peak load has been found to work in practice.

But once frequency is out of synch, the amount of energy required to restore it to balance is geometrically proportional to the variation. In other words a 0.2% variation might require 1MW to correct, but 0.4% variation might require 4MW. Speed is of the essence in restoring balance. In addition to its speed of response the Cube has a long cycle life — three to four times longer than lead acid — as well as a high charge acceptance.

The current PowerCube on Axion’s site is a 500kw/250kwh BESS that is connected to a portion of Axion’s manufacturing load. But the Cube is a modular design and can be scaled up or down. “Being able to store and balance power at a smaller level is just another of the ways our PowerCube could be used,” says Granville.

Lead Carbon and the PowerCube — BCI member, Axion Power International Axion Power’s PbC product is moving to full commercialization of its lead acid battery. So much so the firm say it is now enjoying interest from a number of sectors previously reliant on lithium-ion.

Axion, now coming into its 10th year of existence, has made real breakthroughs in the performance of lead acid batteries but only recently has it moved to a fuller commercial basis for its technology.

Axion’s batteries can be used in a variety of energy storage and power delivery markets including: renewable energy (wind and solar), electricity-grid (load-levelling and peakshaving), and in hybrid and electric vehicles.

BMW has been testing Axion’s batteries for the past four years and — surprisingly for a motor firm — has appeared to endorse the firm through joint public statements. Axion is bound by non-disclosure agreements from mentioning but the basics about the relationship.

Thomas Granville, chief executive of Axion, says the company completed its research and development phase this year and is operating as a fully commercial entity. This represents a sea-change for the firm. It also has to report in a more comprehensive way to the regulators, for example.

“We have built a battery that is perfect for hybrid trains, trucks and we have also supplied a small number for testing purposes automotive companies,” Granville says. “The battery brings the most advantages where batteries are expected to work in a partial state of charge. Traditional lead acid batteries often struggle in such an environment while lithium takes as much as four times as long to recharge.

The battery can also be used in large string formations — something which suits vehicles such as hybrid trains which can use as many as 50 batteries in sequence. “They must be in synch and all at the same state of charge,” Granville says. “And when they recharge they must all go together to Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 41

CUTTING EDGE BCI

Granville: integration a core issue

avoid gassing, which can reduce their lifespan.”

On the renewables side of the business, it has developed an application known as a PowerCube, which is designed to support solar panel commercial ventures used to buffer power and interact with a building’s power needs and the grid power provider. In addition, the Cube can be on standby and available to provide power in a backup role or in an emergency situation.

Commercialization

Granville says that since embarking on full commercialization it has focused on energy storage for the motive and for the stationary markets. In the motive area it has provided commercial quantity product to Norfolk Southern for a hybrid locomotive and to ePower Engine Systems, a company building a hybrid engine for heavy trucking, for its hybrid trucks.

It is also working with other hybrid passenger vehicle and hybrid truck vehicle manufacturers but it is not yet at commercial size quantities.

In the stationary area, it has commissioned small projects for zero energy buildings and for the demand response and frequency regulation markets. It has also modelled for stand-alone, off-grid applications that would be needed for places such as island nations or where the existing grid infrastructure is unreliable.

It also recently announced receipt of its first order for a ‘solar integrated,’ commercial size (600 batteries), renewable energy PowerCube. The Cube will support a solar panel array 44 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

at a commercial customer site and it will be used to buffer power and interact with the building’s power needs and with the grid power provider.

That order will generate revenue of approximately $320,000 and the schedule calls for battery shipments before the end of 2013 with installation to follow immediately. It now plans to market this model aggressively.

Granville says enquiries on PbCenabled energy power systems and the PowerCube have increased substantially in the last several months from potential customers throughout the US and from island nations in the Caribbean. In the islands, and in other offshore territories, renewable energy has become increasingly important because the grid — where it is available — is not always reliable, and fossil-fuel generated energy has continued to be more costly.

Granville says: “This solar initiative is exactly the kind of application we have been targeting since we first introduced the PowerCube. We have also been working toward a strategic relationship with both the developer and the end user of this initial solar system.

“The integration of our PbC batteries, with their unique proprietary properties, has enabled us to offer an energy storage system that, when combined with solar, exhibits a very attractive return on investment. We have been working with several other renewable energy developers, and that work runs the gamut from ‘early stage’ to ‘near shovel in the ground’.

We look forward to announcing some of these additional initiatives in the near future.”

Granville believes that PbC batteries have the potential to become widespread power sources for America’s rail lines because of their high charge acceptance and fast recharge capability; their ability to operate in partial state of charge applications; their ability to recharge quickly from regenerative braking opportunities; and particularly because of the batteries’ inherent voltage equalization, especially in large string applications.

The deal with ePower Engine Systems is also an important one. The company’s proprietary series hybrid products that include its PbC batteries, have demonstrated a reported 35% increase in miles per gallon of diesel fuel. There are 2.4 million Class 8 trucks on the road in the US today, making this market a potential lucra-

tive one.

John Petersen, ePower’s executive vice president (and, as he will openly admit a large shareholder in Axion), says: “By late April, we expect to be testing the fuel economy of a Class 8 sleeper cab with our third-generation prototype drivetrain.

The deal with ePower Engine Systems is also an important one. The company’s proprietary series hybrid products that include its PbC batteries, have demonstrated a reported 35% increase in miles per gallon of diesel fuel. There are 2.4 million Class 8 trucks on the road in the US today, making this market a potentially lucrative one.

Testing continues

John Petersen, ePower’s executive vice president (and, as he will openly admit a large shareholder in Axion), says: “By late April, we expect to be testing the fuel economy of a Class 8 sleeper cab with our third-generation prototype drivetrain.

“Based on the results we got from our second-generation prototype and the published specifications for the 2012 EPA emissions compliant Cummins diesel engine we’re using in the new prototype, we’re expecting fuel economy in the 8 mpg to 9 mpg range with an 80,000 pound GVW and fuel economy of 9 mpg to 10 mpg for weight classes under 70,000 pounds that represent over 80% of the truckloads on the road. When I compare our expected fuel economy with the national average of 6 mpg for Class 8 trucks, I’m more than a little jazzed.

“Our plan is to build five to 10 prototypes over the next six months and put those tractors in the hands of fleet owners for fuel economy verification and durability testing. If things progress according to plan — which never happens in real life — we could be building 10 trucks a month by the end of 2014.”

Granville says in many of the areas the company is seeing strong interest Lithium-ion was once the chemistry of choice. “But people are starting to move back to lead acid because of some of the problems and safety issues,” he says. “And some areas it is targeting some as trains and trams lead acid has not played in the past.

“People have been turning to lithium in some areas for a long time now but advanced lead acid could be the future. People are realizing that this can work and can have advantages.” www.batteriesinternational.com

CUTTING EDGE BCI In search of the better battery — BCI member, High Water Innovations HighWater Innovations, a research firm looking at building a better and more efficient lead-acid battery through better engineering and design was set up two years ago by battery — and BCI — veterans.

Their premise is a simple one.

The development of the hybrid electric vehicle market is being held back because of its cost effectiveness. So a big part of the reason is the cost of the batteries used in these systems.

Mike Gilchrist and George Brilmeyer, founders of HighWaters Innovations, believe that valve regulated lead-acid batteries are the most viable option. They say that battery pack weight should not be prohibitive because the battery in an HEV is relatively small (compared to a full EV). For example, the battery pack in a Prius weighs approximately 64 pounds and they estimate the weight

of an equivalent GO Battery pack at less than 95 pounds. They are more environmentally friendly and cheaper than the Ni-MH or Li-ion batteries that have been used so far.

Other issues remain including the power available and lifespan but it believes it has solved these with its ‘GO Battery’, which stands for Geometrically Optimized.

The cell features a low aspect ratio spiral-wound construction with unique connectivity for a stackable 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, aircooled battery pack. The end cells in the pack will be insulated so that all cells will be thermally matched and will therefore operate at the same temperature.

More power, longer life

They say the battery will produce more power and have an extended operating life compared to other VRLA batteries. Its low aspect ratio grids will increase the overall power capabilities in the HEV application.

Meanwhile, its open central core is

HOW IT ALL BEGAN Highwater Innovations was co-founded in 2010 by Mike Gilchrist (below left), a former chief executive of Atraverda (between 2008 and 2010) and Microporous Products (between 1994 and 2008), and George Brilmyer (below right) who formerly headed up business development in North America for Atraverda and was the director of technology development at Microporous among other stops in his 30+ year career in the battery industry.

designed for improved thermal management which should lead directly to improved battery life.

Conventional VRLA batteries (prismatic or spiral wound) often operate at temperatures of 40ºC-45ºC when operated in the High-Rate Partial State of Charge (HRPSOC) cycle.

This high operating temperature shortens battery life so it is therefore anticipated that battery life can be increased by at least two times through a 10ºC decrease in operating pack temperature.

“After we left Atraverda and returned to the States, George and I were basically between jobs,” says Gilchrist. “George sat down one day and wrote down all the characteristics he could envision that would make the optimum lead acid battery design for hybrids. Together we began to design the battery and decided to make a go of it to see if the design held any real promise.

“We moved into the garage of our friend Don Coffman in order to get started. This turned out to be a very good decision on our part because Don is an experienced mechanic with 30+ years in plant maintenance and also happens to own a very nice collection of tools!

“We began putting together processes to make the cell. We had this idea that there might be a way to stack voltage while still cooling the cells.

There were many designs around that were trying to address the issue but none allowed for a way of getting the heat out.

“That is where the fundamental idea for the GO Battery comes from.

We set out to make a powerful battery that solves a lot of the problems traditionally associated with this form of chemistry. One of the big problems with what everyone else was doing was the heat. The spiral design with the cooling hole down the centre we have developed solves that problem.”

The road to market

Commercialization of HighWater’s products could still be some way off, however. The company secured funding — from an individual — to explore the idea a year ago. Its lab facilities were completed in November 2012 and it has been building cells each week for the past seven months.

The company is in the process of building prototypes and testing them to establish the perfect and most efficient combination of ingredients and components to make the battery. www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 45

CUTTING EDGE BCI In recent months we have managed to increase the 10-second specific power by more than 100% compared to the early data generated two years ago.”

They pay particular attention to the perfect chemistry that makes up the paste the battery uses.

“After about two to three months of development, we had very stable processes and repeatable results,” says Brilmyer. “Mechanically there is very little variability in the cells and we have been concentrating on paste development. In recent months we have managed to increase the 10-second specific power by more than 100% compared to the early data generated two years ago.”

When pressed Brilmyer offered said they had recently reached a specific power of 900 W/Kg when corrected for the excessive weight (132 g) of the ABS prototype case and cover which will soon be copnverted to lightweight injection moulded polypropylene.

“Our next step is to invest in an injection molded case and evaluate our thermal management concept on 12V stacks during HRPSOC cycling. After that we have a lot of work to do to optimize grid-paste ratios and other technical variables. We calculate that we can exceed 1,600 W/Kg in single cells and we have a clear technical path to achieving this level of performance.”

Monitoring the variables

They make around six prototypes a week now. “We’ve have crossed a lot of bridges to get this far, Brilmyer says.

“We’ve a good product already that is producing respectable results and compares favourably to some commercial products. But each week we change a variable and monitor how that affects the performance of the battery.”

Brilmyer says they have better than a 95% success build rate with the new prototype cells and it has come a long way since they first started experimenting in a garage some three years ago. In one year’s time, they believe they will be ready to build a 100V-200V demonstration pack that can be tested commercially.

“They are also in the process of designing the battery pack housing capable of evaluating the theories they have around how the battery could be cooled. This thermal management system will be important in terms of its eventual potential, in prolonging the life of the battery. “Everything 46 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

that is bad for a battery such as corrosion and dry-out is made worse at a higher temperature. This will be a breakthrough,” Brilmyer says.

HighWater’s founders are also working closely with the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium. As members of the ALABC Highwater has direct access to good quality research and key data as they adapt their cell to make use of advanced carbon chemistry. They are also considering the possibility of obtaining a grant from the body. The company funding is stable into the foreseeable future. A patent was filed on the design in 2010 and is currently pending.

Unlike some companies in a similar position, it is also unlikely to eventually consider establishing its own manufacturing facilities — which would certainly require substantial funding. Its business model instead is to establish and prove the benefit of its products and seek a partner such as a battery manufacturer to work in taking the product forward to full commercialization.

The two believe their battery could revolutionize the entire movement towards electric or hybrid vehicles. Indeed they reckon that hybrid vehicles will become the long-term solution for the automotive sector but that this will be dependent on the success of a battery with the qualities that they believe their GO Battery will have.

“We have always felt that the cost and volatility associated with lithium-ion are huge negatives to be overcome to make hybrid vehicles viable. After the recent lithium ion vehicle fires it is evident to us that VRLA is going to play a very key role in HEVs,” Gilchrist says.

“We believe that what we are developing represents a revolutionary design that will enable advanced leadcarbon to become the chemistry of choice for hybrid vehicles. In the current hybrid models out there, the battery alone costs between $3,000 and $5,000 — the biggest cost in the car is

the battery. We think we can develop this for closer to $1,000! There will be a weight gain but the substantial drop in cost will make it worth it.

“The existing technologies are just too expensive for hybrid vehicles to be made truly available to the masses. We do not think the other chemistries are likely to get any better in terms of their ability to solve these problems, Lithium ion, for instance, is great for computers and other personal electronic devices but it is not the best option in cars. It is powerful and very light but also expensive and has safety issues.”

Geopolitical dimensions

In terms of lithium, they also point out that much of the world’s lithium reserves are located in parts of the world without stable governments.

This could potentially lead to shortages in the future of some of the raw materials required. “We could be swapping our oil cartels for lithium cartels in the future if this were to truly become the chemistry of choice,” Gilchrist says. “The other issue is that its potential to be recycled is not great. Lead has an almost closed loop now in terms of its recycling.

“Recycling of lead acid is 98% for a five-year running average. Lithium ion is collected and rarely recycled.

Recycling rates are less than 1%.”

Brilmyer and Gilchrist also say they see a deeper and more poignant reason for them to drive this product forward. “Fundamentally, for the hybrid market to be a success it is dependent on a battery such as this being developed. But the long-term outcome of that would be that there would be a very positive impact on the environment both here in the US and globally.

“We certainly don’t see ourselves as heroes, but more as devoted advocates of VRLA technology. Our GO Battery concept is an applicationspecific design improvement that should make VRLA technology more competitive in the HEV arena,” says Brilmyer.

“Our day to day work consists very much of 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. But this technology does have the potential to change a market and that, in turn, could make a much wider difference.”

“Recycling of lead acid is 98% for a five-year running average. Lithium ion is collected and rarely recycled.

Recycling rates are less than 1%.” www.batteriesinternational.com

CUTTING EDGE BCI K2 expander line offers stop-start solution — BCI member, Hammond Expanders In a recent ALABC report to the BCI Deep Cycling Committee, micro hybrids were called “the choice of consumers”. Micro hybrid electric vehicles seem to represent the best compromise between desired fuel savings on one hand and affordability to the consumer on the other.

Battery demand forecasts for OEM micro hybrid electric vehicles in the years 2020-2025 range between 35 million to 90 million units.

While alternative technologies are on the rise, it is predicted that by 2025 lead acid batteries will still be the predominant technology to serve the classic SLI market segment as well as the micro-hybrid segment with stop-start, regenerative braking, and launch assist functions.

Stop-start and micro hybrid battery applications fall into the category of high rate partial state of charge (HRPSoC) operations.

This means a battery has to be able to accept a large range of charging amps at various states of charge. As the industry has found out over the past few years HRPSoC operation poses a whole new set of challenges for traditional lead acid battery designs.

Particularly it has been observed that the negative plates of the batteries fail because of the development of dense, electrically inert films of lead sulfate on their surfaces. As a result the dynamic charge acceptance of the battery decreases significantly over time.

Hammond Expanders has long been conducting research in the field of advanced expander materials to help overcome such problems. “We started out by participating in ALABC funded research projects with other reputable industry partners, and have learned a lot in terms of material screening and the performance of different types of advanced carbons and lignosulfonates.

“In recent years, our focus has been conducting independent research in order to build on our knowledge targeted on the interaction between the different expander components and the analysis of potential new materials”, says Achim Lulsdorf, vice president of product development at Hammond Group.

Carbon has been demonstrated to counteract the accumulation of dense lead sulfate at the plate surfaces dur-

ing HRPSoC cycling.

Various mechanisms were suggested to explain the positive effect of high carbon loadings (1%-3%) in the negative active material.

Previous ALABC work indicates that certain high structured conductive carbons with an optimized balance of particle size, porosity, and surface chemistry help to form a conductive matrix in the dense sulfate layer, thus breaking it up and allowing current to pass.

“We did not stop here. Recent Hammond studies have somewhat turned conventional wisdom upside down. The understanding that low lignosulfonate dosage levels would result in high charge acceptance performance does not necessarily apply when it comes to PSoC operation, said Lulsdorf.

“Furthermore standard J537 charge acceptance testing does not seem to be a reliable method for predicting dynamic charge acceptance and PSoC cycling performance. So, rather than focusing on individual expander components we started to look at the interaction of different lignosulfonates and advanced carbons.”

While alternative technologies are on the rise, it is predicted that by 2025 lead acid batteries will still be the predominant technology to serve the classic SLI market segment as well as the micro-hybrid segment with stop-start, regenerative braking, and launch assist functions.

Table 1 presents an overview of the various products.

K2 -Peak -

Application

Optimized for

Stop Start

VRLA or EF batteries used in ISS vehicles

• high CA • J537 performance

Capacity

VRLA or EF batteries used in Micro-Hybrid vehicles.

Focus on • Initial capacity • J537 performance • Capacity maintenance during HRPSoC cycling

*Use of advanced carbons and graphites, optimized balance of • Particle Size • Structure • Porosity • Surface Chemistry Use of organic additive to supplement traditional Sodium-Lignosulfonate

Endurance V

VRLA batteries used in Micro-Hybrid vehicles.

Focus on • HRPSoC cycle life • Low water consumption

See *

Endurance F

EF batteries used in Micro-Hybrid vehicles.

Focus on • HRPSoC cycle life

See *

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook 47

CUTTING EDGE BCI Figure 1 HPSoC Cycle Performance

% of HPSOC Cycles compared to Control

6000

5000

4785 4000

3000

2000

1871 1000

100 0

Expander Product Standard Automotive Expander K2-Peak Endurance

K2 Peak Capacity

Figure 2 Initial Capacity (mAh/g) of K2 Products 160

Hammond has maximized the interaction benefits by combining different materials at various dosage levels to accommodate the customer’s needs.

“We recognize that a one-size-fitsall approach would not be helpful to our customers. At this point in time there is no such thing as a universally accepted standard for micro hybrid batteries.” said Eric Holtan, vice president of sales and marketing at Hammond Group. “Instead, batteries have to fulfill a wide range of requirements.

While some customers strictly focus on HRPSoC cycle life, others demand moderate cycle life performance but also demand cold crank and capacity performance.”

The new K2 expander product line reflects Hammond’s most recent development work and is the first comprehensive HRPSoC expander product line offered to the battery industry.

Figures 1-3 portray a summary of product performance data.

140

Figure 1: The K2 – Peak – Endurance expander is the top performer when it comes to HRPSoC cycle life (charge and discharge rates at 2C). It achieved about 50 times as many cycles compared to a standard automotive expander. The K2 – Peak – Capacity product still surpassed the standard expander by a factor of about 20.

Initial Capacity (mAh/g)

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Standard Automotive Expander

K2-Peak Endurance Expander Product

K2 Peak Capacity

Figure 3 HPPC Charge Power between 60% and 80% SOC

% of Recharge Power compared to Control

160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Expander Product Standard Automotive Expander K2-Peak Endurance

48 Batteries International • BCI 2014 Yearbook

K2 Peak Capacity

Figure 2: In terms of initial capacity a standard expander with a low carbon dosage will always outperform a blend with high carbon loading simply due to the fact that a substantial amount of lead in the negative active material is replaced by carbon. The K2 – Peak – Capacity expander is the product choice when a reasonable compromise between HRPSoC cycle life and initial/reserve capacity performance is required.

Figure 3: Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization – this test compares the impact the various expander blends have on the cell’s ability to accept power pulses in the relevant partial state of charge range (60% - 80%). The K2 – Peak – Endurance clearly outperforms the standard automotive blend. Once again the K2 – Peak – Capacity product represents a good compromise in terms of cycle life.

www.batteriesinternational.com

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