BCI Yearbook & Special Pre-2015 Convention Report

Savannah, USA • May 3-5, 2015

& Special Pre-2015 Convention Report

• BCI: global ambitions stride ahead • Lead and the ever-changing rule book • Convention highlights explored • Personal perspectives: Kubis, Vechy • Battery Council origins, goals, successes • Battery heroines: Bullock, Burbank

Bringing the industry together www.batteriesinternational.com

CONTENTS

BCI Yearbook & Special Pre-2015 Convention Report Battery Council International’s 127th Convention and Power Mart Expo, looks yet again 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 Savannah, Georgia should find much to talk about.

Editorial

2

Catching the gleam of the morning’s first beam — a brief guide to Savannah

4

The view from BCI, speaking with a single voice

6

Hands across the Pacific: the BCI-CBIA partnership

10

Wiley Rein: dealing with the new regulatory landscape

14

Presentations: the keynote, data findings, the price of lead and energy

16

Personal views on the convention: Steve Vechy, Ray Kubis

20

Find us! Power Mart floor plan for the exhibitors

26

New product launch at BCI: MAC Engineering’s In-line AGM COS

29

Managing levels of lead in the blood

31

The BCI story: the way we were — and are

35

BCI’s Marketing Committee

38

The Class of 2015: the new members

40

BCI members directory

41

The business of running the business — BCI committee directory

43

Battery heroines: Kathryn Bullock, Jeanne Burbank

45

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 1

EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@batteriesinternational.com

The difference between strategy and desire Lawrence Freedman in a truly outstanding book, Strategy: the History, puts his finger on a problem directly at the heart of discussions that need to be held at this year’s BCI meeting.

It’s the difference between strategy, speculation and planning.

Strategy is governed by its starting point and not the end point. Speculation comes in many forms but is normally the reverse. (And planning is something else entirely.)

The question that needs to be posed to the visionary gabblers and theorists that our latest generation of advanced battery developers have thrown up is this: at what point does your thinking start from?

Put simply. Most are looking at the end point.

They imagine a sunlit la-la land where 120% recyclable batteries — or maybe even 1200% — store harvests from the energy of the sun. In this bright new world, we may not have to hug trees but these green electrons will even keep our opentoed sandals polished.

Sarcasm aside, they’re not mapping out the route that we get there.

In which case it’s neither strategy nor planning.

Their talk is always that the problems of today will be solved by the march of a technology that is frequently unproven (certainly in the scale that will be required) and still unknown (in its achievability).

Clearly, this makes it more of a leap of faith than any attempt at taking a cold-blooded view of the future worthy of calling itself a strategy.

So, although we believe that ‘advanced’ — that blanket marketing term which verges on the meaningless — battery products of all chemistries will eventually win through, this is no more than a leap of faith, if a logical one.

Publisher: Karen Hampton, karen@batteriesinternational.com, +44 (0) 1787 329 722 Editor: Michael Halls, mhalls@batteriesinternational.com, +44 (0) 1787 329 721 Assistant editor: Lynnda Greene, lgreene@batteriesinternational.com, +1 314 727 3893

Business development manager June Moultrie june@batteriesinternational.com +44 (0) 7528 503 714 Reception: +44 (0) 1787 329 720 fax: +44 1787 329 730 Subscriptions and admin manager: Claire Ronnie, subscriptions@batteriesinternational.com admin@batteriesinternational.com +44 (0) 1903 746 169

2 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

If advanced means better, cheaper, more powerful, we can only hope that the better will succeed. It’s not certain; despite our dreams.

But the core issue at the heart of any strategy is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one’s control.

Freedman points out that the inherent unpredictability of our environment — being subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends and enemies — provides strategy with its challenge and its dramas.

Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, he says. Rather they feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite that anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective.

And here at Savannah rather than glibly assume (as some do) that lead acid will necessarily triumph over other chemistries because of its price — another leap of faith — we need to think how this can be made to happen.

At the moment the lead acid battery industry is a sleeping giant, the huge momentum of its automotive battery sales around the world, has deprived it of any meaningful sense of strategy.

What seems to be left could best be described as planning. And that’s not strategy at all.

Planning for the future is common sense. But it’s also a one-dimensional approach; a simpler solution that ignores swathes of the difficulties and challenges ahead.

The Bible says in the book of Proverbs: “Without a vision the people perish” — it’s as relevant today as it was a couple of millennia go.

If we can combine strategy with vision then who knows what will be in store for us at a BCI convention in a generation’s time?

Special reports editor Wyn Jenkins wyn.jenkins@serenglobalmedia.com Staff reporters: Philip Moorcroft, William Aslan Design and production: Antony Parselle, aparselledesign@me.com +44 (0) 1727 899 360 International advertising representation: advertising@batteriesinternational.com

The contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No unauthorised translation or reproduction is permitted. ISSN 1462-6322 © 2015 Mustard Seed Publishing, UK company no: 5976361. Printed in the UK via Thisismethod UK Disclaimer: Although we believe in the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this magazine, Mustard Seed Publishing makes no warranties or representation about this. Nor should anything contained within it should be construed as constituting an offer to buy or sell securities, or constitute advice in relation to the buying or selling of investments.

www.batteriesinternational.com

SAVANNAH

General William Sherman, conqueror of Savannah and a military man who avoided politics all his life famously saying: “If forced to choose between the penitentiary and the White House for four years, I would say the penitentiary, thank you.”

A HUMP TOO FAR One famous son of Savannah is Henry Constantine Wayne, who has gone down in history with the dubious distinction of being the man who tried to bring the use of camels to the arsenal of the US Army.

Wayne was a US Army officer who, with fellow officer George Crosman, advocated the military use of camels for transportation of supplies. In 1836, an extensive study into the matter was presented proposing the creation of a US Camel Corps.

Wayne led an expedition to the Middle East to buy $30,000 worth of camels. They eventually returned with 33 camels and experimented with the animals in the deserts of the western US. More than 40 more camels would arrive later to join the corps.

Subsequently, camels were used in several minor army expeditions in the desert regions of the southwestern US in the 1840s and 1850s. By the time of the Civil War, however, the concept of a Camel Corps had been abandoned.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN SAVANNAH IN MAY

AIR 82F • OCEAN 72F 4 • Batteries Internatio International onal • BCI 2015 Yearbo Yearbook oo o ok ok

Catching the gleam of the morning’s first beam Welcome to Savannah, the largest city and county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, but also known as America’s first ‘planned city’. This is because its founder, general James Edward Oglethorpe, on arriving from England, organized Savannah into grids — most of which remain to this day.

Savannah is also famous for one of the largest St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world and, perhaps unsurprisingly given its affinity with St Patrick’s Day, its unrivalled hospitality. It also featured heavily in the film Forrest Gump, was the location of the first Girl Scouts meeting and was once offered by general Sherman to president Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas present — one of the reasons it was not completely destroyed in the Civil War. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital. But, today, Savannah is an industrial centre and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia’s fourthlargest city and third-largest metropolitan area.

With its pedestrian-friendly layout and innovative urban design, Savannah attracts and inspires many millions of visitors with its emerald tree canopy, quaint cobblestone streets and majestic architecture.

This coastal city comes to life in the sspring when the azaleas reach their full b bloom, blanketing the city in an explossion of colour.

It’s also a huge tourist destination but w with good reasons why. In the past 10 yyears more than 50 million people have vvisited Savannah, drawn by its enchantiing history, elegant architecture, ornate iironwork, fountains, green squares and yyear-round activities — from St Patrrick’s Day events to music and food

festivals to exhibitions and Civil War re-enactments.

Although this year’s conference unfortunately misses St Patrick’s Day, delegates might be tempted by an Andy Warhol exhibition taking place at the Jepson Center nearby. Spanning three decades of Andy Warhol’s career, this features some of the artist’s most iconic screen prints, including portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Mao Zedong, the splashy camouflage series, and the controversial electric chair portfolio.

But there many other sites and attractions for visitors with the city’s architecture and historic buildings including birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (the First Girl Scout), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, the First African Baptist Church, Temple Mickve Israel, and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex.

Savannah’s downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District and 22 park-like squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the US.

A brief history Savannah’s recorded history begins in 1733 when a British general James Oglethorpe and 120 passengers of the good ship Anne landed along the Savannah River. Oglethorpe named the 13th and final American colony “Georgia” after England’s king, George II. Savannah became its first city. www.batteriesinternational.com

SAVANNAH The plan was to offer a new start for England’s working poor and to strengthen the colonies by increasing trade. Under its original charter, individuals were free to worship as they pleased but rum, lawyers and slavery were forbidden.

Upon settling, Oglethorpe became friends with the local Yamacraw Indian chief, Tomochichi. They pledged mutual goodwill and Tomochichi granted them permission to settle Savannah. As a result, the town flourished without the warfare and hardship that burdened many of America’s early colonies.

During the American Revolution, the British took Savannah in 1778 and held it until 1782. After independence was secured, Savannah flourished. Its soil was rich and climate favourable for cultivation of cotton and rice.

With slavery proving profitable in neighbouring states such as South Carolina, Georgia legalized slavery. The trade brought many African-Americans through the port of Savannah ultimately helping form the unique Gullah culture of the coastal communities in Georgia and South Carolina.

With their new-found wealth, residents built lavish homes and churches throughout the city. After the invention of the cotton gin on a plantation outside of Savannah, the city rivalled Charleston as a commercial port. Many of the world’s cotton prices were set on the steps of the Savannah Cotton Exchange.

But Savannah was not spared misfortune. Two devastating fires in 1796 and 1820 each left half of Savannah in ashes. But residents re-built.

In 1820 an outbreak of yellow fever killed a tenth of its population. Savannah has also survived fires, epidemics and hurricanes but always bounced back.

Pre-Civil War Savannah was known as one of the most picturesque and serene cities in America. The Georgia Historical Society was founded in that era.

Magnificent Forsyth Park acquired its ornate fountain, a sight worth seeing.

But during the Civil War, the city suffered from sea blockades and its economy crumbled. The city fell at the hands of Union general William Tecumseh Sherman who entered after burning the city of Atlanta and everything else in his path.

But upon entering Savannah, Sherman was said to be so impressed by its beauty that he www.batteriesinternational.com

could not destroy it. On December 22, 1864, he sent a famous telegram to president Abraham Lincoln, offering the city as a Christmas present!

After the end of the Civil War, the economy was in ruins. Despite these hardships and the added burdens of prejudice, the freed slaves who remained in Savannah built a thriving community, with its own churches, schools and economic strength. Savannah became one of the most historically significant African-American cities in the nation.

At the turn of the 20th century, cotton was king again. Savannah thrived, as did her new industries, including the export of resin and lumber. Then the boll weevils came, destroying most of the cotton and the state’s economy — about the same time that the Great Depression began.

It wasn’t until the post-war years that Savannah bounced back again, not just economically but also culturally and aesthetically. A group of women banded together in the 1950s to preserve historic structures threatened by the wrecking ball. Their brave endeavours began the Historic Savannah Foundation, which is credited with saving the beautiful architecture that was the foundation of Savannah’s charm.

Savannah’s Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It is one of the largest historic landmarks in the country.

Check out the Jepson Center’s Andy Warhol exhibition

Savannah has one of the largest St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world

SAVANNAH: THE NOTORIOUS? • Parts of Forrest Gump were filmed in Savannah, most notably the bench Forest sat on the north side of Chippewa Square, for the famous “Life is like a box of chocolates” quote. The bench is now located in the Savannah History Museum.

• Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low was born in Savannah, and the very first Girl Scouts meeting was held there.

• The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is based on events in Savannah from the 1980s, particularly the murder trials of John Williams.

General Oglethorpe became friends with the local Yamacraw Indian chief, Tomochichi. They pledged mutual goodwill and Tomochichi granted them permission to settle Savannah

• The Pirates’ House was an inn that is mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book “Treasure Island”, it is now a restaurant.

• Savannah was voted one of the “World’s Top 10 Trendy Travel Hot Spots” by the New York Times.

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 5

THE VIEW FROM BCI Batteries International spoke to BCI’s Mark Thorsby, for his views ahead of the convention in Savannah and his thinking of the issues and challenges for the year ahead.

Speaking with a single voice

“Our growing ability to speak with a single voice means we can exert real influence on behalf of the industry. Our CBIA tie-up for instance, means that just between the two of us we can speak for and represent 70% of the lead acid battery manufacturing community” 6 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

These continue to be exciting times for BCI. And on a variety of different fronts. “The new partnership with China’s battery industry association, the CBIA is a real achievement,” says Mark Thorsby, executive vice president, of Batteries Council International, “and reflects our growing internationalization. Over the past couple of years we’ve been cementing our relationship with sister organizations around the world,” he says.

“Our growing ability to speak with a single voice means we can exert real influence on behalf of the industry. Our CBIA tie-up for instance, means that just between the two of us we can speak for and represent 70% of the lead acid battery manufacturing community.”

BCI continues to strengthen its ties with EUROBAT, the International Lead Association and its subsidiary ALABC (the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium) and the Battery Association of Japan. Relationships are also being explored in South Korea.

Thorsby is aware that the whole industry is increasingly having to respond to growing regulation, making the work of Wiley Rein, the association’s legal counsel and lobbying arm, all the more important.

“It’s more than just responding to new legislation but being able to frame the rules so that they make sense for our members,” says Thorsby. “We’re making important moves in the separation and labelling of lithium ion batteries — many of which are designed to look like regular lead acid ones — which is going to become increasingly important in the future.

“With the first generation of lithium ion batteries coming to an end of their useful life, we need to make sure that they don’t enter the lead acid recycling stream where they are potentially highly explosive.”

BCI is also moving quickly in trying to deal with increased regulation to do with lead — something that is almost certainly going to be compulsory in the coming years. “The history of the lead acid battery industry is one of real achievements made in terms of reducing lead levels in www.batteriesinternational.com

THE VIEW FROM BCI blood,” says Thorsby. ”The average blood level of a battery manufacturing worker is under 20 μg/dL — which is about the same as that of the average American in 1975 before lead was taken out of petrol.

“There’s no question in science that exposure to lead is good for you and we’re looking at ways — from robotic equipment to sealed production lines — that could reduce this to nothing,” A successful conference was held this January in Florida on the subject. More are planned.

Thorsby says too that the themes of the convention — re-invention and reinvigoration — reflect the changing industry. “BCI has traditionally been a lead-acid based association but that’s changing. Many of our members have a foot in the lithium-ion camp as well,” he says.

“BCI is reaching out to non-traditional members as well.”

There are plans to encourage — and reward — re-invention and reinvigoration which Thorsby will release during the convention.

He is particular excited by the keynote speaker Josh Linkner, the founder of four tech companies which have been sold for over $200 million and the author of The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation.

“Linkner is also one of the men that are helping rebuild and reshape Detroit,” says Thorsby. “He’s got more than just an interesting story to tell but genuine case stories about how to put theory into practice.”

So much for the serious side of BCI conducting its business, what about the fun side?

Even the most hardened conference veterans couldn’t help but be impressed with last year’s dining and band on the USS Medway in San Diego or forget the crab-bashing dinner the year before in Baltimore.

“This year we’re taking the pace down a little,” says Thorsby, “reflecting the laid-back quality of the South. Both of our social events are going to be held outside — the weather should be perfect at this time of the year — close to the river.

In our welcoming reception we’ll be celebrating with local whiskey and cigars. We know it’s a taste of the South that many have yet to enjoy.

“Likewise in our closing reception we’ll be exploring Lowcountry cuisine. That’s the cooking for this very particular area of the US where www.batteriesinternational.com

Georgia meets South Carolina. The food will include shrimps, fish, crabs and oysters. Imagine the sun going down on the Savannah River and some of the giant ocean-going ships heading in and out to the ocean.”

Thorsby’s plans for the next year are already well advanced. Typically BCI conventions are held alternately on the east and west coasts of the US. This time the convention heads for the middle: to San Antonio in Texas. “It’s a fabulous location to a riverside Marriott that has to be reached by flat-bottom boats. It’s going to be great,” he says.

Informal dining at the 2013 convention in Baltimore — and fun too!

Networking of a different kind: last year’s winners of the golf tournament

Helping cement the BCI-CBIA link with Zhong Faping a congressman in the People’s Republic of China and head of the CBIA Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 7

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BCI AND CHINA

BCI has committed itself to a partnership with its Chinese equivalent, the CBIA. This means that the two bodies together represent 70% of the world’s lead acid battery manufacturing firms.

Hands across the Pacific — BCI has recently finalized the small print on a ground-breaking partnership with the China Battery Industry Association (CBIA).

The two bodies will work together to achieve some of the joint goals of the two associations.

It is not the first such partnership BCI has entered into. It has similar relationships with bodies in Europe, Canada and Japan. But it is a significant move for the association because of the size and rapid growth of the batteries market in China.

Mark Thorsby, executive vice-president of BCI, says the aims of the alliance include forging a productive relationship with Chinese government to nurture a supportive regulatory environment and nurturing a global

communications network within the batteries industry.

“We set out to establish a relationship with what we believed to be the main association that represents the lead acid battery manufacturing industry in China today,” says Thorsby.

“China is, without question, the largest market in the in the world for many types of batteries and it continues to grow. They manufacture a huge amount of lead-acid batteries including for a large number of US-owned companies. Although that is a minority compared with the China-owned manufacturers we just felt it made sense for a number of strategic reasons to have this relationship in place.”

He points out that BCI and CBIA’s members comprise 70% of the lead

BCI and CBIA’s members comprise 70% of the lead acid battery manufacturing companies in the world — the partnership is should create a unified voice for the industry and allow both associations to better serve their members 10 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

acid battery manufacturing companies in the world. This means the partnership is expected to create a unified voice for the industry and allow both associations to better serve their members.

“We want to facilitate a global communications network, primarily because of the global nature of the business we’re in. We’re going to continue to seek out organizations that represent large groups of battery manufacturers and suppliers,” says Thorsby.

Such partnerships enable BCI to help achieve far-reaching change in the global battery industry.

Thorsby says the origins of the partnership came about some seven years ago when BCI held an environmental health & safety seminar in Beijing. It was attended mainly by Chinese staff working for US battery manufacturers operating in China, he says. Though successful, the experience helped BCI better understand the potential of such events if they could get buy-in from local Chinese companies and staff.

“We realized that only working with www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI AND CHINA

— the BCI-China connection US plants would not achieve the objective we were seeking. And we realized we would not get buy in from local firms without some sort of support,” he says.

Then, some three years ago, at the invitation of the Chinese authorities, the BCI organized a two-day health and safety seminar featuring a number of top health and safety executives.

This time, some 200 Chinese executives attended, all senior managers or directors. Thorsby says the event was very well received.

After that, the BCI started to formalize a working relationship with the batteries sector. It explored ties with a number of other bodies that represent the batteries sector in various forms before settling on the CBIA. “Some of the bodies we spoke to were more the organizations behind trade shows — which is fine — but we wanted a real partner in China with the right links to government and also a critical mass of manufacturing and suppliers as members. We also wanted a key event with gravitas that would act as an important date in the calendar. www.batteriesinternational.com

“In the CBIA we found everything we were looking for. We got to the point where we were comfortable and wanted an alliance. They visited us in the US and we discussed how the relationship could work. They were very keen and understood some of the key objectives we were looking to achieve.

“We think this is the real deal and will make a big difference to some of the initiatives we want to push forward this year.”

He says the first of these is to enlist CBIA participation around the initiative to prevent the contamination of the lead-acid recycling stream with lithium-ion. “This is becoming a big problem now,” he says. “There are more and more lithium-ion batteries that are even being designed to look like lead-acid ones “This means that the identification and segregation of lithium-ion is be-

coming more and more important.

But because of the Chinese influence on the market and the extent of their manufacturing operations they need to be part of the solution.”

He says there are several components to trying to find a solution. One is better labelling of batteries, potentially implementing a colour scheme that would be used to identify the different chemistries being used inside.

The BCI is working on a proposal that would potentially implement such a scheme.

This will enable separation and segregation of battery chemistries at collection sites, which will help reduce the problem of lithium ion batteries finding their way into the lead acid battery recycling stream.

“It would certainly help in terms of the sorting and separation at the collection point. It wouldn’t be much use

“We wanted a real partner in China with the right links to government and also a critical mass of manufacturing and suppliers as members” Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 11

BCI AND CHINA

“China is, without question, the largest market in the in the world for many types of batteries and it continues to grow. They manufacture a huge amount of lead-acid batteries including for a large number of USowned companies.” at the smelter but we think that 90% of the problems could be solved at the collection point,” Thorsby says.

BCI is working with global partners including EUROBAT, the International Lead Association, the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium, the Applied Battery Research for Transportation Program and the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association to develop a labelling system for visual identification of the chemistry inside each battery.

But adding China to that list could make all the difference.

“It’s an immediate challenge that we’re facing not just in the US but around the globe,” says Thorsby. “We think the labelling system will solve about 90%-95% of the problems. We now hope to secure cooperation from the CBIA in getting their members to affix the proper labels on the batteries based on the chemistry.

“The scary thing that we all fear is if there were to be a serious accident at a lead smelter if we do not confront this problem. A lithium-ion battery in a furnace could cause an explosion and cause physical damage or even personal injury.

“In turn, that would also have a detrimental effect on all the hard work that has been done historically to ensure lead-acid recycling is successful — it is one of the most recycled products in the world. We cannot allow anything to detract from that success which is why this issue is so important.”

We think the labelling system will solve about 90%-95% of the problems. We now hope to secure cooperation from the CBIA in getting their members to affix the proper labels on the batteries based on the chemistry.

China. We are not exactly sure what that system will be yet or how it will work as this is just early stages. But it is something we will work towards long term and our partnership with the CBIA represents a good starting point.”

This partnership with the CBIA is just the latest in a number formed by the BCI — part of a trend where it become increasingly outward focused as an organization and intent on developing a global footprint.

Thorsby says this reflects what their members need and the way the global batteries market is changing.

“The reality is that our members are becoming increasingly multi-national.

Many have headquarters in the US but have substantial international relations.

“Having these global partnerships allows us to better advise members on problems and challenges and have a better understanding of the regulatory environment in different countries. We can also collect data that can be very useful to members.”

Thorsby admits that there are some language and cultural challenges in setting up such agreements but that the benefits outweigh any such difficulties.

“This sector is already completely global and will continue to becoming increasingly unrestricted by borders.

We need to reflect that trend in what we do and in a way that best serves the needs of our members.”

GETTING THE NUMBERS RIGHT

Healthy outlook BCI is also working with the CBIA on initiatives to improve the health of battery manufacturing employees.

This fits in with the ethos of the events it initiated in China several years ago.

“We aim to get blood lead levels down and with the ultimate dream of eliminating workers’ exposure to lead,” he says. “That is another longterm goal — to implement better health and safety and environmental standards to our industry regardless of the country and where the workers live.”

“So that is another of our goals in 12 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

Another long-term scheme the BCI is working on involves the acceptance and implementation of a full and accurate global battery numbering system. Thorsby says there are at least three different

numbering systems globally and making it very difficult for companies operating globally.

“This is a direct response to something that would really help our members,” he says.

www.batteriesinternational.com

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CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

All eyes on California’s regulatory charge Ahead of the 127th Convention, Batteries International spoke to David Weinberg, partner at law firm, Wiley & Rein to explain some of the themes in his own presentation — always regarded as one of the mustattend events.

David Weinberg, partner at law firm Wiley Rein, will present at BCI on regulatory developments that have already happened since the last conference and some of those that are pending this year. The topic is both a huge one in terms of its implications and one that refuses to go away.

California will again dominate the talk as the state continues to take its own direction on a number of key environmental issues critical to the batteries industry. How these play out in the future will be of great interest to the industry.

The first issue he will cover is the move by California to reconsider general workplace standards for lead exposure.

The Federal Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA) has not updated its own general workplace standards for lead exposure since establishing them 35 years ago. Now, with no change on the agenda, California is taking its own initiative. Its own Division of Occupational Safety and Health is working toward tightening these regulations.

Weinberg says that if California succeeds and demonstrates that its leadrelated businesses can survive tougher

“When you change these regulations, you put the onus on industry to invest more to clean up their operations and reduce emissions beyond the very low levels already reached. But that can be an expensive and sometimes unrealistic task. If the levels go much lower, it will get very, very expensive to reduce them further — there are substantial question marks over the real health benefits of doing that.”

14 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS regulations, it could set an influential precedent that could become a big deal for the batteries industry.

“This process has been underway for several years already but there is an important meeting coming up that means we could have more idea as to the direction this is heading before the BCI Convention,” he says.

He says it is no great surprise that California is going down this route.

While every other state follows Federal rules and regulations, even if they have their own enforcing agencies, California has a long track record of working independently and setting its own standards on many things.

More rigorous standards Weinberg stresses that the point that the standards have not changed since the 1970s is in fact a misnomer. The industry’s own standards are far more rigorous anyway. As such, the lead levels in the blood of a worker in a battery plant is roughly the same as what it was for every member of the population in the 1950s. “The point is that standards have improved massively anyway, without federal intervention,” he says.

But the proposals in California could potentially reduce this standard to somewhere in the region of a fifth of the current recommended federal levels. This would be around a third of the accepted industry standard these days.

Although, in theory, any changes would apply to California only, Weinberg says that the industry has concerns around the way such regulations would play out when applied to wider federal legislation relating to worker welfare.

“In addition to any specific regulations around materials, companies must also abide by a more general Federal “general duty” clause regarding worker protection. The relationship between this general duty clause and standards as set by certain states is ambiguous, but in theory you could see a situation where regulators argue that a guideline set by an individual state could become relevant.”

The second area he will cover, also in relation to California, relates to air quality standards. Again, California is setting high standards and this has a particular relevance to the lead industry because of the two major smelters based in the Los Angeles area. “Again, the industry is facing increasingly rigorous requirements,” he says.

Specifically, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the air pollution control agency for Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, www.batteriesinternational.com

“So the move to lower the level has grabbed the industry’s attention. But it is the latest in a long series of situations where California has chosen to be more aggressive on environment regulations such as this” Riverside and San Bernardino areas, is pushing for higher standards — above federal standards.

This is especially pertinent because the federal government has recently proposed not to change its standard in relation to air pollution. The last time they reduced it — lowered their tolerance of pollutants in the air — was almost 10 years ago. The Fed reviews this level every five years based on the latest scientific evidence. It recently decided the level was fine as it is. “They have been through an extensive scientific consultation which resulted in the decision to retain the same level,” he says.

“So the move to lower the level has grabbed the industry’s attention. But it is the latest in a long series of situations where California has chosen to be more aggressive on environmental regulations such as this,” he says.

The original proposals were made several months ago and a meeting this April should offer more clarity on the direction of this proposal now. Weinberg believes the formal proposal could be scheduled for late summer or the fall.

Some of the tactics of California legislators have had a very direct effect on the batteries industry. Exide will now not reopen its smelter and Weinberg says the reality is that certain types of businesses will simply find it easier to either relocate or focus their efforts on operations in different states.

“The fact is that when you change these regulations, you simply put the onus on industry to invest more to clean up their operations and reduce

emissions beyond the very low levels already reached. But that can be an expensive and sometimes unrealistic task.

If the levels go much lower, it will get very, very expensive to reduce them further for companies and there are substantial question marks over the real health benefits of doing that.”

He also notes that since Exide is not now reopening whether further restrictions are really necessary at all.

Practical realities “The practical reality is that companies will start to avoid the state. There are four major battery companies in the LA basin, two of which also have operations in Georgia. They no doubt will simply invest more in those instead of in California. California is becoming an increasingly difficult place to do business for manufacturers precisely because the regulatory schemes there are so burdensome.”

His speech will also touch on the labelling requirements being rolled out by the federal government that will affect battery manufacturers and a new control act relating to toxic substances.

He will also discuss the consequences of the disparity between standards in Mexico and other countries compared with the US. Weinberg has more than 35 years of experience in administrative and environmental law, specializing in environmental, occupational health and safety, transportation, product safety, and pesticide matters, and has represented BCI on these issues for over 20 years.

IT’S A GLOBAL PROBLEM About a third of the airborne lead analysed in a study of pollution in the San Francisco Bay Area came from Asia, according to a 2010 study “Pb Isotopes as an Indicator of the Asian Contribution to Particulate Air Pollution in Urban California”.

In the analysis scientists from the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Air Resources Board tracked variations in the amount of lead transported across the Pacific.

They used the lead particles’ isotopic signature as a chemical return address, which enabled them to trace some of the lead’s origins to coal and metal ore found only in Asia.

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 15

BCI PRESENTATIONS Batteries International invited four of the convention’s speakers to give a sneak preview of some of the content in their presentations. With surprises planned, all will not be completely revealed ...

The joys of anticipation

“As a professional-level jazz guitarist, I blend the improvisational qualities of a jazz ensemble with business savvy to bring a fresh perspective on unleashing creativity in the organization.”

—Josh Linkner, entrepreneur and keynote speaker Josh Linkner, the keynote address: harnessing innovation: turning raw ideas into powerful results The keynote speaker at BCI this year will be Josh Linkner a four-time successful tech entrepreneur and investor in dozens of start-ups.

Linkner says he has seen thousands of companies loaded with “creative buzz and big ideas”. The purpose of this talk will be to examine why it is that some of these companies “successfully harness their imagination to create game-changing drivers of growth and innovation” while others miss the mark.

“The answer: the best companies have a systematic process to focus their team’s creativity into practical outputs,” he says. Linkner says he discovered this by founding and building companies that collectively sold for over $200 million.

“As a professional-level jazz guitarist, I blend the improvisational qualities of a jazz ensemble with business 16 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

savvy to bring a fresh perspective on unleashing creativity in the organization,” he says.

His presentation delivers practical tools that can be used immediately to increase creative output and deliver bottom-line results.

He says attendees will learn to: use specific techniques to harness the most powerful ideas; apply creativity on a daily basis across business activities and roles; break free from the three biggest blockers of creativity; apply best practices from the world’s most innovative companies; avoid the five biggest creativity killers; master the three most powerful brainstorming techniques that you’ve never even heard of; and build a culture that celebrates fresh thinking and embraces new ideas.

2014 Battery Shipment Review & Forecast Report Dale Gospodarek, director of marketing for the US/Canada region at Johnson Controls, will present the findings and analysis from the 2014 Battery Shipment Review & Forecast Report.

Gospodarek will cover the key demand drivers in the battery space as well as a five year outlook for the OE and aftermarket.

The starting point for this year’s presentation will be last year’s, he says. Among other things, that presentation covered new and used car sales during the recession and the influence these trends have and will have on battery sales going forward.

“There are some short-term head winds but some long-term tail winds,” he says. “But sales improved dramatically from 2010 on in terms of the batteries. We are starting to see the first replacement windows emerge now.”

He says the picture for battery manufacturers is made more complex by the growing emergence of electric and hybrid vehicles. But the drivers influencing growth this market are varied and complex.

“There is a question over what would really kick-start this market.

Would it be government incentives,

the cost of fuel increasing beyond a certain point or improvements in the range of certain types of vehicles?”

He notes there were many factors that influenced demand for certain types of batteries during the economic downturn. People didn’t use their boats as much or take as many holidays, he notes, affecting batteries used by leisure craft. Fewer new homes were built, affecting demand from the construction sector.

Gospodarek’s talk will focus predominantly on the North American market. While the topics covered here represent the starting point for his presentation, he says he is keeping the big themes for those attending the event in May. He also notes that he believes one of the roles of the BCI should be to help protect the reputation and image of the batteries industry. “There has been some negative press and we should be looking to defend our reputation and ensure the positives messages from this industry are heard, he says.

The picture for battery manufacturers is made more complex by the growing emergence of electric and hybrid vehicles. But the drivers influencing growth this market are varied and complex — Dale Gospodarek, JCI www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI PRESENTATIONS Lead prices set to stage slow, erratic recovery The recent fall in lead prices has caused anxiety in the market and tangible consequences such as Ivernia’s closing of its Paroo Station lead mine.

But one lead analyst has predicted a slow, albeit erratic recovery in lead prices over the coming months.

The price of lead has fallen dramatically in recent months with prices dipping briefly below $1800 a tonne.

Neil Hawkes, lead analyst at CRU, a London-based commodity research consultancy, said developments in the Greece/EU debt negotiations — coming to a head as the yearbook went to press — combined with the strength of the Chinese markets will have an influence.

He says the drop in lead prices is mirrored by falls in the prices of other metals and commodities including oil and copper. However, the outlook for some metals remains bullish.

“This raises the question of what is going to be the supplier response,” he said. “Ivernia’s closing of its Paroo Station lead mine has drawn a line in the sand to say these kinds of low prices are hurting miners. There could possibly be some more responses, but Paroo Station is quite unique in that lead is its only product.”

Hawkes says it is likely that, as lead prices have already recovered a little, no further major mine cutting decisions will be made at this stage.

“At the moment people feel unclear about the future, which is why we’ve see prices bouncing around as they have done. There may be more of that over the next couple of weeks. Beyond that lead’s own industry fundamentals are still reasonably robust. It’s not a very exciting story for lead in the shorter term but it’s not a disastrous story either.”

Hawkes anticipates that lead should recover after people see evidence that the rate of Chinese growth is merely slowing rather than facing any major collapse.

“They will also see that demand is still holding up reasonably well in other parts of the world, but that supplies are more than able to meet demand at the moment,” he says.

He says supply is bolstered by secondary production: despite the fact that scrap prices have been high and are squeezing smelter margins, generally there will be no shortage of capacity to treat that scrap so secondary production will continue to rise.

“On the primary side really you’ve www.batteriesinternational.com

got an interesting dynamic because most of the mine production of lead is typically alongside zinc and silver,” he says. “We as a company are forecasting zinc prices to go considerably higher over the next three to five years, silver prices to fall off a little bit further over the same period and lead to sit somewhere in the middle, so the revenue streams for miners is one of the most interesting areas to keep an eye on.”

He says that rather than looking at lead in isolation it is necessary to look at it in relation to some of the other metals.

“Even if lead prices stay relatively flat in its own industry, if zinc and copper were to rally, and if oil prices were to pick up again, if investors were to show a little bit more interest with nerves calmed over the Eurozone and Chinese growth getting back onto an even keel, all those kind of things could pull up lead even though lead’s market doesn’t change much at all.”

Lead’s fundamentals are still reasonably robust.

It’s not a very exciting story for lead in the shorter term but it’s not a disastrous story either — Neil Hawkes, CRU

WHY ENERGY CANNOT BE IGNORED Sean Fallmer, vice-president, commodity pricing & analysis at Noble Americas Energy Solutions, will present on the impacts of energy prices at the BCI, linking how the evolution of key market drivers such as policy, regulation and geopolitical shifts will impact energy prices in the future.

“My expertise is in deregulated electricity markets — I specialize in educating end-users on how to implement risk management products and strategies which are appropriate for their organization,” he says.

“Subsequently, I will be presenting on how environmental regulation, state regulation and geopolitical events have and will continue to impact the energy supply/demand imbalance. Moreover, we will investigate how the batteries sector is likely to be impacted both in terms of the opportunities it creates and the cost implications it has on their own businesses.”

One area he will concentrate on will be energy storage.

He notes that different US states have adopted disparate policies within the context of renewable energy targets; some more ambitious than others. California, for example, is targeting a significant portion of its future electricity generation/supply from “renewable resources”.

This type of policy may have a direct knock-on effect on the business opportunities generated in these states for batteries companies.

“The issue of energy storage is huge at the moment and may represent a massive potential growth area for battery manufacturers,” he says. “However, that opportunity is also directly influenced by the costs of electricity and that, in turn, by policy (for example, various targets and standards) set by each state. It is an area that battery manufacturers targeting this sector need to be aware of.”

He says the main focus of his talk will be North America but it will have a global flavour given that commodity risk is global in nature.

Fallmer will spend a large part of the presentation discussing wider trends in commodity pricing with a particular focus on electricity and natural gas as well as the differences between regulated and deregulated markets.

As vice president of pricing and analysis at Noble Americas Energy Solutions, Fallmer is responsible for overseeing all energy trading, portfolio management, commodity structuring, physical operations, and regulatory functions for the MISO, PJM, ISO-NE, and NYISO regions for one of the top five commercial & industrial retail electricity suppliers in the US.

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 17

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STEVE VECHY — A PERSONAL VIEW A number of global regulatory standards and initiatives, all of which could potentially have important consequences for the batteries sector globally, remain in the pipeline and the implications of these and the time frames within which they are operating will be some of the biggest talking points at BCI this year.

Global changes and regulatory challenges Steve Vechy, senior director, global product portfolio management, EnerSys, outlines several areas of great interest to him and EnerSys which he believes will dominate discussions among delegates this year.

In particular, Vechy says he is immensely interested in the progress of proposed global harmonization standards and the way these initiatives tie in with changes to the materials safety data sheets used by the industry. Specifically, this involves a move to a Global Harmonized Standard (GHS) Safety Data Sheet.

These changes do potentially mean more work for batteries companies and although he and the sector generally support such standardizations long-term, it is also important to recognise that such initiatives can cause teething problems in the short term.

“All this will give everything more structure globally and we accept that is a good thing and very much needed. But it does also put more of a burden on manufacturers and that should be recognised. It will be interesting to get an update on some of the timeframes around these initiatives and to hear how other companies will deal with the changes,” he says.

Another area of interest to Vechy will be updates on the European position on the exemption for lead acid in transportation. This relates to the EU’s End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive. Lead-based batteries have always been exempted from the regulations but the last five year extension of this exemption ends this year.

Last year, a number of lead-acid batteries associations and car manu20 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

“The EU auto manufacturing sector would find itself in a world of hurt. The fact is there is no direct replacement technology available. I am sure the exemption will be extended but it would be nice to get an idea on the time frame and more certainty around the subject facturers requested that the current exemption for lead-based batteries within the ELV Directive’s wider ban on lead in light-duty vehicles is maintained for at least another eight years.

The recommendation by EUROBAT, the European, Japanese and Korean car industry associations, and the International Lead Association (ILA), was backed by a series of studies on

the technical benefits of lead-based batteries and their sustainability, which includes their 99% recycling rate in Europe and the general availability of the natural resources used to make up the battery.

Part of the evidence submitted to the EU Commission was a study called A Review of Battery Technologies for Automotive Applications, which found that there are at present no alternatives, either technically or economically, to lead-based batteries for the SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) function in vehicles. This means leadbased batteries are essential in virtually all conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles (mild, micro and Plug-in-HEV, PHEV) and full electric vehicles.

The study also concluded that leadbased batteries will remain the only viable mass market energy storage system in automotive applications for the foreseeable future. Their low cost and unparalleled ability to start a car engine at cold temperatures sets them apart in conventional and basic micro-hybrid vehicles, and as auxiliary batteries in all other automotive applications.

Vechy says that the industry has given some very compelling arguments in favour of the extension and points out that if the exemption were not granted it would have an incredibly detrimental effect on European car manufacturers.

“The EU auto manufacturing sector would find itself in a world of hurt,” he says. “The fact is there is no direct replacement technology available. I am sure the exemption will be extended but it would be nice to get an idea www.batteriesinternational.com

STEVE VECHY — A PERSONAL VIEW on the time frame and more certainty around the subject.”

Another area he believes will generate fascinating conversations at BCI this year will be some of the developments around so-called hybrid chemistries, in particular the recent announcement that Johnson Controls and Toshiba are working in partnership on a hybrid start-stop product.

In January, the two firms announced plans to produce a 12-volt lithium titanate battery that they claim will help improve gas mileage in vehicles in the years ahead.

The battery, to be produced starting in 2018, represents a new version of a start-stop battery system that the firms claim will offer a more affordable alternative to improve fuel economy compared with a full-scale hybrid or electric vehicle.

The announcement was surprising in part because Johnson Controls has such a large market share when it comes to traditional lead-acid batteries.

Vechy says that he believes the partnership and the chemistry being used will be talking points at BCI. “It is another way of trying to approach the problem and find a solution,” he says.

“It is especially interesting because JCI is so well established as a lead-acid player. They fact they are making such a bold move into a new chemistry is

In January, Johnson Controls and Toshiba announced plans to produce a 12-volt lithium titanate stop-start battery that they claim will help improve gas mileage in vehicles in the years ahead. very significant I believe.”

Finally, Vechy believes there will be some interesting discussions around commodities pricing at BCI. And while he acknowledges that the main conversation will revolve around the price of lead, he believes the price of some other commodities such as oil should be equally interesting to the industry.

“As the price of oil declines that has a knock on effect on to many other products that have a great bearing on the batteries industry such as plastics,” Vechy says.

“While the price of lead will naturally be the main focus there is a much wider dynamic picture with commodities that also just cannot be ignored.”

THE TAXING MATTER OF TARIFFS Vechy is concerned about the issue of tariffs within the wider context of US trade relations with other parts of the world. The increase or reduction of many forms of tariffs potentially has wide implications for the battery industry.

Vechy is specifically interested in the suggestion that tariffs on goods imported from China could be reduced or abolished. This would have a direct effect on the batteries sector and ultimately cost US jobs. He is referring to proposals by the US government to drop duty free relief on certain environmental goods’ something that would potentially include lead acid batteries.

“This is obviously a much wider political discussion that will be negotiated at the highest level but the political powers that be,” he says. “But the BCI has previously made its position clear on this — the lead acid industry believes that

www.batteriesinternational.com

the elimination of these tariffs would ultimately cost US jobs.”

In a testimony before the US International Trade Commission last May, David Weinberg, representing the BCI, said that over 15,600 Americans are employed in the domestic production of lead-acid batteries.

Another 2,100 are employed by domestic secondary smelters, which recycle old batteries into lead that can be used in new ones.

Weinberg said more than 120 million automotive batteries are sold in the US annually and will grow annually between 0.6% and 1.2% in the coming years.

In a wide ranging testimony stressing the value of the leadacid sector and its related technologies to the US economy, Weinberg concluded by arguing that including lead acid batteries in any agreement relating to duty free goods would be damaging.

“Thus, any reduction in US

domestic demand for lead-acid batteries, in any category, will have a direct impact on the 15,600+ lead-acid battery manufacturing employees nationwide. These workers could see their jobs vanish if their products are displaced by imported alternatives,” he said.

“This could also have a knock-on effect of reducing the industry’s ability to meet the demands of other traditional battery segments by eroding the total manufacturing capability of production facilities and reducing investment in the research and development of improved battery designs.”

Vechy says since the BCI made its position clear last year, he is not aware of any updates on the situation since then. “It will be interesting to see if any of the speakers are able to give an update on the situation as it does have serious implications for lead acid batteries companies in the US.”

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 21

RAY KUBIS — A PERSONAL VIEW Innovation and environmental challenges will dominate BCI discussions this year. Batteries International interviewed Ray Kubis, the head of ECO-BAT, for his particular interests at the conference.

Lead in a cold climate — dealing with innovation and environmental controls Ray Kubis, president and managing director of ECO-BAT, the world’s largest producer and recycler of lead, will be attending the BCI event this year with a few key topics at the forefront of his mind.

The battery business veteran — he joined the industry 35 years ago and has held senior positions in firms such as Exide, JCI and EnerSys — reckons that one of the most important issues that will be addressed at the conference (and this applies to both leadacid and lithium-ion battery producers) revolves around their ability to innovate and meet the ever-changing demands of the automotive industry.

“A big issue is the extent to which different technologies will be able to keep pace with the demands of this sector and the extent to which advanced lead-acid technology can continue to advance and improve its performance and value proposition — whether we are talking about 12V or 48V, that remains true,” he says.

“We know some of the real qualities of lead-acid technology, such as its very high levels of recycling, but the question is how it can measure up long term against the challenge from lithium-ion batteries.”

He says it is a question of commitment to innovation and the ability to keep pace with what this sector is demanding of battery companies.

“When you put everything else aside, you need to look at how committed people are to improving their technology constantly and tracking the increasing expectations around these applications,” Kubis says.

“Whether you are talking about stop-start technology or other technologies the question is how the performance attributes of that battery contributes to the performance and life of that car.”

He believes there should be more urgency around innovation in this sector 22 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

One of the most important issues that will be addressed at the conference — applying to both lead-acid and lithium-ion battery producers — revolves around their ability to innovate and meet the ever-changing demands of the automotive industry by the industry — especially given the explicit nature of the opportunity and threats that directly face the lead-acid sector.

“Some companies are getting better and more money is being thrown at it but I don’t believe it is enough or as much as could be done. The car makers are speaking very clearly in terms of what they demand and the industry must respond.

Lithium-ion is expensive and lead clearly has great value and many great attributes. It is a case of improving things like charge acceptance and per-

formance over many cycles.”

The second big issue for the industry revolves around the continuing evolution of environmental standards.

“Things are changing; regulations are evolving,” he says. “It will be interesting to see how things play out as there could be a knock-on effect on many other parts of the industry.

You will see the market adapt to this change and some will do so better than others. That could mean new companies coming to the fore over time if they adapt better than others.”

He is interested in seeing what happens to Exide, which remains in Chapter 11, in terms of if it emerges and what form the company will take if it does. “It is going through a financial restructuring. Depending on the outcome of that will determine what gaps may exist in the market and which companies may eventually step in.

“In terms of environmental standards, I would highlight air emissions as being the number one concern.

There is a greater sensitivity in some states such as California where regulations are getting tighter all the time but there are also much wider issues than those that apply to the US alone.”

He points out that an increasingly important issue for the industry will be the way scrap destined for recycling is treated in terms of the transportation and regulations around its travel between different countries.

“It is about compliance and monitoring and having effective controls,” Kubis says. “It is not just about setting rules.”

Europe has its own unique challenges in this regard. He notes that the European Union’s directive designed to manage end-of-life vehicles which generate between 7 million and 8 million tonnes of waste in the European Union annually, and make the process more environmentally friendly constitutes a challenge to the industry in its own right. www.batteriesinternational.com

RAY KUBIS — A PERSONAL VIEW The directive sets out clear quantified targets for reuse, recycling and recovery of the ELVs and their components. It also pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles without hazardous substances (in particular lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium), thus promoting the reuse, recyclability and recovery of waste vehicles.

“The lead industry has a good idea of how this will work and what they need to do but it is also a case of scratching your head in some ways when you consider that the recycling of lithium-ion batteries does not really exist right now,” he says.

He believes that lead acid is unfairly targeted by regulators in some ways — especially given how efficient the sector has become at recycling and the fact that it boasts a very good safety record.

“I understand it is unrealistic to believe anyone would love a toxic metal but, candidly, if you pick any metal associated with batteries either in the past or the future you’ll find that none are without some issues.

“The fact is we have developed a comprehensive and effective way of managing lead. We have a closed loop recycling scheme that has been developed at great cost and we have a higher recycling rate than any other product. Is it unfairly picked on? I would put it another way and suggest that out effectiveness in recovery and sustainability is underappreciated.”

The Asian dynamic Kubis says another fascinating issue will be the changing dynamics of the batteries markets in Asia — their potential growth having a big effect on other markets around the world.

“The evolution of the Asian markets is a fascinating subject and well worth covering,” he says. “It will be interest-

Car makers are speaking clearly in terms of what they demand and the industry must respond. Lithium-ion is expensive and lead clearly has great value and many great attributes. It is a case of improving things like charge acceptance and performance ing to see what the growth forecasts show: whether there will be better growth prospects in India and if they really are diminished in China. There are also many other countries worth following — it is something worth understanding even if it is not at the forefront of my job each day.”

He says he is particularly interested in the way China will address some of the challenges it faces in terms of renewable energy and energy storage.

“It is also starting to clean up not just its energy sources but also the way it makes batteries and its ability to recycle,” Kubis says. “Their challenges are very different but it is worth watching what solutions emerge.”

He notes that other countries in Asia are interesting for other reasons.

There is a big push in India, towards lithium-ion, for example, in a move that many in the industry suspect as being politically driven.

The final big talking point at the BCI meetings he believes, will be the burgeoning energy storage market and the extent to which different chemistries and technologies grab market share and solutions in this space.

“This is a very positive story for the industry as a whole,” he says. “Energy storage is still growing fast as a sector. As opposed to fighting for the best piece of that pie, different companies can instead be looking at ways of growing that market further and developing new solutions that offer better performance to specific sectors within it.”

EXIDE AND THE CHANGING FACE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS Kubis reckons that the steady evolution of environmental standards has brought some issues to a head and some of these have been crystallized in the challenges Exide Technologies has faced at its lead-acid battery recycling facility in Vernon, California.

The facility will be closed under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement reached with the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California (the USAO)

www.batteriesinternational.com

that resolves the USAO’s criminal investigation into Exide. Moves to close the facility began immediately after the agreement was made.

In conjunction with the closure of the Vernon Facility, Exide also has entered into an amendment to the 2014 stipulation and order with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control that provides a framework for the orderly closure and clean-up of the Vernon Facility.

Exide reached this amendment

after, among other developments, hearing from the department that it would likely deny Exide’s Part B hazardous waste facility permit application.

Kubis says the case illustrates the fact that regulations and the enforcement of those regulations is tightening up in the US. This has multiple potential consequences for lead-acid producers and recyclers in the US as well as any company that relies on this sector.

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 23

POWERMART FLOORPLAN Batteries International

ITS Stand 88

Batteries International has been serving the energy storage and battery industry for over 20 years and has come to be regarded as the definitive source of unbiased news reporting, taking an authoritative stance on all aspects of the business.

Batteries International’s editorial team has a reputation for fairness, integrity and impartiality — it’s in the business of trying to serve the $30 billion energy storage industry rather than simply work it for its own good.

The batteries business is in a state of flux. All the previous certainties are being challenged. Geographically, manufacturing has moved away from its traditional base in North America and Europe. The work horse of the industry — the lead acid battery — is increasingly being threatened by rapidly developing chemistries funded by governments trying to find out where they can domestic industries a new competitive edge.

In this environment there are business opportunities — as well as dangers — galore. Keeping abreast of this rapidly changing world is a must, which makes Batteries International’s fair-minded reporting compulsory reading for the energy storage executive.

Batteries International is provided by independent publisher Mustard Seed Publishing.

Contact details: 10 Temple Bar Business Park, Strettington, West Sussex, PO18 0TU, UK Phone: +44 (0) 7792 852 337 Web: www.batteriesinternational.com Email: publisher@batteriesinternational. com

MAC Engineering Stand 216

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.

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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.

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Sovema Stand 102

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

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

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OMI-NBE Stand 97

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Inbatec Stand 201

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.

OMI-NBE is a company specialized in the production and installation of formation and charging systems for any type of lead-acid batteries.

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

Our focus is to give our customers the maximum efficiency and flexibility, an increase in production and productivity, a better quality of the products and a reduction of the costs.

Our solutions for your business: • Acid recirculation formation • Advanced water bath formation • Filling process for flooded & AGM • Finishing & dispatching equipment • Acid preparation, storage & recovery • Tubular plates filling, slurry preparation • Auxiliary equipment Contact details: Email: info@omi-nbe.com Web: www.omi-nbe.com Tel. & Fax: +39 0363 901 9811

WIRTZ Manufacturing Stands 104-106 The WIRTZ group of Companies provides global solutions to the world-wide battery manufacturing industry.

With state-of-the-art equipment designed and developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, punched grid and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxide production systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic

and high speed fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation).

At BCI, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically control, and continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure that their

resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, DURABILITY and PERFORMANCE. Contact details: WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc..

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

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

26 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

www.batteriesinternational.com

POWERMART FLOORPLAN

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 27

POWER MART EXPO FLOORPLAN

KEY — BY STAND NUMBER 88

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS

93

AMER-SIL

89-90

KEY — BY COMPANY NAME ACCUMALUX GROUP AMER-SIL

ENTEK INTERNATIONAL

97

OMI – NBE

99

DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS

100

BITRODE CORPORATION

101

DARAMIC

102

SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

103

POWER-SONIC CORPORATION

104-106

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING.

105

AUTO METER PRODUCTS

107

BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES

108

JBI CORPORATION

109

JOHNS MANVILLE

110

PÜTZ PROZESSAUTOMATISIERUNG

111

MIDTRONICS

113

YACHT BATTERY COMPANY

114

BERNARD DUMAS

115

FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS

116

BM-ROSENDAHL

117

POLYMER MOLDING.

118

TULIP MOLDED PASTICS CORPORATION

119

KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING

200

GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS

201

INBATEC

211

JBI CORPORATION

108

93

JOHNS MANVILLE

109

202

MICROPOROUS

203

WATER GREMLIN S / OKABE

204

EIRICH MACHINES.

AUTO METER PRODUCTS

105

KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING

119

BAODING FENGFAN RISING BATTERY SEPARATOR.

209

MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT

216

BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES

107

MICROPOROUS

202

BERNARD DUMAS

114

MIDTRONICS

111

205

RICHARDSON MOLDING

BITRODE CORPORATION

100

OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS

218

206

OWENS CORNING

BM-ROSENDAHL

116

OMI – NBE

CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE

214

OWENS CORNING

206

207

FLOW-RITE

CO-EFFICIENT

212

POLYMER MOLDING

117

208

SUPERIOR GRAPHITE

DARAMIC

101

POWER-SONIC CORPORATION

103

209

PÜTZ PROZESSAUTOMATISIERUNG

110

BAODING FENGFAN RISING BATTERY SEPARATOR.

RICHARDSON MOLDING

205

211

ACCUMALUX GROUP

SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

102

212

CO-EFFICIENT

DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS

99

EIRICH MACHINES ENTEK INTERNATIONAL

204 89-90

97

FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS

115

SUPERIOR GRAPHITE

208

FLOW-RITE

207

TULIP MOLDED PASTICS CORPORATION

118

214

CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE

GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS

200

WATER GREMLIN. / OKABE

203

216

MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT

INBATEC

201

WIRTZ MANUFACTURING

218

OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS

INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS

28 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

88

YACHT BATTERY COMPANY

104-106 113

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI UNVEILED: PRODUCT LAUNCH Highlights of previous BCI Conventions traditionally include the announcement of new deals and product launches. MAC Engineering & Equipment reveals details of its latest cast-on-strap product to manufacture absorbent glass mat products.

Lead acid USA: reasons to be positive about AGM MAC Engineering & Equipment is to reveal at this year’s BCI Convention its Inline AGM COS machine — a breakthrough, says the firm in battery manufacturing technology.

The Inline AGM machine has already been fitted and tested with Crown Battery in Ohio. The purchase of the machine by Crown shows a new direction for the US-based battery maker, which provides an extensive range of both mainstream and specialized batteries but, as to date, has only made flooded lead acid batteries.

“Our Inline AGM machine provides a significant step forward in the quality of battery manufacturing machinery that we make,” says Doug Bornas, vice president of sales and marketing at MAC. “This is a cutting edge product and designed specifically for high quality AGM battery making.”

The Inline AGM machine’s main advantage over other machines is that it gives consistent and accurate compression to each cell of the absorbent glass mat — either too little or too much compression limits the power output of the battery and also makes it susceptible to other external factors such as vibration.

Two cells will be loaded at a time in one of 12 group holders and moved out to start the process. Another holder will move in and be loaded with two cells as well and so on. Each cell will have the lugs aligned as well as be individually compressed to a set amount. These holders are designed to evenly compress each cell to a specific tolerance to ensure proper group size for insertion into the case.

After compression and turnover, each holder will go over a brush station, into a flux station, then a tin station, before heading for one of the three molds which make up a six cell battery. Each mold casts two cells with independent heating for each mold. With the smaller molds, varying temperatures are easier to control www.batteriesinternational.com

which helps give consistent quality casting from cell to cell.

After casting the cells go into the unload station where an 80kg robot places each cell into a fixture above the case. Holders return to the loading station automatically.

Once the fixture is full, the fixture goes down pushing chutes into the case which help guide the cells. A

stuffer then pushes the cells firmly into the case to a pre-programmed depth.

“The two cell casting arrangement — whereby we fill one of (12) two-cell group holders (rather than six-cell or 12-cell group holders) is such that we provide a faster production process.

This is a cutting edge product and designed specifically for high quality AGM battery making This two cell ar-

The purchase of the machine by Crown shows a new direction for the US-based battery maker, which provides an extensive range of both mainstream and specialized batteries but, as to date, has only made flooded lead acid batteries.

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 29

BCI UNVEILED: PRODUCT LAUNCH rangement gives us shorter cycle times (around 20 seconds per mold) but moreover by dealing with only two cells at a time, we have greater control of casting temperature and hence higher quality of the casted cell,” says Dan Duffield, vice president of operations at MAC. The In-Line AGM machine can handle plates of up to 10 inches high (254mm) and 7.375 wide (187mm) and stack heights of 5.625 inches (142.8mm) uncompressed.

“The cycle times vary with their size but on average there is a 60 second cycle per battery.

The Inline AGM COS machine is designed to meet the growing sophistication of AGM battery manufacturers who now differentiate their companies on ever-higher specifications on the quality and life of their products.

MAC Engineering’s Doug Bornas (left) and Dan Duffield: “This is a cutting edge product and designed specifically for high quality AGM battery making.”

COLLABORATION: HOW CROWN BATTERY AND MAC WORKED TOGETHER

Mike Fraley, director of engineering at Crown Battery, describes the approach and thinking behind the new design When Crown Battery elected to move forward with manufacturing AGM batteries we investigated equipment offering from various vendors around the world. MAC Engineering has built COS machines for our automotive, commercial, marine, deep cycle, motive power, railroad, and mining products, therefore we decided to discuss the possibility of a new AGM COS machine with them.

We met and discussed ideas about existing equipment, limitations, likes/ dislikes, and unknown directions in possible AGM offerings.

We decided to build a new machine where we could try different concepts. If they didn’t work we would have had time to address them as we had an extensive product validation schedule incorporated into the product launch. The in-line concept allowed the most flexibility in design and integration.

We opted for a modular design because this was a prototype machine that had many new ideas

and concepts. Each station is virtually a stand-alone machine networked together. This allowed us to take some risks on new concepts. These included induction driven carriages, a new lead delivery system, servo

“This was an ambitious undertaking which has proven to be a great investment in our endeavor to build high quality AGM batteries.”

30 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

compression, and a completely networked machine.

The most important decision was how many cells to process at a time.

Typically we would cast an entire battery that was possible, however, Crown ultimately decided on casting two cells at a time.

This method allowed the most amount of control on each cell. By processing two cells at a time we could: • Decrease the possibility of uneven compression on cells • Consistently compress or release by station to perform necessary function • Utilize torque on the motors as well as a fixed position to ensure consistent cell compression • Maintain individual temperature control by strap within a cell • Allow for future possible utilization of post inserts and have the necessary temperature control to maintain.

• Manage mold cooling and processing time • Maintain consistent mold temperatures by continuously cycling Throughout the commissioning and prototype production phases the concepts that needed to be refined were identified and addressed.

Overall this was an ambitious undertaking which has proven to be a great investment in our endeavor to build high quality AGM batteries.

www.batteriesinternational.com

BLOOD LEAD LEVELS What is the current state of play regarding blood lead levels for employees in the battery industry — and where is the industry heading?

Wyn Jenkins explores this highly regulated issue.

Between a rock and a hard place: more fanciful rules for lead regulation The lead-acid battery industry has already travelled a long way down the road of reducing blood lead levels in its workers. The extent of the achievement is clear when you compare the average blood lead levels of people working in battery manufacturing today against the average blood lead levels of the general American population 40 years ago.

In 1975, the average American had a blood lead level of approximately 15 micrograms per decilitre of blood www.batteriesinternational.com

(15 μg/dL) — today that number is close to 1 μg/dL. This reduction is due primarily to the removal of lead from gasoline and paint. Today, the blood lead levels of the average worker in a battery manufacturing or recycling facility is approximately 15 μg/dL — and that level is decreasing every year.

How has this been achieved? Improved worker hygiene — showers, frequent hand washing, personal protective equipment, locker rooms and improved air quality have all played their part.

“In both the lead manufacturing and lead battery sector, companies have grasped the nettle and put in place programmes that enhance the existing procedures to limit employee exposure, such as engineering controls like dust/fume extraction, hoods and containment systems; the use of personal protective equipment such as respirators; and frequent and thorough housekeeping, but have also introduced sophisticated employee education and behavioural initiatives,” says Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 31

BLOOD LEAD LEVELS International Lead Association regulatory affairs director, Steve Binks.

“These initiatives highlight to employees how they can reduce their own risk of exposure by taking simple measures such as avoiding biting their fingernails and effective hand washing and showering.

“One such example of a well run and effective employee education and behavioural based safety programme is the Eco-Bat Safe for Life Programme. Since its introduction, the ‘Safe for Life’ brand has brought a common theme to the campaign across all the company’s sites: come to work safely, work safely and go home safely to enjoy life.”

These initiatives are backed up by regular health surveillance of employees, including frequent blood lead measurement that is capable of illustrating whether the exposure controls have been effective.

DIFFERING LEGISLATION

Tight regulations

In Europe there is a binding blood lead limit in the Chemical Agents Directive of 70μg/dL. This means that member states must not establish national limits that exceed this, but they can set lower limits.

The consequence is that blood lead limits in member states range from 20μg/dL to 70μg/dL and some, but not all, set lower limits for women of reproductive age.

The situation is compounded by the fact that some scientists and health practitioners argue that research published in recent years has highlighted that the health effects of lead occur at much lower doses than previously believed and that the existing well established and long-standing occupational exposure standards fail to recognize this and require urgent reappraisal.

Some countries are starting to act on this situation.

In 2014 Safe Work Australia initiated a consultation based upon its reappraisal of the new scientific literature that proposes strengthening workplace standards by lowering the workplace exposure standard from 0.15 mg/m3 to 0.05 mg/m3 and potentially setting a blood lead removal level of 20 μg/ dL compared to the existing limit of 50 μg/dL. Moreover, the new proposal recognises the potential increased susceptibility of the developing foetus to lead and a new blood lead removal limit of 10 μg/dL is proposed for women of childbearing age. Regulatory activity to review existing occupational exposure limits is also continuing in Europe and in the US state of California.

“In the US it is regulated at the federal level through the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the Department of Transportation as well as related agencies at the state level. The regulations are designed to limit lead exposure to the general public as well as people who work in battery manufacturing and battery recycling facilities.

32 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

While schemes such as the Safe for Life demonstrate the industry’s proactive approach to the issue, any stragglers are being ushered along the road to reduced lead exposure by a raft of legislation and regulations.

“There is extensive EU legislation in place to cover both manufacturing and recycling,” says Rene Schroeder, EU affairs manager for EUROBAT. “To name a few, there is the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Air Quality Directive, the Water Framework Directive, and the Chemicals Agents Directive with rules for workers and pregnant nursing women including binding occupational exposure limits.

“On the recycling stage you additionally have, for example, the Battery Directive and the End of Vehicle Life Directive — you have a whole range of legislation to cover the different phases of battery manufacturing, design, use and end of life. It is very well regulated” Mark Thorsby, executive vice-president of Battery Council International says that the industry has, if anything, a surfeit of regulations around lead exposure.

“If there is one metal in the world that enjoys over-regulation, it is lead,” he says. “In the US it is regulated at the federal level through the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the Department of Transportation as well as related agencies at the state level. The regulations are designed to limit lead expowww.batteriesinternational.com

BLOOD LEAD LEVELS sure to the general public as well as people who work in battery manufacturing and battery recycling facilities.

“The Occupational Health and Safety Administration also regulates the amount of lead that can be in the air inside a battery manufacturing or recycling facility,” says Thorsby. “These regulations require battery manufacturing and recycling companies to invest heavily in engineering controls in their facilities such as local exhaust ventilation that removes lead from the air that workers may breathe.

“This, in addition with use of personal protective equipment such as respirators, ensures that workers are protected from lead exposure. This is demonstrated by the low levels of lead that are typically measured in employees’ blood.”

On top of this, the US Environmental Protection Agency regulates the amount of lead that can be contained in the ambient air outside battery manufacturing and recycling plants.

The EPA requires that air monitoring devices be placed outside plants and records kept.

A developing field “Regulation on occupational exposure limits for employees in the lead industry has been in place in most regions around the globe for decades,” says Binks.

“This legislation describes levels of lead that are permitted in the air and more importantly how to conduct health surveillance by monitoring the amount of lead in blood and when, if necessary, an employee should be removed from exposure.”

However, legislation differs from one region to another and these differences include not only the numerical occupational and blood lead limits, but also for example, how to deal with sensitive sub-populations such as female workers.

“It is clear that the science concerning what represents a safe health limit for lead is developing and is at the same time very complex and controversial with some advocating that there is no threshold for the adverse effects,” says Binks.

“It is against this backdrop that lead recyclers, primary manufacturers and downstream users such as battery companies must operate. A culture of continuous improvement in health and safety that goes beyond mere compliance with state or national regulation is therefore essential.”

In Thorsby’s view, companies opwww.batteriesinternational.com

REGULATION GONE MAD: THE EU VIEW

The long-standing — now almost two years — topic surrounding the EU protection of employees working with lead is the inclusion of four lead compounds — lead monoxide, lead tetroxide, pentalead tetraoxide sulphate and tetralead trioxide sulphate — in the public consultation for the 6th priority list published under the European REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation.

All four are essential and irreplaceable in the manufacture of lead-based batteries with no substitutes available.

During the manufacturing phase of lead-based batteries, all four compounds are transformed into other substances with only trace amounts (<0.1%) present in the finished battery.

Lead-based batteries are sealed units that operate in a closed loop with almost 100% collected and recycled at the end of life.

“Close to 100% of the vehicle fleet worldwide currently uses leadbased batteries and making these substances subject to REACH authorization would significantly undermine the competitiveness of the European battery industry as this regulatory instrument does not prevent the import of batteries considered as articles under REACH,” said EUROBAT and ILA in a joint statement in January.

“REACH authorization would have a severe impact on the economies of many member states and put thousands of jobs at risk in the battery manufacturing and lead recycling industries without delivering significant improvements in employee exposure to lead — particularly as there is already extensive EU legislation covering the uses of lead and lead compounds.”

EUROBAT and ILA said that existing national statistics and occupational exposure data gathered by industry to support development of REACH

chemical safety reports and voluntary sector-wide voluntary blood lead reduction targets shows the effectiveness of the exposure control measures already in place under existing EU workplace legislation..

Existing legislation covers the risks related to the life cycle stages resulting from the use of the substances in battery manufacturing and this is further supported by additional legislation that covers the service life of lead-based batteries and waste stages.

“Pressure for substitution of lead and lead compounds from use in batteries already exists in the form of a restriction on lead in Council Directive 2000/53/EC on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) reviewed every five years and requirements of the Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC as amended by 2008/103/EC),” said the statement.

EUROBAT and ILA believe that inclusion of these four lead compounds in the REACH 6th Priority list is not proportionate and suggest that these compounds should not be a priority for inclusion in the authorization regime.

“A better option would be to strengthen the obligations for the lead battery industry under already existing and comprehensive lead-specific legislation,” said the statement. This should include updating the now obsolete European Binding Limit Value for blood lead of 70 μg/dL. “In the event that inclusion of the compounds in REACH Annex XIV is proposed we submit that exemptions should be granted for industrial use in the manufacturing of lead-based batteries in respect that this use is as an ‘intermediate’ outside the scope of REACH authorization and/or by application of REACH Article 58(2) in that existing Community workplace legislation for lead and lead compounds already addresses the use categories to be exempted.”

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 33

BLOOD LEAD LEVELS erating in the developed world are meeting existing legislative standards with flying colours. “With very few exceptions, if compared to legislative limits, occupational exposure to lead is a non-issue in North America and developed countries,” he says.

“However unfortunately in developing countries, including China and others in Asia, Africa and South America there are still significant challenges in reducing lead exposure to employees to levels where risks would be low.”

This is picked up by the International Lead Association which cites work sponsored by its members through the International Lead Management Centre which collaborates with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) such as the Blacksmith Institute to raise standards in developing regions.

Industry bodies There is no doubt that the use of targets and goals plays a key role in ensuring that a culture of continuous improvement is adopted within the industry.

Binks says that many companies have long had their own targets for limiting employee blood lead, some that are backed up by financial incentives that apply at the individual, shift or site level.

“These have recently been supplemented by sector-wide targets such as those promulgated by BCI for battery manufacturers in the US, by EUROBAT for battery manufacturers in Europe and by ILA for its membership of lead producers and mining companies,” says Binks.

“The battery manufacturing industry in North America subscribes to voluntary efforts to reduce exposure,” says Thorsby. “For example, OSHA has established a standard for blood lead levels of 50 μg/dL — if lead exposure exceeds 50 μg/dL, the worker must be removed from the work environment until a blood lead level of 40 μg/dL is reached.

“The battery manufacturing industry, through BCI, had voluntarily established a standard of 40 μg/dL for removal with a return to work at 35 μg/dL and last year, in conjunction with EUROBAT, established a new 2017 target of 30 μg/dL for removal and 25 μg/dL for return — both standards well below the federal standard established by OSHA.” EUROBAT’s voluntary blood lead mitigation program has been in existence since 2000 and is binding for 34 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

“Society is becoming ever more conscious of the true costs of products and retailers now recognise that they have a role to play to ensure a better environment for generations to come. Therefore to keep pace with these challenges and turn them into opportunities ILA works with its member companies to ensure that employee health and environmental protection remains top of their agenda” members that produce lead-based batteries. It has been subject to several revisions — the latest in 2013.

“We even encourage non-members to meet these targets,” says Schroeder.

“We organize regular workshops, to inform our members and discuss and exchange on practical measures that can be taken to control lead exposure and improve it.”

Similarly, in the ILA scheme enrolment is a condition of membership and companies are required to provide annual reports detailing employee blood lead levels which are shared with members so that they can benchmark their performance against peers.

Progress against the target is a standing agenda item on the association’s executive committee and those companies at risk of missing it are required to provide evidence that they have programmes in place to improve their performance.

Sector-wide reporting shows that there has been a significant improvement in company employee lead exposure management over the last decade — and this is illustrated by EUROBAT statistics indicating that 40% of employees in European battery manufacturers had a blood lead in excess of 30 μg/dL in 2001, which had fallen to 8.5% by 2013.

“In the developed world this trend in ever reducing employee exposure to lead is also evident in statistics reported by other organizations such as the NIOSH’s Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) and the Health & Safety Executive in the UK,” says Binks.

The future Against this backdrop of deep concern for the environment and employee health, it is interesting to note that lead-acid batteries are the most widely recycled product in the world with more than 99% of all lead-acid batteries recycled. Furthermore, every lead-acid battery is almost 100% re-

cyclable — lead, acid and plastic are all recoverable, recyclable, and reusable.

The overall picture for lead is very positive; however, Binks says that this is not the end of the story.

“Society is becoming ever more conscious of the true costs of products and retailers now recognise that they have a role to play to ensure a better environment for generations to come.

Therefore to keep pace with these challenges and turn them into opportunities ILA works with its member companies to ensure that employee health and environmental protection remains top of their agenda,” he says.

Schroeder expects legislation to soon fall in line with the more aspirational targets established by EUROBAT and others, bringing the European binding blood lead limit down from 70 μg/ dL. “The scientific committee on occupational exposure limit (SCOEL) is reviewing the adequacy of the current European OEL for lead.

“We hope this will soon be concluded so that a more appropriate European binding limit can be established that is more in line with current Industry practices.”

Binks highlights the fact that companies must strive to go beyond mere regulatory compliance if they wish to be successful..

“If lead-based batteries are to maintain their market leading position then society will demand that companies manufacturing and recycling these products are at the forefront of responsible manufacturing and demonstrate standards that do not merely aspire to meet regulation, but have environmental performance, worker safety and health protection levels that are second to none,” says Binks.

“To ensure long-term sustainability the lead industry must evolve and strive to adopt practices in health, safety and environmental protection that reflect the demands of the 21st century.” www.batteriesinternational.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Changing conventions: top, the Fall 1941 meeting in Chicago, the spring 1960 meeting in Los Angeles and last year on the USS Medway in San Diego Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 35

THE BCI STORY BCI GOALS — THE INFORMATION CHALLENGE (AMONG OTHERS)

BCI’s primary role is to provide its membership with up-todate information on marketing and technical developments, plus regulatory and legislative initiatives that could affect the worldwide industry.

Some of this information is immensely valuable to its members, allowing them to get a clearer picture of the entire battery market.

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

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

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

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

The programme consist of five active reports.

36 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

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

In addition, BCI promotes the development and implementation of workable environmental, health and safety standards for the industry.

BCI focuses much of its attention on increasing the overall lead battery recycling rate. BCI has developed and is advancing model battery recycling legislation at the state and federal level.

The model legislation prohibits lead batteries from being placed in landfills or incinerated and imposes a mandatory take-back system at the point of sale. BCI’s goal is to reach a 100% lead battery recycling rate.

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.

FASCINATING SURVEY One of the most fascinating BCI surveys — conducted every five years and now eagerly awaited this year — looks at failure modes of batteries.

This shows that the quality of lead acid car batteries and their expected life continues to improve.

While the average life of a car battery in 1962 was just 34 months in 1962 when BCI first started compiling statistics, it had reached 55 months in 2010 — itself a further improvement of five months when compared to the last BCI survey in 2005. In 1995 the average battery life was 44 months.

The survey also shows that batteries are more resistant to hotter climates than ever before. In the 2000 study, a change of 12°F affected battery life by approximately a year.

In this study, this temperature factor increased to approximately 22°F.

www.batteriesinternational.com

THE BCI STORY 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 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; then engulfed in war â&#x20AC;&#x201D; would have been slight.

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

In 1976, BCI came full circle and returned to relocate its headquarters in Chicago â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in the intervening years, the organization had set up operations in Ohio, New Jersey, and California.

At that time the management firm of Smith, Bucklin and Associates was retained to manage the affairs of BCI. Today BCI membership consists of 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.

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

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Batteries International â&#x20AC;˘ BCI 2015 Yearbook â&#x20AC;˘ 37

INSIDE THE BCI The BCI Marketing Committee plays an important role in communicating the body’s goals and objectives. Here, the committee gives an overview of its recent activities and future goals.

Bringing members together The BCI Marketing Committee, chaired by Donna Snyder, vice president of marketing and advertising at East Penn Manufacturing, consists of employees of BCI member companies. There are 27 committee members broken into two subcommittees: internal and external communications.

The Internal Communications Committee looks at member communications such as at production of BCI’s e-newsletter, The Energy Beacon. This provides an update to BCI members and industry happenings and comes out every three months.

Jim Morath, sales director at GS Battery (USA), leads the Internal Communications Committee on the project. He coordinates contributors and those involved in The Energy Beacon’s production to collect content and generate ideas for future issues.

Launched in October 2014, the primary goals of The Energy Donna Snyder: chair of the BCI Marketing Beacon are to better engage BCI Committee members and increase awareness of membership and industry de- Committee is developing a social mevelopments and provide insight into dia policy to inform members on how some of the skills and competencies BCI and the lead-acid battery industry of fellow members. “The profiles al- should be positioned for public expolow members to learn more about sure. the membership,” says Claire Sereiko, This initiative is led by Doreen associate director of marketing and Lucht, product development manager communications at BCI. at Johnson Controls. It began when “We also ask them why they joined BCI decided to grow its social media BCI, the benefits of being a member presence. The thinking was to offer and how they have seen the industry members guidelines on how to get the change over the years.” BCI board best from this media — and avoid the members and Quarter Century Club pitfalls. members are among those featured.

Historically, BCI members have used The next issue of The Energy Bea- a LinkedIn group account, which has con, which is sent to over 800 mem- around 2,000 members, where both bers, will be released in May after members and non-members regularly the 127th Convention + Power Mart discuss industry issues and compare Expo. notes on topical issues. In addition to The External Communications this, BCI launched a LinkedIn and a

Whereas the LinkedIn group account is geared toward industry member discussions, the company page can be used as a source of information for all things BCI 38 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

Facebook page in 2014.

Sereiko says this second LinkedIn page fulfils a different function. “Whereas the LinkedIn group account is geared toward industry member discussions, the company page can be used as a source of information for all things BCI,” she says.

“We want to remind members they should not use BCI social media channels as sales platforms or to generate sponsorship or fundraising. We also want to provide insight on social media best practices.”

The guidelines are being reviewed by the External Communications Committee and should be available this summer.

“We hope this will encourage members to engage with BCI,” Sereiko says. So far, the growth of both LinkedIn pages has been a lot faster than Facebook.

Opening a Twitter account has been discussed, but BCI has no immediate plans to do this.

One of the other top priorities for the Marketing Committee is to revamp BCI’s website and increase its digital presence. BCI headquarters conducted a web audit last summer and found that a sizeable portion of BCI’s overall web traffic could be attributed to consumers.

The BCI Marketing Committee is working to repackage the website content, so that all parties can easily navigate the website and find the content they are seeking.

“That survey revealed that a lot of our web traffic was coming from Wikipedia to our “What is a lead-acid battery?” page,” Sereiko says. “That prompted us to look at the website in a different way and ask: are members finding the information they need?”

A website restructuring plan will be discussed at the Marketing Committee meeting in Savannah. The BCI Marketing Committee is also focused on supporting the North American Communications initiative — an initiative driven forward by the International Lead Association. www.batteriesinternational.com

INSIDE THE BCI MARKETING LEAD-ACID BATTERIES GLOBALLY

One of the big changes at BCI is its growing international focus thanks to partnerships with other lead or battery representative bodies around the globe. This shift is also reflected in the activities of the Marketing Committee which will be working closely with the International Lead Association on a North American communications campaign.

“The goal of this campaign is to deliver a unified, positive, and beneficial story on lead-acid batteries,” says Donna Snyder, chair of the BCI Marketing Committee.

Andy Bush, managing director of the ILA, says, “The North American lead industry has voiced strong concern about the current perceptions of the industry and its p p products, p principal and

there has been agreement on the need to communicate the positive story of lead with a clear, consistent and united voice.

“It was also felt that the principle vehicle for that communication should be lead-based batteries, rather than lead metal itself, or indeed other products that utilize lead. The reasons for this are that the foreseeable future success of the lead industry is inextricably bound with the use of lead batteries, the main application for lead.

“As a proven cost effective and sustainable energy storage technology, lead batteries are also a key product in many crucial sectors of the economy such as transportation, communications, renewable energy and emergency power. There is also great potential to shift the narrative around lead and lead batteries, since there are strong positive messages around their essential, sustainable and innovative

role in modern society.

“The objective of the programme therefore is to build a more favourable and enabling environment in which the lead and lead battery industries can prosper for the foreseeable future.”

Bush says that, as a result, the ILA will take a greater leadership role in proactive communications in North America and to put together a programme proposal. A working group to develop this programme was set up with representatives from ILA member companies and the secretariats of ABR and BCI. “The project is moving forward, PR company FleishmanHillard has been selected as our preferred partner agency, and we are working with them to develop a proposal for the first phase of the project which is stakeholder surveying, media monitoring and developing the outline for delivery of the main campaign,” Bush says.

The primary goals of The Energy Beacon are to better engage BCI members and increase awareness of membership and industry developments and provide insight into some of the skills and competencies of fellow members www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 39

BCI NEW MEMBERS BCI continues to add to its roster of member companies. Batteries International invited some of them to explain their reasons for joining

The Class of 2015 Michael Galyen President, Eclipse Energy Michael Galyen, president of Eclipse Energy, says he joined BCI because he wanted more engagement with the industry he operates in. He will be attending the BCI annual conference in May for the first time.

“I wanted to help contribute to the industry in another manner, as well as to stay up to date with relevant industry knowledge. I also joined BCI to get to know other people in the industry I serve,” he says.

Galyen says he values the opportunity to meet other members in person at BCI events and get to know peer companies better through networking.

“It is nice to put a face with a name,” he says. “Many companies

“I wanted to help contribute to the industry in another manner, as well as to stay up to date with relevant industry knowledge. I also joined BCI to get to know other people in the industry I serve” 40 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

within the lead acid battery community participate in BCI, so it’s nice to be able to contribute and, in doing so, become more familiar with others in the industry.”

In the long-term, he hopes that membership will benefit Eclipse Energy as other members become more familiar with the company “In our case, I believe that this is best accomplished by active participation in BCI as there are many individuals that give their time and knowledge to BCI, for the overall good of the industry. I hope that I can do the same,” Galyen says.

Bill Lauer Sales executive, Metra Electronics Bill Lauer, sales executive at Metra Electronics, an audio electric systems specialist that also sells back-up batteries for car audio, says the company has joined BCI mainly for the high quality information it provides.

“We had been selling back-up batteries for car audio and got into automotive and power sports replacement batteries. So we joined BCI for the information it provides,” he says.

The company has found some of the materials provided by BCI useful. “We utilized the BCI application book, it was a great help and we anticipate on using that as a reference again,” he says.

Long term, he believes Metra Electronics will benefit from membership because the company will be more up to date on battery information and developments in technology.

John Tilly Chief executive, Northeast Battery & Alternator John Tilly, chief executive, Northeast Battery & Alternator, an independent battery distributor covering New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia, says he has joined BCI more a mixture of the knowledge and networking

opportunities it offers.

“We have joined because we hope to gain deeper industry insight, and for the educational and networking opportunities,” Tilly says.

“My expectation is that membership will help strengthen the overall knowledge base of our team in technical, market and industry areas, and I’m looking forward to sitting in on as many speaker/workshop sessions as I can in Savannah next month.”

“We have joined because we hope to gain deeper industry insight, and for the educational and networking opportunities” THE FULL 2015 INTAKE Robert Gregg LCB Battery LLC William Lauer Metra Electronics Corp.

Carmalieta Wells Madewell & Madewell, Inc.

Michael Galyen Eclipse Energy, LLC

William Koetting Power Systems

Pete Rumsey B2Q Technologies

Bill Nunnery Federal-Mogul Motorparts Joseph Li Superior Graphite

Andrew Kodis Black Diamond Structures John Tilly Northeast Battery & Alternator

www.batteriesinternational.com

BCI DATAFILE

Membership directory: the great and the good MANUFACTURER MEMBERS Silvano Gelleni Parth R. Jain David Hector Philippe Westreich Christian Rheault.

Hal Hawk M. A. Knowlton Daniel Langdon William Koetting John D. Craig Eladio Dones Cardona Robert Caruso Alessandro Dolcetta Michael Gilchrist Glenn Hollett Brian J. Kesseler Robert (Smokey) White Attila Türker Ling Chung Hwa Jerry Hoffman Munawar M. Moin Clifford J. Crowe Michael E. Moeller Syed Mahmud, Jobair Al-Hossain Randy Hart J. D. Surrette Michael Shaw Jeff Elder Terry Agrelius Darren Chen Chuck Fowler Hitoshi Ohta

ACUMULADORES DUNCAN ALF TECHNOLOGIES (INDIA) AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS AXION POWER INTERNATIONAL C&D TECHNOLOGIES CROWN BATTERY DYNO BATTERY EAST PENN MANUFACTURING ENERGY POWER SYSTEMS ENERSYS ENERYA SA de CV EXIDE TECHNOLOGIES FIAMM HIGHWATER INNOVATIONS INTERSPACE CONCORDE BATTERY JOHNSON CONTROLS MOTOBATT BATTERIES MUTLU AKÜ VE MALZ. NAVANA BATTERY NORTHSTAR BATTERY RAHIMAFROOZ BATTERIES RAMCAR BATTERIES REMY BATTERY SILICON POWER SUPERIOR BATTERY SURRETTE BATTERY TELEDYNE BATTERY PRODUCTS TROJAN BATTERY US BATTERY MANUFACTURING VISION BATTERY USA YACHT BATTERY YUASA BATTERY

SUPPLIER MEMBERS Anna Stuehrman Lee Cowan Brett Beal Charles L. Ackermann William Lincoln Guy Dauwe Julia Lutz Dick Amistadi Arthur T. Balcerzak Edward Puckett Scott Crerar Cindy Song Elke Oschmann Richard T. Johnson Julie Elliott Daryll Rardon Maurizio Masotti Peter Rumsey Greg Schmitt Helen Matthews Bill Curtis David Honkamp Paul White Gary Bryan Michael Wipperfurth Bob Baginski Jozzepi Foo Andrew Carr S. Tucker Roe Darby Rockney Rolf Beckers Pierre-Jean Arvers Jose Hansen Michael A. Doyle Thierry Touzeau Michael Galyen

www.batteriesinternational.com

ABERTAX TECHNOLOGIES ACCUMA ACCUMALUX AUSTRALIA ACCUMALUX ADDISON ENERGY AMER-SIL AMETEK PRESTOLITE POWER AMISTADI ASSOCIATES A.T. BALCERZAK CONSULTING SERVICES ATOMIZED PRODUCTS GROUP AUTO METER PRODUCTS BAIN AND COMPANY BATTERIE FULLUNGS SYSTEME THE BATTERY CONSULTANCY BATTERY WATERING TECHNOLOGIES BENNING POWER ELECTRONICS BITRODE BLINQ DIAGNOSTICS BORREGAARD LIGNOTECH BROOK HUNT CARLSON TOOL CELLUSUEDE PRODUCTS CENTRIFUGAL CASTINGS CHROMA CMWTEC TECHNOLOGIE COBRA WIRE & CABLE CO-EFFICIENT PRECISION ENGINEERING C.P. ENVIRONMENTAL DARAMIC DHC SPECIALTY DIGATRON INDUSTRIE-ELEKTRONIK DIGATRON POWER ELECTRONICS THE DOE RUN DOYLE SHAMROCK INDUSTRIES BERNARD DUMAS ECLIPSE ENERGY

Nick Semitka James Stockhausen David Trueba Russell S. Kemp Dan Askin Jim Gilmour Sanford Leavitt Rob Brock Geoff Davies Robert Gauthier Joseph H. Coudon Paul Chidiac Daniel Leach Lee D. Raymond Terrence H. Murphy Sean O’Brien Ryan Sanderson Norbert Ahnemann Jeff DePietro Joseph P. Badger John L. Devitt Bo Johansson Max Mandt-Merck Camden Arthur Spencer R. Stock Thomas W. Windham, Jr. Douglas Bornas Carmalieta Wells Joyce Morales-Caramella Joseph P. McKinley Parker Sword Will Sampson Steven W. Swogger James Histed Marc Desautels Kenichioro Fukae Kent Lancaster Nada Bursac Jacopo Maggioni Steve Rau Michael Chames Julianne Hayes (Julie) Cal Houdek Cesare Catelli – Joe Spiciarich Alan Wirsul Jeff Hindman James Tunnell Joseph M. Arvai, IV Roger A. Winslow Richard Jonach Richard P. Aulenbach Robert E. Finn Charles Hwang J. Roy Bray Frederick J. Schneider Duane Shooltz Yanfang Zhao Timothy G. Davis Paul R. Fink Sandy Saye David Longney Alberto Pezzotti Jim Pedersen Gilles Boucher Ralph Tiegel Steve Stack Peter Hochschild Craig Kellogg Jack E. Waggener H. Gerald Jowers Erik Eberlein John O. Wirtz

EIRICH MACHINES ELANTAS PDG ENTEK INTERNATIONAL ENVIRON INTERNATIONAL ESCA TECH FARMER MOLD & MACHINE WORKS FERRIE DI STABIO FLOW-RITE CONTROLS FROETEK PLASTIC TECHNOLOGY GAUTHIER NON-FERROUS PRODUCTS GLATFELTER COMPOSITE FIBER GLENCORE CANADA GOPHER RESOURCE GREENWICH METALS HAMMOND GROUP HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE IHS GLOBAL INBATEC INTERNATIONAL THERMAL SYSTEMS JBI JOHN L. DEVITT CONSULTING ENGINEER KÄLLSTRÖM ENGINEERING LAP LASER APPLIKATIONEN LAUSCHA FIBER INTERNATIONAL LESTER ELECTRICAL M.A. INDUSTRIES MAC ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT MADEWELL & MADEWELL MAYCO INDUSTRIES EAGLE OXIDE SERVICES MICROPOROUS MIDTRONICS MRLEAD PLUS NATIONAL ACID PROOFING NEWALTA NIPPON SHEET GLASS OAK PRESS SOLUTIONS OKABE O.M. IMPIANTI OMNI OXIDE ON BOARD SOLUTIONS OWENS CORNING PALICO INSTRUMENT LABORATORIES, PENOLES METALS & CHEMICALS PENOX POLYMER MOLDING (PMI) POWERLAB QUICK CABLE RICHARDSON MOLDING ROSENDAHL MASCHINEN RPA ENGINEERING RSR RUIHUA/MEGAPOWER ELECTRONICS PLASTICS SANDERS LEAD SCHOLLE CHEMICAL S&E SPECIALTY POLYMER SHENYANG JUGU EQUIPMENT SMS DIV. OF SANDMOLD SYSTEMS SORFIN YOSHIMURA SOUTHERN WEAVING TBS ENGINEERING TECHNOFIN ’98 TECK METALS TERMACO TIEGEL MANUFACTURING TONOLLI CANADA TRAXYS NORTH AMERICA TULIP MOLDED PLASTICS URS US LEAD WEGMANN AUTOMOTIVE & KG WIRTZ MANUFACTURING

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 41

BCI DATAFILE

Membership directory: the great and the good MARKETER MEMBERS Charles Carr Ed Fuxa Bobby Stafford Richard H. Swearingen Aron Haynes Steve Hixdon Robert Petersen Pete & Steve Dufaud Dennis Loso Orville Cottrell Steve Stoll Bob Williamson Bill Yates – Bob Giardina Jeff & Monica Tunks Frank Groccia, III Kent Curry Ed Cunningham Melvyn Digitale Brad Winkler & Kerry Landis Mike Cash Joe Carter Marcus Compton Rick Kagle Miles Hopson Scott Stephens Scott Winchester Dan & Margaret Gafford Brad Streelman Josh Lassiter David Pulley Sam Williams – Charlie Williams Jennifer Zalecki Roland Best Richard Price Patrick Crowley – James Parker Ken Turner – Ted Turner Shane McMahon Ian Pinson Edgar Dueñas Frank Dumas Jim McCann James Gengler Charlie Craig Peter Maloney Joy Czerwonky Rick Swan Stephen Pal Candi Meana Ron Zeller Darren Ellis– Dwayne Ellis Craig A. Pahl Tim Shoepe Clay Johnson Robert Boss Anthony Echols Zhida Sun Jay Northey Jerry Harris Greg Shull Jerry Muller Jeremy Jowers Ken Owens – Keith Owens Anoop K. Sunkara Robert Gregg Hubbard Philip A. Noznesky Del Downey Justin Bakhsh Brian Mathis William Lauer

A-1 BATTERY ACTION BATTERIES UNLIMITED ACTION BATTERY CENTER ADVANTAGE POWER BATTERY ALL-PAK BATTERY ART’S ELECTRIC ALL-TRA BATTERY AMERICAN BATTERY AMERICAN BATTERY ASSOCIATED BATTERY SUPPLY AUTOZONE PARTS AZTECH ENERGY B & B BATTERY GROUP BATTERIES NOW BATTERIES UNLIMITED BATTERIES UNLIMITED BATTERY BARN OF VIRGINIA BATTERY BILL BATTERY BOYS UNLIMITED BATTERY DISTRIBUTORS BATTERY EXPERTS BATTERY EXPRESS BATTERY ONE HAGERSTOWN THE BATTERY PROS BATTERY SALES BATTERY SERVICE BATTERY SOLUTIONS BATTERY SYSTEMS BATTERY WAREHOUSE BATTERY WAREHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA BATTERY WAREHOUSE WHOLESALE BATTERY WHOLESALE BEST BATTERY BULLDOG BATTERY CAPITALAND FILTER & SUPPLY C.C. BATTERY CDN ENERGY AND POWER CHLORIDE TECHNICAL AND TRADING COMERCIAL DE REPUESTOS Y SERVICIOS COMPLETE BATTERY SOURCE/START-ALL ENTERPRISES CONTINENTAL BATTERY COPPERSTATE BATTERY CRAIG BATTERIES CROWN BATTERY OF CANADA C-TROL DIXIE BATTERY SUPPLY EDMONDS BATTERIES ELECTRO BATTERY ELECTROLIFE BATTERY ELLIS BATTERY EMERGENT BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES EMPIRE BATTERIES FACTORY MOTOR PARTS FORD MOTOR GENERAL MOTORS GLOBAL POWER CENTRAL GS BATTERY (USA.) HARRIS BATTERY INTERSTATE BATTERIES JEFFERSON BATTERY JOWERS BATTERIES – G.J. BATTERIES KEN OWENS BATTERY KRAUS INTERNATIONAL LCB BATTERY LEOCH BATTERY LIBERTY BATTERIES MAGNACHARGE BATTERY MATHIS BATTERY METRA ELECTRONICS

42 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

John Farrell Gus Drosos Nate Mullet – Lynn Mullet Jan Zogmaister – Darrow Zogmaister Dave Saienni Dalton Fulghum Jim Beck Chris Hatton Carmen Robertson Jim Frock Steve Ahmann David Brown Ronald A. Weber Ralph Quinter Pete Polete Rick Hallock Guy Clum Alan Youda Peter Vander Linden Richard Beauchamp Joe Elras Brian J. Ricketts Lou Neuf Paul Staab, III Traci Sterling Mike Stevens Bonnie Hughson Phil Simmons Mike Swift Arnold & Judy Truelove Tom McConnell Steve King Gerald Johnson Derek Severns Randy Clark Ian Edmonds Nick Stratigeas Ryder Keller Joe Jarvis – Jim Douglas Tim Ruth Dan Bell

MILLENNIUM BATTERY EXPRESS MOUNT VERNON BATTERY MULLET BATTERY NATIONAL BATTERY SALES NEWARK BATTERY NORTH STATE BATTERY (NSB) NORTHWEST BATTERY & ELECTRIC OIL MART PA BATTERY & TRUCK ACCESSORIES P&H AUTO ELECTRIC PACIFIC POWER BATTERIES PASCO PENMA PIQUA BATTERY PLP BATTERY SUPPLY POWERMASTER BATTERIES POWER-SONIC POWER SOURCE BATTERIES PRAIRIE BATTERY QUALITEK REACO BATTERY RG AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING SPRINGFIELD BATTERY STAAB BATTERY STERLING BATTERY STEVENS BATTERY WAREHOUSE SUR-POWR BATTERY S&W BATTERY SWIFT INDUSTRIAL POWER TNT BATTERY TNT DISTRIBUTING TREASURE COAST BATTERY TRI-CITIES BATTERY & AUTO REPAIR TRIDENT BATTERY TRI-STATE BATTERY SUPPLY UNIVERSAL POWER GROUP US POWER OF MIAMI VOLTAGE SYSTEMS VOLTAGE VENTURES WAREHOUSE BATTERY OUTLET WHATCOM ELECTRIC d/b/a BATTERY SPECIALISTS OF ALASKA

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Todd Milner Alan Hyde Michael S Halls Ray Goodearl Richard Dee Rick Hallock– Joani Bingham Andy Bush Boris Monahov George Kerchner

AAA (AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOC) AUSTRALIAN BATTERY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION BATTERIES INTERNATIONAL BATTERY ALLIANCE CLUB ASSIST ENERGY BATTERY GROUP INTERNATIONAL LEAD ASSOCIATION ILZRO PRBA – THE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY ASSOCIATION

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS DeLIGHT E. BREIDEGAM HARVEY GERSHENSON

East Penn Manufacturing Kappa Consulting

MULTIPLE MEMBERS Robert Flicker Daniele Calasanzio Bob Aaron Peter Victor Cheng L. Sam Holden Alessandro Fossemo

EAST PENN FIAMM ENERGY HAWKER POWERSOURCE NEPO RICHARDSON MOLDING SOVEMA GLOBAL SERVICES

www.batteriesinternational.com

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 Christian Rheault James Surrette 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 John Connell (alternate) Lee Cowan Joy Czerwonky Malcolm Dewar Frank Dumas Ian Edmonds

BCI BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRE-CONVENTION Jeff Elder Trojan Battery Silvano Gelleni Acumuladores Duncan Randy Hart Superior Battery Hal Hawk Crown Battery PRESIDENT Terry Agrelius US Battery Manufacturing VICE-PRESIDENT James Surrette Surrette Battery TREASURER Christian Rheault C&D Technologies SECRETARY Jerry Pyatt The Doe Run

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Mark O. Thorsby, Battery Council International VOTING DIRECTORS Robert Caruso Exide Technologies John D. Craig EnerSys Alessandro Dolcetta FIAMM

www.batteriesinternational.com

Jerry Hoffman Northstar Battery Brian J. Kesseler Johnson Controls Daniel Langdon East Penn Manufacturing Hitoshi Ohta Yuasa Battery Mike Tole MAC Engineering & Equipment

NON-VOTING MEMBERS OF THE BCI BOARD Howard Meyers Quexco Incorporated Roger A. Winslow Richardson Molding Incorporated HONORARY AFFILIATE MEMBERS OF THE BCI BOARD OF DIRECTORS President, EUROBAT Johann-Friedrich Dempwolff (Johnson Controls Autobatterie) President, Battery Association of Japan Makoto Yoda (GS Yuasa International)

Ed Fink (alternate) LeAnn Fisher Chuck Fowler Robert Fritts Donna Giles Ray Goodearl, chairman Mark L. Hough, vice-chairman Kalyan Jana Richard T. Johnson Jeffrey H. Juds Davis Knauer (alternate) Alan Kohler Wayne Krick William Lincoln Bill Lipsey Peter Maloney Dave McMullen Mike Miller Michael E. Moeller 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 Parker Sword Marilyn Tarbet Gary Taylor Keith Toll Lee Wilson 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 George W. Ayrton Arthur T. Balcerzak, ViceChairman 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 Ian Edmonds Dwayne Ellis Timothy Ellis Mike Fraley Ed Frey Robert Fritts Mike Gathman Michael Galyen Silvano Gelleni Jim Gilmour Colby Godber Bill Glover (alternate) Ray Goodearl Robert G. Gruenstern Hal Hawk Nick Henen Mark Herrema Jeff Hires Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Parth R. Jain Mark Jesko Richard (Rick) T. Johnson R. Steven Kay James K. Klang, (non-BCI member) Davis Knauer Paul Korinek Joe Liedhegner David Longney Doreen Lucht Achim Lulsdorf Carl Madory John McMillion John Miller Munawar M. Moin Boris Monahov Howard Muchnick Antonio Muñoz Philip A. Noznesky Maria Orlando-Krick Tyler Owen Richard W. Pekala Shawn Peng R. David Prengaman (alternate) Pete Quinlan Nawaz Qureshi Daryll Rardon Greg Reich David Rice (alternate) Dave Rittenhouse Ronald Rizzo (alternate) Darby Rockney William J. Ross Eric Rueter Will Sampson Joe Semens Clark Smith (alternate) Brian Stanhaus Spencer R. Stock John Timmons Keith Toll

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 43

BCI DATAFILE

The business of running the business 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 Joseph Bolea Robert Boss Chip Bremer Terry Campbell Andrew Carr Randy Casstevens Timothy Coggins Tony Campiteli Mark Cummings Steve Delmar Marc Desautels Frank Dumas Ian Edmonds Julie Elliott Eckhard Fahlbusch Pascal Ferron Travis Foley Ed Frey Jim Frock Frederick Ganster vice-chairman Colby Godber John Godber Troy A. Greiss Hal Hawk Jerry Hoffman Robert Gregg Hubbard H. Gerald Jowers Russell S. Kemp George Kerchner Walter E. Kozlowski Timothy J. Lafond chairman James M. Lanzafame Syed Mahmud Jobair Al-Hossain Gerry Manley Joe D. Marquardt Cheryl L. Minor Michael E. Moeller Greg Moffitt Ismael Pedroza, Jr. Lee D. Raymond Jeff Reddick Randy Reyer Alfredo Rodriguez Shane Russell Charles Smith Mark Stadler John Tapper Jack E. Waggener Andrew Warren David Willis INDUSTRIAL BATTERY & CHARGER COMMITTEE — Marketing Terry Agrelius Jon Anderson

Gordon Beckley Doug Bouquard Matt Bridge Kendra Carter-Mansfield Michael Chames Geoff Davies Mike Fraley Dave Godber Hal Hawk Mark Jesko Mark Kelley John Kleba Mike Kuznetsov William Lincoln Doreen Lucht 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, chairman 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 vice-chairman David Boden Doug Bouquard Matt Bridge George H. Brilmyer Gilberto Castillo Michael Chames Mike Fraley John Gagge Michael Galyen Mike Gathman Hal Hawk Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Gerd Hoogestraat Joe Jergl Bernard Kadow James K. Klang, (non-BCI member) Mike Kuznetsov William Lincoln Sebastian Mathes John McMillion Klaus-Dieter Merz Sean O’Brien Christian Papmahl Rob Payne Daryll Rardon Steve Rau Greg Reich Ronald Rizzo (alternate) Darby Rockney

44 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

Jim Rubright Al Schmidt Rod Shane Clark Smith Brian Stanhaus Spencer R. Stock James Stockhausen Mike Swift John Timmons Keith Toll Mike Troy Stephen L. 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 Tony Campitelli Michael J. Casper Timothy Coggins Steve Delmar Jeff DePietro Ian Edmonds Pascal Ferron Travis Foley Frederick Ganster Troy A. Greiss Hal Hawk Walter E. Kozlowski Timothy J. Lafond Cheryl L. Minor Randy Reyer, chairman Shane Russell Ralph Tiegel Mike Tole James Tunnell Clement Vincent Andrew Warren INVESTMENT COMMITTEE Raymond Burns Phillip Damaska Howard Meyers Chris Pruitt Christian Rheault chairman.

Mike Schmidtlein MARKETING COMMITTEE Dick Amistadi Jon Anderson Bruce Ash Chad Christ John Connell (alternate) Amber DuBose Chuck Fowler Lisa Franklin Elke Hirschman John A. Howes Mark Jesko Mark Kelley Stephanie Kusibab Michele Leach Doreen Lucht Ellen Maxey Dave McMullen vice-chairman Saskia Mooney Jim Morath

Bruce L. Murray Patrick O’Brien Vince Pusateri Claire Sereiko Donna Snyder, chair Tammy Stankey Gary Taylor Bob Tolliday Fred Wehmeyer David Weinberg Ron Wood Michele Zgola MATERIALS COMMITTEE Charles L. Ackermann Larry Atkins Larry Axt Arthur T. Balcerzak Daniel D. Breidegam chairman Larry Burkert Randy Casstevens Paul Chidiac Lee Cowan Bud DeSart Robert E. Finn 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 Chris Sedor Joe Spiciarich James H. Thrash Keith Toll (alternate) Thierry Touzeau Todd Wilson Alan Wirsul MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE E. N. DeSart Paul R. Fink Jim Gilmour Rick Godber Hal Hawk, chairman Al Schmidt PRODUCT INFORMATION COMMITTEE David Beidler Peter Berson Robert Boss John Connell Amber DuBose Frank Dumas Dan Fetherolf (alternate) Chuck Fowler Dave Godber Ray Goodearl Rick Hallock Jose Hansen Hal Hawk Elke Hirschman Kalyan Jana

Wayne Krick Ellen Maxey Dave McMullen Greg Moffitt Kathy Peterson Pete Quinlan S. Tucker Roe Donna Snyder Paul Staab, III Gary Taylor chairman Todd Wilson Michele Zgola PRODUCT SAFETY COMMITTEE Glenn W. Andersen James F. Anderson chairman Joseph M. Arvai, IV Gordon Beckley Bill Bessire Steve Binks 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) Doreen Lucht Peter Maloney Greg Moffitt Ralph Quinter Jon Savage Donna Snyder Mark Stadler Andrew Warren David Willis Todd Wilson Feng Xue (alternate) TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Terry Agrelius (alternate) Carlos Manuel Aguilar Torres Pierre-Jean Arvers George W. Ayrton Joseph Badger Arthur T. Balcerzak Gordon Beckley David Beninato Michael F. Berger David Boden Matt Bridge Robert Boss George H. Brilmyer David Bryan (alternate) Gary Bryan Daniele Calasanzio Kevin Campbell Luis Cedeño Michael Chames John Connell Guy Dauwe

Malcolm Dewar Jeff DePietro Wayne Duerfeldt Frank Dumas Timothy Ellis Pascal Ferron Thomas Fleming Robert P. Flicker (alternate) Mike Fraley, vicechairman Clark Frederick Robert Fritts Mike Gathman Ray Goodearl Robert G. Gruenstern chairman Rick Hallock Terry Hartman (alternate) Daniel M. Henke Mark Herrema Jeff Hires Gerd Hoogestraat Greg Humphrey Charles Hwang Richard (Rick) T. Johnson John Kim James K. Klang (non-BCI member) Davis Knauer Paul Korinek Mike Kuznetsov Joe Liedhegner Doreen Lucht Achim Lulsdorf Bob Malley Sebastian Mathes John McMillion Tim McNally John Miller Todd Milner Boris Monahov Antonio Muñoz Jaime Navarrete Philip A. Noznesky Mike O’Malley Richard W. Pekala Shawn Peng R. David Prengaman, (alternate) Nawaz Qureshi Daryll Rardon Greg Reich David Rice (alternate) Dave Rittenhouse Ronald Rizzo Joe Semens Dwayne Shumate Kevin Smith (alternate) John Sowder Brian Stanhaus Spencer R. Stock Steve Stoll Chasen Stout Ralph Tiegel John Timmons Keith Toll (alternate) Thierry Touzeau Mike Troy (alternate) Stephen L. Vechy Fred Wehmeyer John Wertz Philippe Westreich Kevin Whear Tony Wilson Roger Winslow Alan Wirsul Jeff Zagrodnik

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BATTERY HEROINES: JEANNE BURBANK Figures such as, Esther Takeuchi, Cristina Lampe-Önnerud. Kathryn Bullock and Anne-Marie Sastry prove that the international world of batteries nowadays is not exclusively a male domain. But decades before, when it was virtually a man’s world, one woman gained huge respect from her fellow electrochemists: Jeanne Burbank.

Pushing back the boundaries of lead

Born, Jeanne Beadle, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 1915, she was the eldest of three children, to John Bookwalter Beadle, a civil engineer and his wife Isabelle.

Her father worked as a civil engineer for the US Reclamation Service and helped explore and map many parts of the still uncharted country.

She spent most of her childhood in Washington, DC and was homeschooled by her father until high school.

It was perhaps a natural progression that after high school she should study chemistry which she did at American University in Washington.

It was there that fate and music came together.

Enter Robert Jeanne, a charismatic

intellectual— also a chemistry major — with a passion for playing the piano. Jeanne, a music lover and cello player, fell in love. They graduated in 1936, both cum laude.

Within weeks of finishing their degrees — on July 1, 1936 — the two married. She was just 21.

They moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they both worked at the family-connected Peacock Laboratories (bought out by Libby-Owens-Ford Glass in 1940) as chemists while earning MSc degrees in colloidal chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.

In the summer of 1942 she had her only child, Carey Lea. But the joy in her daughter’s birth was tempered by the first signs of Robert’s illness. He was sent home for a month of bed rest; there was something wrong with his blood. Robert’s battle with Hodgkin’s Disease was to prove unsuccessful, He died from cancer of the lymph gland on September 21, 1946.

Bravely, she put her life back together. She moved back to Washington DC where, hired by Joseph Clark White, she began to work as a research chemist for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). White’s main work, sponsored by the Bureau of Ships was to improve the habitability of submarines during their sorties under the ocean, which of course included their battery emissions.

In 1949, she co-authored a report on Phosphate Coatings on Steel, then

Her first patent proposed an improved and more resistant thin grid and plate for a lead-acid battery using an alloy of tin, antimony and lead. www.batteriesinternational.com

in 1952 came ground-breaking work — “Positive-grid corrosion in the lead-acid cell: corrosion rates of tin alloys and the effect of acid concentration on corrosion” and “Subgrain structure in lead and lead-antimony alloys” Her first patent — US2821565 filed in October 1955 and issued in January 1958 — was co-researched with Al Simon (who became a longtime collaborator with her) and John Lander. In this the three proposed an improved and more resistant thin grid and plate for a lead-acid battery using an alloy of tin, antimony and lead.

During the 1960s, Jeanne with her colleague Charles Wales, worked on a lead-calcium battery for portable cells. They also developed the electrolytic cell for X-ray diffraction studies of electrodes, such as lead and silver-zinc, to provide analysis for the battery companies such as Gates and Johnson Controls.

Among her other accomplishments, Jeanne was a leader in the difficult analysis of the entirely different roles played by the two polymorphs of lead dioxide in the battery operation. One markedly increased the physical stability of PbO2, while the other was the principal source of reactive energy.

Significant groups in the US and Germany were struggling with this question, which influenced both battery design and the processing of materials in manufacture.

Her work is still discussed today.

The cooperative work resulted in a better understanding of the crystallographic structure of active materials.

Her colleague, Al Simon did parallel studies with the very latest technology from an scanning electron microscope.

Her influence was widely acknowlBatteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 45

BATTERY HEROINES: JEANNE BURBANK

Burbank was a leader in the difficult analysis of the entirely different roles played by the two polymorphs of lead dioxide in the battery operation. One markedly increased the physical stability of PbO2, while the other was the principal source of reactive energy edged across the industry — she regularly presented her reports to meetings of the Electrochemical Society across the US and even north of the border in Montreal and Ottawa.

In 1962 she travelled to the UK for the Third International Symposium on Batteries, held in Bournemouth where she presented a paper about the positive plate characteristics in the floating lead calcium cell.

In 1967 Jeanne and Charles Wales received the NRL Battery Division Research Award for their pioneering work. In 1969, she received the sixth annual William Blum Award from the National Capital Section of the Electrochemical Society where the award tribute said: “your methods of applying X-ray and electron microscopy to the materials and components of lead-acid and silver-zinc batteries have made a substantial contribution to the understanding of battery grid corrosion and active materials reactions.”

1942: The Burbank family, Jeanne and Robert with baby Carey 46 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

The following year, she received the first Frank Booth Award for outstanding technical merit at the International Power Sources Symposium held at Brighton in the UK. Much of Jeanne’s work concerned submarine batteries, and she was able to study the microstructure of lead acid submarine batteries under working conditions on the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear submarine.

“She visited the Nautilus while it was docked and was able to see what the conditions were for ‘her’ batteries,” her daughter later recalled. “She replicated the battery conditions and set-up at the NRL. She was so pleased when NRL provided her with own building with additional space to set up the configuration of batteries.

“I remember her being very proud when NRL got their first nuclear reactor. She took me to see it as soon as visitors were allowed in.

“My mother had one regret about her professional accomplishments: that she never had the time to pursue a PhD in chemistry or other subjects. She had been faced early in life with providing for a sick husband, a daughter, and later in life, for her sister at times of crises, and for her parents after their retirement. But she lived both her work and her life to the full.”

John Devitt, one of the key figures in the development of the valve regulated lead acid battery, later recalled: “Jeanne was able, in spite of many obstacles, not the least being the fact the professional women in her field were almost unheard of, to accomplish much in research in electrochemistry.

She was a lady in all the best ways — a beautiful personality.”

However, Jeanne said she always thought of herself as being was one of the Battery Boys and felt that her gender had nothing to do with her accomplishments. She was an original believer in equal rights for women.

“I remember her complaining that many of her co-workers, mostly male, but also some of the women secretaries, didn’t understand her point of

Jeanne Burbank in earlier years

view,” her daughter recalls.

“Equal rights for women was in its infancy, and women had only gotten the right to vote in 1920. The right to vote was often talked about in our household and was especially celebrated by her mother.”

She published over 35 articles in professional journals, and received numerous awards for her work and publications. Several of these were published in four co-authored papers in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society and Electrochemical Acta.

One of these, edited by the legendary Charles Tobias, was Advances in Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering.

Her final reports concern the crystallization of lead oxides on anodes of lead-antimony alloy.

In 1971 she retired to Tucson, Arizona. There she was able to devote time to that strange mixture of science and art that seems to characterize many in the battery industry.

In 1986 Jeanne and her sister, Joan moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. Soon after her sister’s death in 1997, Jeanne moved to the Life Care Center of Paradise Valley of Phoenix.

She was studying Oglala Lakota — one of the languages of the Great Sioux Nation — when she started failing. She died on March 2, 2002, aged 86.

She had been faced early in life with providing for a sick husband, a daughter, and later in life, for her sister at times of crises, and for her parents after their retirement. But she lived both her work and her life to the full www.batteriesinternational.com

BATTERY HEROINES: KATHRYN BULLOCK The conception, invention and development of the VRLA battery has been an almost exclusively male preserve but one woman — Kathryn Bullock — has made a remarkable contribution to its evolution — and also to the theoretical and practical landscape of the modern energy storage industry.

Faith, reason and a life in batteries Kathryn Bullock was born in Oklahoma in September 1945. An early interest in chemistry developed into a degree at Colorado University and in 1967 (freshly married to Kenneth who later becam a minister), Kathryn applied to Gates Rubber Company where she was interviewed by John Devitt, the driving force behind the VRLA battery, who was organizing a battery development group.

She left to move to Chicago to get her doctorate before returning to Devitt whose team had by then developed the VRLA battery. The push was on to test and refine the design and develop the manufacturing processes. The first application of the Gates VRLA AGM battery was in power tools. Lead-acid batteries with silica gel added to the acid could be used in some portable applications, but the gel limited the power.

Portable power tool companies were interested in the VRLA cells because of lower materials costs and higher voltages and power. Although lead is heavier than nickel and cadmium, they could use three lead-acid cells to replace the voltage of a battery of four nickel-cadmium cells.

When lead-acid batteries are discharged, the state of charge decreases as the acid concentration decreases.

Many stationary lead-acid battery applications, such as standby backup power, required regular monitoring of the acid specific gravity with a hydrometer to determine the energy left in the battery. A sealed cell was not acceptable for these critical applications.

With her background in computer modelling and physical chemistry, Kathryn was able to develop a model and numerical tables that would allow customers to convert the open www.batteriesinternational.com

Ernst Voss from VARTA Battery in Germany presenting the alpha/beta honorary membership scroll to me

circuit voltage of a VRLA battery to the acid concentration and battery state of charge. She was also able to use thermodynamic data from the literature to correct the state of charge for the internal battery temperature.

She recalls: “To maintain my skills and increase my knowledge of leadacid batteries, I began reading articles in the Journal of Electrochemical Society on corrosion reactions at the lead-acid positive grid by Paul Ru-

etschi, Jeanne Burbank, Detchko Pavlov, and others. With electrochemists from local universities, I also founded a local chapter of the Electrochemical Society.”

In an evening graduate course on corrosion at the Colorado School of Mines, Kathryn learned about potential-pH (Pourbaix) diagrams. Since positive grid corrosion reactions are dependent on both sulfate (S) and hydrogen (H) ion concentrations at the

“But from this experiment I did learn a useful lesson.

If one electrode doesn’t fail, the other one will! Paying attention to chemical reactions in both positive and negative electrodes and the interactions between them is still very important if we want to understand and predict failure modes in VRLA designs for hybrid electric vehicles.”

Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook • 47

BATTERY HEROINES: JEANNE BURBANK

Kathryn working in the Johnson Controls research laboratory studying cyclic voltammograms of lead in battery acid containing phosphoric acid.

corrosion interface, she developed a three-dimensional potential/pH/pS diagram that could be used to better understand and reduce the corrosion of the positive lead grids.

In 1977, she accepted a job at GlobeUnion, a large battery company in Milwaukee that became part of Johnson Controls. She worked there for nearly 15 years, first as a research scientist and then, beginning in 1980, as manager of the battery research group. “We worked on many different kinds of lead-acid batteries, including flooded, gelled and acid-starved designs for all types of automotive, stationary, and portable applications,” she recalls.

Voltammetric data At Gates, Kathryn had worked on a project to determine how much phosphoric acid should be added to the VRLA battery electrolyte and had presented a paper on her results at an Electrochemical Society meeting.

Phosphoric acid was added to leadacid gel batteries to increase their cycle life. She used cyclic voltammograms to study the effects of phosphoric acid on lead battery reactions.

Based on her cyclic voltammetric data, the amount of phosphoric acid added to the Gates cells was reduced to a very low level.

At Johnson Controls, she continued to study phosphoric acid effects on the positive electrode in lead-acid batteries and published additional work on the subject.

In 1980 the Electrochemical Society Battery Division presented Kathryn 48 • Batteries International • BCI 2015 Yearbook

Bullock with its research award for this work.

Kathryn’s research group was partially funded by the US’ Department of Energy to work on electric vehicle and load levelling batteries. The battery research group also supported development work on nickel-metal hydride and zinc-bromine batteries.

She began to file patents at Johnson Controls on her ideas of ways to improve lead-acid battery performance and on ways to decrease battery production times.

One of her first projects was to find an alternative way to make a drycharged battery. Johnson Controls had a method of charging an acidfilled battery and then dumping out the excess acid and centrifuging the battery to eliminate as much moisture as possible. Unfortunately the shelf life of this battery was not as good as for dry-charged batteries due to the residual acid left in the battery.

The Johnson Controls battery division had a solid engineering department, along with a technical library, a materials research group and an analytical group that provided very good support for battery research and development. Many of their projects were cosponsored by the US’ Department of Energy. The two built a new R&D laboratory and worked on lead-acid, zinc-bromine, and nickelmetal hydride battery development projects for applications such as load levelling and electric vehicles.

Kathryn and her colleague Bill Tiedemann assembled a top notch R&D team and soon built a new world-class R&D laboratory (that has now morphed into JCI’s Battery Technology Center).

“Back then we were working on many of the right subjects such as grid corrosion, battery thermal management, EV batteries, grid design, plate curing and even load-levelling,” she recalled. “I’ll never forget our work designing the new lab and purchasing some of the first computer controlled battery cyclers from Bitrode (and it was all done without email)!

In 1991, AT&T Bell Labs asked Kathryn to lead the move of their battery group from Texas to New Jersey “At AT&T I had an opportunity to get more experience in systems engineering and worked closely with systems engineers and battery companies to develop new battery designs.

AT&T also agreed to let me accept a nomination to run for vice-president and then president of the Elec-

trochemical Society. They worked in Dallas for five years, until Bell Labs became part of Lucent Technologies.

At that time Medtronic, Inc invited Kathryn to lead a group developing an aluminium electrolytic capacitor design and factory and designing new lithium primary batteries for implantable medical equipment.

In 1996, she was awarded the Gaston Planté medal — perhaps the most prestigious award in the lead acid battery business. At the end of 1999, she accepted a position as executive vice president of technology at C&D Technologies in Philadelphia.

In 2003, she founded a consulting business called Coolohm, Inc where she has been at the cutting edge of various new projects since.

Power of new designs For example, in some new lead-acid battery designs, higher levels of carbon are being added to the negative plate materials. In other designs, half of the negative plate is carbon and the other half is lead. This concept was developed in Australia and is being produced at Furukawa in Japan and at East Penn Manufacturing Company in Pennsylvania.

The lead/carbon negative plates and lead dioxide positive plates form a combination of a capacitor for power at high currents and a battery for energy at lower currents in the same module. These batteries are working well in some hybrid electric vehicles.

She says it is nowadays as important to understand the chemical mechanisms of carbon in the new battery designs and applications as it has been to understand the chemical effects of oxygen and hydrogen reactions, higher acid concentrations, other new additives, new separator components, and novel cell designs on the VRLA battery.

“The Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium has supported much of my recent work in defining the effects of carbon materials on the mechanisms and failure modes in this new system,” she says. She is the author and co-author of more than 60 scientific papers, chapters and books and has 11 US patents in battery, fuel cell and capacitor technology.

A committed Christian, her life has been based on the belief that science and faith are not incompatible and our duty is to push back the borders of our understanding as far as we can — and impart that wisdom and knowledge to others. www.batteriesinternational.com

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