ELBC Pre-Conference supplement - 3rd issue

September 13-16, 2016

15 ELBC, Malta

No more Mr Nice Guy! Lead goes on the offensive Mysterious Malta: the pearl of the Mediterranean

A peek at some of the hottest conference presentations

Global outlook for lead shows signs of great opportunities

Full exhibitor listings and comprehensive booth planner

IAL C E Bringing the industry stry together SP R www.batteriesinternational.com rnational.com FO S KU S A

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NT U CO S I SD B SU C ELB

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EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@batteriesinternational.com

Circling the wagons — before mounting the attack ELBC events are always special. Since their first days in the 1980s — in what now seems like a misty age of sepia photos where debates indeed focused on those new fangled VRLA batteries — the meetings have always been must-go venues.

They’re warm well attended meetings where the industry socializes as much as it learns from the talks and the exhibition.

But this year there’s an extra edge to the meetings.

There is a distinct sense that these gatherings are more important than ever. A new set of challenges has appeared.

The reason is simple. What many have dreaded for some time is now starting to become visible.

“The lead battery industry is under threat and its challenger, lithium ion, has finally become a credible alternative,” one long-time battery veteran told us.

“This is the time to circle the wagons, unite as an industry and take aim at the challenges that face us.

It’s a time for collaboration rather than competition.

In particular we need to share our inventiveness across the industry.”

As David Wilson, chair of ELBC put it. “The worrying thing is not that lithium is winning so many contracts in automotive and grid storage — that number is still few. Rather that it’s becoming linked in the public perception as that it’ll be the next generation of batteries after lead acid.”

And this really is becoming a challenge.

For years delegates at these conferences have poopooed the rise and rise of lithium.

It’s easy to see why. We looked at it as a bubble phenomenon rather than a threat. It was a battery built on hype, or so we thought.

We looked at the half billion dollar stock market valuation of A123 Systems and laughed. And why not? The firm hadn’t made a cent. It seemed like a re-run of the internet bubble at the turn of the century. And then A123 flopped too!

The huge wave of US government money, in particular, that washed over the sector, confirmed our own thinking. It flooded over many new wave companies and left little of value behind in the wave. Some dead fish and few others flipping in the puddles that were left.

Everything about the chemistry seemed absurd. To www.batteriesinternational.com

make an electric battery powerful enough to drive a car required using tens of thousands of computer cell batteries! It stank of a desperate attempt at scalability.

Other things were laughable. A driving range of 35 miles for a hybrid car in pure electric mode, not forgetting the steep hill behind us and the following wind — seemed an extravagantly foolish waste of money. Wasn’t the Chevy Volt just another GM foolishness like sending their top execs to Washington cap in hand for money but flying private Lear jets?

A chemistry where the infamous nail penetration test was standard — hammer a nail into a battery pack and watch it explode — again seemed foolish.

And then again there was seemingly ridiculous prices for the battery.

At what point was $1,000 per kWhr for storage ever going to be attractive when lead offered around $150kWhr? But what we didn’t reckon on was the wall of money that was thrown at lithium ion development and the inevitability (or almost so) that there would be a payback of sorts.

And that’s the thing that’s now coming back to bite us.

All our previous opinions are being swept away as the enormous sums spent on research bear fruit.

This is all the more sad in that 2015’s R&D into lithium has, according to one senior figure, been the equivalent of research into lead for about two decades.

Gloomy stuff aside, this doesn’t mean the end of the lead battery industry. Far from it. SLI batteries will dominate the automotive market for decades to come.

But it does mean that the time for poo-poohing lithium as a chemistry is over. It poses a challenge and we should accept this and that means marshalling our arguments with care.

This conference will certainly give us some of the arguments to do just this. The deeper question, however, is will the lead industry have the guts to sacrifice individual advantage for the greater good?

Mike Halls Editor

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 1

DESTINATION: ELBC MALTA The ancient Greeks called Malta Μελίτη approximating to a meaning of land of honey or honey-sweet. But don’t expect a sugary time for ELBC delegates. But outside of the meetings is an intriguing mix of ancient culture, vibrant nightlife, adventure packed activities and postcard perfect beaches. Rebecca Pritchard reports.

Magic Malta: ‘the land of honey’ They may drive on the wrong side of the road, drink an absolutely foul soda called Kinnie, (made from bitter oranges) and have a gobbledegook language that sounds familiar nonsense to Italians, French and Arabs but welcome to Malta — one of the best kept secrets in Europe. And a superb tourist destination to boot.

It’s an island of turquoise waters, stunning coastlines and delicious local cuisines as well as a modern and lively night-life.

The Republic of Malta is actually an archipelago of seven islands — the largest is Malta itself, followed

by Gozo, just a four-mile boat trip away. Gozo is rural and peaceful, a perfect location for those who prefer a tranquil get-away with picturesque beaches and countryside views.

Located between Malta and Gozo

is the tiny island of Comino. It’s one of the few places in the Mediterranean where you won’t get disturbed by the sound of traffic — there’s not a car on the island just a rather pleasant hotel.

Malta’s history Dotted across the islands are buildings, temples and artefacts that date back to BC5200 — making Egypt’s pyramids or Britain’s Stonehenge looking like new kids on the block.

The history of Malta in reality is a history of warfare across the Mediterranean. It’s strategic location means that it has been occupied by the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Carthaginians, the Byzantines and, in the second wave of Arab conquests the islanders were mostly wiped out by the Moors … perpetuating a tra-

dition initiated by the Romans.

Norman mercenaries fighting for the Kingdom of Sicily took the island in the 1190s before being finally being sent packing by the Ottomans in the 16th century. The French occupied the islands in 1798 but were beaten off by the British in 1800. The Italians and Germans had a try in the second world war but the country remained part of the British empire until 1964 when independence was granted.

The UK connections remain deep.

England is an official language and British tourists remain the largest group of international visitors. (They are mostly herded off into large ghetto-resorts on the north-west of the island.)

The republic joined the European Union in 2004 in the island’s first voluntary concession of sovereignty.

How to eat like a local ...

Malta has a rich culinary tradition, offers the world’s first ever fusion cuisine, heavily influenced by the Italian kitchen but infused with Arabic inspiration.

2. Ta’Kolina A family-run restaurant running since 1974, Ta’Kolina perches on the Sliema seafront overlooking the most beautiful promenade on the island, and specialises in traditional Maltese food.

1. Marsaxlokk fish market A trip to the Marsaxlokk fish market on Sunday morning is the perfect chance to discover just how varied the fish catch is in Maltese waters.

There’s an abundance of good, well priced restaurants bordering the port.

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3. Santino Situated in the heart of the colourful resort of Sliema is the stylish and elegant Santino, 2

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offering a Maltese Mediterranean seafood and grill with a selection of fresh fish available daily.

4. Granny’s Fusion Restaurant A favourite among locals, Granny’s Fusion is a quaint familyrun restaurant specializing in traditional Maltese dishes including bragoli, stuffed calamari, fresh fish and charcoal grilled fillets.

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DESTINATION: ELBC MALTA

Off the beaten track (almost!)

Mdina — the walled fortress city Population 300, this unique walled city was founded in the 8th century BC by Phoenician settlers. Known as the “silent city” (no cars are allowed in the narrow streets) it has known terrible times — it was destroyed and its citizens massacred in AD870 — and it lay unoccupied for almost a century.

But it has also had great times. It was for many centuries the administrative capital for the island. This is a must-see for visitors to Malta and a half-hour drive from the conference.

Segway across the cliffs Discover Malta’s Dingli Cliffs… on a Segway! Segway Malta offers a thrilling experience where adrenaline seekers can explore the stunning cliffs and uninhabited island of Filfla on this unique mode of transport.

The Miracle Church, Mosta On April 9, 1942 locals sheltered in the 19th-century Church to escape a

German air attack. A bomb fell through the dome, and miraculously didn’t explode. You can see the repair marks on the ceiling and there is a copy of the bomb on display. If this kind of thing interests, then be aware that the church has the third largest unsupported dome in the world and when building finished in the 1860s was regarded the most advanced architecturally in the world.

Popeye’s village Robert Altman’s 1980 film Popeye was set in Malta and instead of abandoning the set or taking it down, the local villagers creatively claimed and repurposed the set as a theme park, hiring actors and creating ‘Popeye World’.

Ancient temples Hagar Qim, which dates back some 5,000 years, is the best preserved ancient limestone temple on Malta. It’s less than a hour’s drive from Valetta.

FORGET THE HISTORY, RY, LET’S CHILL L Do you speak English?

The potential for relaxed summer beach life is often a deciding factor for sun seekers. Malta is surrounded by clear blue waters – some of the cleanest in the Mediterranean – and enjoys an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. In the summer the weather is a balmy 40°C (or to the unenlightened from across the sea 104°F.) But if soaking up the rays isn’t your style, there are plenty of activities on tap too – not least in the island’s waters, which attract divers, swimmers and snorkelers.

You can enjoy a variety of sports and leisure activities in Malta including hiking, mountain biking,

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rock climbing, paragliding and wind surfing. Equipment hire is available at good prices across the islands, making it an ideal spot to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.

Gozo is a particularly popular location for rock climbing, due to its sheer cliffs. It’s also a top mountain biking destination offering quiet roads and fantastic hill climbs.

And the fun doesn’t stop in the evening, since Malta offers a funpacked nightlife with a host of lively clubs and watering holes that will have you up until late. If you’re after a more chilled out evening, there are plenty of bars and live music venues dotted across the island.

TITKELLEM BL-INGLIŻ?

Maltese is the only survivor of the Arabic dialects spoken in Spain and Sicily in the Middle Ages.

A contemporary Arab speaker would understand the headline — do you speak English? It is also the only language of Arabic origin that is written in the Latin alphabet. Maltese and English are official languages. Maltese has been recognized as an official language of the European Union when Malta became a member in 2004. There are more Italian words taken into Maltese — it was the official language until 1936 — than English ones.

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 3

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CONTENTS LEAD ON THE OFFENSIVE The 15th European Lead Battery Conference in Valetta this month could well be the most influential lead event this side of the new millennium as the industry squares up to the challenges of lithium, now poised to make aggressive moves into traditional lead battery territory

Greetings from Malta, the hidden gem of the Mediterranean

Wilson: Consolidation before mounting the attack

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EDITORIAL It’s time to circle the wagons and brace ourselves for the coming attacks from lithium ion

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WELCOME TO MAGIC MALTA! Warmest greetings from Valetta, capital of Malta and the pearl of the Mediterranean

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THE ILA VIEW: COUNTERING THE RHETORIC David WIlson, chairman of 15ELBC and an attendee at every conference from the beginning reviews the issues in this year’s summit and how they fit into the larger market context

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VIEW FROM THE CHAIR: A TIME FOR CONSOLIDATION David WIlson, chairman of 15ELBC and an attendee at every conference from the beginning reviews the issues in this year’s summit and how they fit into the larger market context

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FULL TECHNICAL PROGRAMME

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A SAMPLER OF PRESENTATIONS A look through some of the fascinating presentations that will be given this year

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LEAD BITES BACK: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE A key grouping of four lead and lead battery associations are going on the offensive

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BCI’s Mark Thorsby: the lead industry has to move with the times 18

BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR 54 Let’s not forget that the genius behind the development of the first basic lead acid battery has been matched by equally astonishing advances elsewhere — as well, of course, within lead too.

We look at the lives of Nicholas Callan, Simon Ruben, George Leclanché and lastly Otto Jache, who some delegates will remember from his presence at these very meetings

EXHIBITION GUIDE, 34-53 Our comprehensive listing of exhibitors in the main hall includes a full run down of sponsors in this preconference guide and an alphabetical and numerical list of which firm can be found — and where

Publisher: Karen Hampton, karen@batteriesinternational.com, +44 7792 852 337

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Staff reporters: Philip Moorcroft

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Nor should anything contained within it should be construed as constituting an offer to buy or sell securities, or constitute advice in relation to the buying or selling of investments.

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Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 5

THE ILA VIEWPOINT Andy Bush, managing director of the International Lead Association — the organizers of 15ELBC — describes what he believes will be the main discussion points at this year’s event.

Countering the rhetoric 15ELBC provides critical interaction between all segments of the lead industries, which can result in innovation, collaboration and a united front for an industry that needs to get better at selling its strengths and attributes, believes Andy Bush, managing director of the International Lead Association (ILA).

Bush will attend the event sharing many of the official responsibilities with David Wilson, who is chairing the event for the last time in 2016.

He praises the work of Wilson over the years and also the events team that make the conference run so smoothly, something that Bush says, allows him to spend more time with delegates and speakers.

This interaction allows him to feel the pulse of an industry that is now changing rapidly.

Having been buffeted by the pressures of competition from other chemistries, Bush believes the lead sector is increasingly adapting and learning to fight back in extolling its attributes.

“There has been a significant change in this industry in recent years driven by competition from other energy storage technologies,” Bush says. “But the industry has increasingly recognized that and understands that it is very important to get out there and counter some of the rhetoric and claims being made by rival technologies.

“There has been an increasing focus on methods of making an objective comparison between technologies and there has been progress on that front.

That has partly been driven by conversations and interactions that often start at events such as ELBC.” Bush says the industry also needs to do more to secure more investment in innovation. While he is confident that innovation is taking place at an accelerating rate within the industry, the industry is, however, often perceived to be less attractive to investors compared with newer chemistries such as lithium-ion.

“If you just look at the numbers in terms of government research investment, a large chunk of that is going to

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other areas. One of the things we have to do as an industry is get the message out now that lead-acid batteries are an enabling technology for so many other innovations.

“Ultimately, they will help improve lives and solve many of the challenges we face as a society such as global warming. Yet that role of lead batteries is not widely recognized — especially the fact that they have so much potential to improve other innovations and make things possible further down the road.”

Bush says that improving this message is now part of the work of the strategic alliance between ILA, EUROBAT, Battery Council International (BCI), and the Association of Battery Recyclers (ABR).

But he says the message needs to be heard beyond just Europe and North America — the regions in which these four associations are all located.

“We need to go further — and industries in other regions of the world are quick to point out the pressing need for

action there too. We have this amazing product that is low cost, safe and highly sustainable and offers the prospect of a fantastic energy storage solution for many years ahead. But the job we have now is to ensure people recognize the benefits and this will be a big theme of conversations at ELBC this year.

“I expect there to be a lot of talk about the role batteries are likely to play in years to come especially in the face of aggressive competition from lithium and other types of energy storage. You don’t have to go back many years to find a situation where the lead battery industry faced little in the way of serious external competition but things have changed.”

In terms of the event, he promises some excellent technical discussions, which he calls the backbone of the conference and what distinguishes it from many other events. The use of lead batteries in renewable storage will be a hot topic as will some of the sessions that take a wider, global, perspective on the industry.

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 7

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VIEW FROM THE CHAIR David Wilson, chair of the 15 ELBC, gives some personal reflections on the event he has been intimately involved with since helping set up the first meetings in1988.

A time for consolidation It’s again a warm welcome to this our 15th European Lead Battery Conference — this time from the sun-drenched island of Malta which stands at the crossroads of so much of Mediterranean Europe.

This year’s meeting will be especially valuable for us all, in that our whole industry is standing at the crossroads of competing battery chemistries — and whilst this presents challenges, it also gives us opportunities which we hope to capitalize upon via various exciting new developments in lead technology.

In this year’s technical programme we have papers from companies that are pushing out the boundaries of lead.

Ecoult, already well known for its UltraBattery, will be speaking about its latest development, as will The Furukuwa Battery Company who will be talking about a second generation of their product for 14V hybrids.

But new lead technology is more than just knocking at the door, as will be shown by representatives of companies such as Gridtential, HighWater Innovations, Advanced Battery Concepts, for example, who will be talking about new approaches in terms of both engineering and chemistry that are pushing lead batteries into new territories.

Against that, however, and pulling the other way, we see continued advances by lithium-ion. As an industry we’ve all been surprised by the pace of development of EV batteries, but perhaps more important is the growing impression that lithium-ion batteries are the only solution for the automotive sector in this market.

And this is something where we need to fight our corner.

Of course we can’t change the fact that lithium-ion has a higher energy density than lead-acid but lithium faces very real objections to its deployment — cost, safety and recyclability being the most immediate — and we should come away from these meetings able to tell a positive story about our industry.

The ELBC conference is always different from the other battery meetings

you find in the year. It’s not just that the focus is on lead-acid batteries, but more that it’s always been as much about a meeting of friends and colleagues as about the technical agenda — though that of course is important.

I hope the networking between delegates in Valetta will highlight the fact that although there are clearly sturdy challenges coming from lithium-ion batteries, a new generation of lead batteries is emerging.

On a personal note I’ve been enthusiastic about these conferences since our very first one in 1988 (in fact I’ve attended and been involved in every one of them!). The first conference was held in Paris at a time when we at the International Lead Association saw the need for a technical event that could bring our industry together.

At that time we did not envisage it as the first of a long-running series of conferences. We called it “Lead Battery Power for the 90s”.

By comparison with today’s events it was a comparatively simple affair —

10 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

we assembled what we thought were the best and most interesting developments in the lead-acid battery business and then let the event happen.

Without wishing to seem self-congratulatory (to be fair, we didn’t realise how successful it would be!) we had around 200 delegates who were enthusiastic about the meeting. At that time our delegates were mostly from Europe, which is why the following conference in 1990 was rebranded as the 2nd ELBC. Since then we have held an ELBC conference every two years (we associate closely with the sister Asian Battery Conference series in the in-between years), and the range and number of our non-European delegates has grown enormously.

In part this is due to demographic change as battery manufacturing has moved towards Asia, but it’s also indicative of the greater globalization within our business. We expect that this trend will continue and will deepen and help our industry thrive.

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FULL TECHNICAL PROGRAMME

The technical programme consists of five different themes/sessions Session: Markets and Trends The Future of Lead-Acid Batteries and Innovations Robert Flicker, East Penn Manufacturing The Role of Storage in Decarbonizing Global Energy Systems Luis Munuera, International Energy Agency Beware the Stock Iceberg: What are the Prospects for the Lead Price to Lift after Recent Cooling?

Neil Hawkes, CRU Can Asia Continue to Power Growth in Lead-Acid Batteries?

Huw Roberts, CHR Metals Engineering the Future Christian Rosenkranz, Johnson Controls Automotive and Industrial Applications Christophe Pillot, Avicienne Global Market Trends for Industrial LeadAcid Batteries Nick Starita, Hollingsworth and Vose Advanced Lead-Based Batteries in Europe: Market Update and Legislative Developments Johann Friedrich Dempwolff, EUROBAT The Future of Advanced Lead Batteries and the New ALABC Program Boris Monahov and Andy Bush, ALABC Is the ‘ZERO Environmental-Lead Emissions’ Lead-Acid Battery a Viable Possibility (Opportunity) for the Future) Doug Lambert, Wirtz Manufacturing Session: Energy Storage and Industrial Batteries Future Battery Energy Storage Systems: With Lead–Acid Batteries?

Juergen Garche, FCBAT/University of Ulm and Alexander Hirnet, VARTA Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), an Academic Approach to the Installation of a Practical System David Stone, Daniel Gladwin and Martin Foster,

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University of Sheffield, and Danielle Strickland , Aston University High-Rate Photovoltaic–Battery Test Profiles Tim Moore, CSIRO Energy, and Nicholas Batt, Ecoult The Influences of Advanced Absorptive Glass Mat (AGM) Separator on ValveRegulated Power Lead-Acid Batteries Wen Li, Zhigang Guo, Fengbo Zhang, Fei Chen, Chunfeng Kong and Haimin Zhao, Tianneng Power International The Design and Performance of a LeadAcid Smart Battery System for MicroEnergy Home Storage Andrea Brincat, Joseph Cilia and Maurice Apap University of Malta Novel Lead-Graphene Positive Grids for a Motive Power Lead-Acid Battery Gui-Ping Dai, Zheng-Fu Chen and Long-Rui Zhou, Chaowei Power Lead-Acid Batteries in a Competing Market: Stationary Batteries for Grid Services and PV-Home Storage Systems Dirk Uwe Sauer, Julia Badeda, Dirk Magnor, Tjark Thien and Kai-Philipp Kairies (ISEA - RWTH Aachen University An Advanced Bipolar Silicon-Lead Technology for Renewable Energy Applications Collin Mui, Daniel Moomaw, Steve Hinojosa and Christian Beekhuis, Gridtential Energy New Filling and Formation Process for VRLA Cells in Gel Technology KD Merz and Joseph Cilia, Abertax Technologies Advancing the Energy Power Envelope of Lead-Acid Batteries with Bipolar Design Edward Shaffer II, Advanced Battery Concepts Session: New Developments for Automotive Batteries The Future of Automotive Batteries – Challenges and Opportunities for Lead– Acid Eckhard Karden, Ford

Investigating AGM Batteries from Car Operation Jörn Albers and Ingo Koch, Johnson Controls The Second Generation UltraBattery for Advanced 14V Hybrids Tokunori Honma and Jun Furukawa, The Furukawa Battery Demonstrating Advanced Lead Carbon Batteries in 48V Micro/Mild Hybrid Vehicles Allan Cooper (ALABC, Dynamic Charge Acceptance in High Carbon Lead-Acid Cells: Variation with Environmental Conditions and Test Parameters Matthew Smith, Daniel Gladwin and David Stone, University of Sheffield A Novel Method of Internal Failure Detection for Lead-Acid Batteries Operated in Micro-Hybrid Applications Grzegorz Pilatowicz, BatterieIngenieure, Michael Jantosch (FGH Zertifizierungsgesellschaft), Christel Sarfert, Eberhard Schoch and Martin Königsmann, Robert Bosch and Dirk Uwe Sauer, ISEA – RWTH Aachen University Further Improvements of EFB With Respect to Better DCA, Higher Cycling Performance and Outstanding ColdCranking Power Boris Steiner, Rainer Wagner and Benjamin Hübner, MOLL Batterien New Test Procedures in European Standards, Status and Experiences Torsten Hildebrandt, CENELEC TC 21X and Jörn Albers, Johnson Controls Improvement of Recharge Ability and Cycle Life Performance of Enhanced Lead-Acid Batteries under Stop-Start and Partial State of Charge Duties Jesus Valenciano, Francisco Trinidad and Alba Couceiro, Exide Technologies A Novel Low Cost Approach for Energy Storage in Partial Electrification of Automobile Application Subhash Dhar, Paul Gumber, Srinivasan Venkatesan, Fabio Albano, Erik Anderson and Susmitha Gopu, Energy Power Systems

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 15

FULL TECHNICAL PROGRAMME

Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Expanders: The Key to Sustainable Energy Gordon Beckley, Terry Murphy, and Maureen Murphy, Hammond Group A Geometrically Optimized VRLA Battery for Power and Thermal Management in HEV Applications George Brilmyer, Michael Gilchrist and Tony Coffman, HighWater Innovations Development of a Flooded Type LeadAcid Battery for Idling Stop-Start Systems Shinsuke Kobayashi, Masatoshi Tozuka, Toshio Shibahara, Motoko Harada and Tetsuro Okoshi, Hitachi Chemical Session: Technical Innovation Lead-Acid and Lead-Carbon Batteries with New Thin Plate Electrodes Angel Kirchev, Jérémy Lannelongue, Mikael Cugnet and Nicolas Guillet, CEA-LITEN Study of Electrochemical Impedance Measurements to Evaluate the Influence of Stratification on Lead-Acid Battery Performance Monika Kwiecien and Dirk Uwe Sauer, ISEA – RWTH Aachen University Emerging Active Materials Based on Advanced Additives and Secondary Soft Lead Materials Matthew Raiford, David Prengaman and Timothy Ellis (RSR Technologies and Maureen Murphy, Hammond Expanders Analysis of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Pure Carbon Additives and Lead-Carbon Electrodes in Sulfuric Acid Solution Begüm Bozkaya, Henning Lorrmann, Matthias Rumpel, Jochen Settelein, and Gerhard Sextl, Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research Separator Electrical Resistance: How Low Can You Go? Richard Pekala, Robert Waterhouse, Chi La, Cory Rogers, Jungseung Kim and Eric Hostetler, Steve Gerts, Marcus Ulrich, Dennis Merritt, David Walker and Ashleigh Brown, ENTEK International Water Transmission Properties of Plastics in AGM Batteries Divya Tiwari and Frank Fleming, NorthStar Battery Company Inhibitors of the Sulfation of LeadCarbon Electrodes of Lead-Acid Batteries Operated in the High-Rate Partial-State-

Of-Charge Duty Detchko Pavlov, Vesselin Naidenov, Sasho Vassilev and Yovka Milusheva, iEES and Toshio Shibahara and Masatoshi Tozuka, Hitachi Chemical Extending Battery Cycle-Life by Application of Scrim to Positive Plate Surface Brendan Naughton, Glatfelter, Stefan Ruevski and Detchko Pavlov, IEES Global Lead-Acid Battery Trend and Component Advances Kevin Whear Daramic Session: Suppliers Forum New Carbon Additives for High Dynamic Charge Acceptance: Low Water Loss Lead-Acid Batteries Paolina Atanassova, Aurelien Du Pasquier, Andriy Korchev and Miodrag Oljaca, Cabot Corporation and Plamen Nikolov, Maria Matrakova and Detchko Pavlov, IEES High Current Charge Acceptance Supported by Battery Additives Ian Klein, Penox TIMREX CyPbridTM: a Novel Carbon Materials for Advanced Lead-Acid Batteries Dario Cericola and Michael Spahr, Imerys Graphite & Carbon, Discrete Carbon Nanotubes (MOLECULAR REBAR) for Use in Enhanced Flooded Batteries and Other Applications Paul Everill, Steven Swogger, Jeremy Meyers and Nanjan Sugumaran, Black Diamond Structures New Expanders for New Battery Applications - Start-Stop and HEV

16 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

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LEAD BATTERIES: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE Six months on from the formation of a Strategic Alliance of lead producers and lead battery associations, the senior executives from each of them describe the progress made so far thanks to this historic partnership and future goals.

In unity is strength Aristotle had it right. The whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

And that’s been the thinking of a hugely important initiative for the trade bodies that look after the lead battery world.

The battery associations of Europe (EUROBAT) and North America (BCI), the global trade association for the lead industry (ILA) and the US

“Nowadays they say that if China sneezes America catches a cold because things are much more interconnected now. There could be a testimony in a Californian court in the morning and a write up of its implications in Brussels the next day. The speed of communication more than anything makes such a partnership inevitable” — Mark Thorsby, BCI

association for lead recyclers (ABR) have agreed to coordinate activities, goals and share resources. Although their mandate to represent the interest of their members continue, this ambition has taken the form of a Strategic Alliance, which means regular communications and an aligning of business plans in certain areas while sharing ideas and resources.

The formation of the alliance was driven by fundamental changes in the market place for lead and lead-acid battery products. Its ambition is to advance the cause of lead batteries in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive marketplace.

From the start, the body said it hasdthree objectives: to ensure lead batteries are regarded as the future product of choice; that the benefits of lead-based products and in particular lead batteries are recognized more widely outside the industry; and that regulation on lead batteries takes full account of their highly sustainable properties.

Six months in things seem to be progressing more than just nicely.

Though these are early days for the alliance, the first signs are promising and the lead and lead-acid battery industries will ultimately reap rich rewards on the back of the formation, according to Andy Bush, managing director of ILA, representing the producers of about three million tonnes of lead annually.

While the four founding bodies have worked together informally for many years on specific issues, Bush says that, six months in, the broader, formal relationship is working well. They have much more interaction now at all levels, from their chief executives down.

“That alone is great progress for the industry,” Bush says.

Alfons Westgeest, executive director of EUROBAT, adds that he feels the initiative has started well. “Since its launch, we feel the Alliance has proceeded very quickly and made good

18 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

progress. It is very important to the global lead battery industry from a market perspective and a regulatory perspective,” he says.

Rob Steinwurtzel, leader of BakerHostetler’s national environmental team, is also the general counsel for the US association for lead recyclers.

Its members are mainly smelters in Canada, the US and Mexico which are also often manufacturers as well.

Steinwurtzel is also positive about the initiative so far.

The lead industry is a small one in terms of the companies operating in the space and many find themselves members of more than one trade association. Yet historically, there has been little co-ordination with trade associations working on similar issues in different geographical locations without working together or comparing and sharing materials.

Logical progression “Yet we have limited resources and overlapping memberships. This alliance makes complete sense on that basis and should encourage us all to make the best use of our resources and focus on our priorities,” says Steinwurtzel.

While there was always communication between the associations, there was no structure to it. “This seemed a logical next step for the industry,” he says. “It is natural for us to organize ourselves in a manner that allows us to divide up resources, partner on common issues and support each other where needed.

“There will be long-term goals we pursue collectively now with our combined resources and we can agree on uniform positions meaning that at least none of us will be blindsided.”

Mark Thorsby, chief executive of the BCI, is one of the key architects of the Alliance. He is also delighted with progress so far but wary of being drawn on specific goals at this stage.

He compares trying to discuss any

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LEAD BATTERIES: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE end point or long term goals for the Alliance as being like taking a picture during a long journey. “Where you are going is pretty fluid and although there may be aspirations of a certain destination, the specifics are just not there,” he says.

The concept of international cooperation between associations has been around for a long time but the global nature of the industry has quickened in recent years as more companies have invested in physical operations in new markets such as China.

“As the industry has become more interconnected and global the need for better collaboration has intensified,” Thorsby says. “The speed of communication has also changed the landscape.

“Nowadays they say that if China sneezes America catches a cold because things are much more interconnected now. There could be a testimony in a Californian court in the morning and a write up of its implications in Brussels the next day. The speed of communication more than anything makes such a partnership inevitable.”

Thorsby says things developed into something more tangible around three years ago when he and Bush from the ILA were working on strategic plans at the same time and Bush shared his work with him.

“It was unbelievable. It was almost identical to what I had been working on. One of us suggested effectively agreeing on one strategic plan for both associations and then we thought why not involve EUROBAT and the ABR as well. It would mean the four most prominent industry associations singing from the same hymn sheet and we thought that would be very powerful.”

It’s good to share One thing all the members agree on is that it offers them the ability to share resources and expertise. Bush says the alliance is working on a number of specific initiatives that it will later reveal to the industry, at this stage the collaboration is more about sharing resources and working together more efficiently.

“There is also the clear sense that we have an overarching strategy now that encompasses the objectives of all associations,” Bush says.

In terms of resources, ILA has appointed, Cris Williams, a senior health

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scientist whose remit is to provide expertise on lead toxicology and risk assessment. Williams will be based in ILA’s offices in Durham, North Carolina. He previously worked for the consulting firm Ramboll Environ and has more than 21 years of experience in applied toxicology, quantitative risk assessment and public health.

While Williams is fully funded by ILA, he will provide expertise and scientific credibility to all the bodies involved in the collaboration.

“He offers us a much-needed expertise on health issues. That remains a major challenge for the industry and there is a need for our own expert in the area. It is a gap we felt it was important to fill.

“He’ll be available to help any of the lead or lead battery bodies worldwide —some of our other partners in the collaboration were involved in the recruitment process. His knowledge and experience will allow us to engage with regulators and government in a more robust way when it comes to health risks.

Thorsby also extols the virtues of the idea of sharing everything from research to specific expertise. Different associations have skills and resources in different areas. This means that a different body might take the lead on projects depending on the type and nature of that project.

“We are not all things to all people,” he says. “For example, ILA has several talented people on staff whose expertise is in healthcare and science. If the BCI needs expertise in this field we do not need to go out and hire someone — we can go to the ILA. Likewise, we have some talented people on the communications side.”

Thorsby says the idea of the Alliance has been well received by the industry. “Candidly the main response was: ‘it’s about time’. This should almost be standard operating procedure; we should always be in collaboration.

“We have a story to tell and we have not always done a good job of telling it. But this has given us a renewed commitment to being bold and bullish when talking about our industry.”

Perhaps critically, the desire to work together is being driven from the top, Bush says. He says the heads of the four associations arrange a call every other week, during which they review the major activities underway and ensure each body is clear of its role in

moving things forward.

That call also offers a chance to discuss the best way of resourcing certain projects and identifying the most suitable expertise in each instance.

The interaction goes further than this sometimes. Bush says ILA welcomes the heads of the other associations into its board meetings, allowing more high level discussion on a range of issues.

Although the venture was formally launched at the start of the year — and initial talks started to become more tangible during the ABC conference in Bangkok last September — the first litmus test of public sentiment towards the idea came at the BCI annual conference this May. All four associations were in attendance and held a meeting at the event.

There are four factors driving demand for distributed energy storage. These are the high cost of demand charges for commercial utility customers, the closing of local nuclear plants, the state-wide mandate requiring 1.3GW of energy storage by 2020 and, the Self Generation Incentive Program that provides funding for distributed energy storage resources.

— Andy Bush, ILA

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 19

LEAD BATTERIES: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE Bush says the overall feedback at BCI was positive. “People liked the idea of the collaboration but also wanted to see action from the industry,” he says.

“Our interests are intrinsically aligned so working together is obvious — and so are the benefits.

“It was clear this was something the industry wanted to see happen.

But the point also came through that many believe this should extend beyond Europe and North America.

There are many trade associations in other countries with interests in lead and lead batteries, so we’ll aim long term to get more partners involved in this globally.”

Communications first

“The main objective is to establish a secure and sustainable market for lead-acid batteries and that means negotiating multiple regulatory and legislative challenges. For many issues, Europe is at the forefront of these changes. This is a global business and we know that other regions globally watch closely what happens in Europe — and that makes our work even more important” — Alfons Westgeest

We quickly recognized that the colour coding of different battery chemistries, mainly to prevent lithiumion batteries ending up in the lead-acid recycling chain — with potentially fatal and explosive results was not a US or North American problem. By working with the ILA, for example, it gives it a much larger scope” — Rob Steinwurtzel, ABR 20 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

While reluctant to be too specific on many things — some rightly and perhaps some wrongly — one of its previously announced initiatives is a communications campaign that will focus on North America. This is initially designed to better inform people and companies of the benefits of lead-acid batteries, emphasizing some of the industry’s real benefits such as its very high recycling rates.

Bush says that having four bodies backing and offering input into such a campaign makes it much more effective and carries much more weight.

“In the past such an initiative would have been driven forward by just one body, this will be a collaboration between all of us now and it will be more effective for that,” he says.

“Things may take longer to set up initially given the extra input and coordination required when working across four associations, but the real point is that the industry will ultimately achieve its goals much quicker in the end.

Steinwurtzel also praises the broader communications campaign in North America that is designed to educate key decision makers and regulators to better inform them of the benefits of lead, especially its high recycle rates.

Thorsby says a lot of good innovation in the industry has largely been ignored and not well communicated.

Part of the North American communications campaign will highlight this — itself a great example of what the Alliance can achieve when working together.

The communications campaign will reach out to key players in the US battery space and is designed to dispel

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LEAD BATTERIES: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE myths around lead batteries and highlight innovation in the sector, “The idea is to tell the many positive stories this industry has,” Thorsby says.

“We’ve completed a lot of the survey work and research which demonstrates that there is a relatively small group of people who influence policy affecting batteries. But we know that the Alliance means we can be a lot more assertive and confident in our approach to this.”

As well as the North America communications awareness campaign, some of the key priorities for this year are the launch of the new Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium research program under the reorganized ILA structure. This has a focus on fundamental research — securing a further exemption for lead batteries from the ban on lead in vehicles under the EU End of Life Vehicle Directive and addressing the threats to lead batteries under the REACH authorization process.

Rob Steinwurtzel, leader of Baker Hostetler’s national environmental team, highlights another topic important to his members and on the agenda of the alliance.

Steinwurtzel gives the colour coding of different battery chemistries, mainly to prevent lithium-ion batteries ending up in the lead-acid recycling chain — with potentially fatal and explosive results — as an example of how the industry can potentially achieve more much faster by working together.

He says the ABR started to move on this issue many years ago but: “We quickly recognized that this was not a US or North American problem. By working with the ILA, for example, it gives it a much larger scope and represents a perfect example of how an issue benefits from this broader approach.”

The recycling goal is an important one for the Alliance — in addition to colour coded labels, it is also looking at other technical means by which the batteries could be separated at recycling faculties.

Regulatory challenges While all members of the Alliance are cagey about specific projects and targets the members have set — though this secrecy and caution does appear at odds in terms of transparency to the needs of its members — Steinwurtzel says there are around 15 projects in the pipeline.

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BCI

THE ASSOCIATION OF BATTERY RECYCLERS

Battery Council International is a not-for-profit trade association formed to promote the interests of the international battery industry.

BCI has more than 200 member companies worldwide engaged in every facet of the industry: lead battery manufacturers and recyclers, marketers and retailers, suppliers of raw materials and equipment, and expert consultants.

As the industry’s principle association, BCI’s member services have a global impact. BCI brings together the leading lead battery manufacturers in North America and other major players from around the world. Externally, BCI provides information and resources on the industry to various outside organizations and researchers. BCI establishes technical standards for battery manufacturing and actively promotes workable environmental, health and safety standards for the industry as a whole. BCI actively promotes the recycling of lead batteries.

The Association of Battery Recyclers (ABR) represents companies that recycle spent lead batteries in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. We turn spent batteries into lead metal, plastic and sodium sulfate which are used to manufacture new lead batteries and other lead products. Its members recycle over 150 million spent batteries annually. In North America, 99% of all lead batteries are recycled. This represents the highest recycle rate of any consumer product.

THE ILA

EUROBAT

EUROBAT is the association for the European manufacturers of automotive, industrial and energy storage batteries. EUROBAT has 53 members from across the continent comprising more than 90% of the automotive and industrial battery industry in Europe. The members and staff work with all stakeholders, such as battery users, governmental organisations and media, to develop new battery solutions in areas of hybrid and electro-mobility as well as grid flexibility and renewable energy storage.

The International Lead Association is a focused organization dedicated to serving lead producers and other companies that have a direct interest in lead and its use. With resources located in London, England and North Carolina and Washington in the US it provides a mix of technical, scientific and communications support from staff and specialist consultants including chemists, electrochemists, toxicologists and environmental specialists. The ILA’s roots stem from the Lead Development Association, which was founded in 1946 primarily to support market development. Today its role is much broader and focused on all aspects of the industry’s safe production, use and recycling of lead.

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 21

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2XU QHZHVW LQQRYDWLRQ ZKLFK UHFHLYHG D 8 6 SDWHQW DOORZV ŝRQ WKH ƪ \Ş WKLFNQHVV DGMXVW ments to the steel belt pasting machine to control the plate thickQHVV ZKLOH WKH PDFKLQH LV UXQQLQJ 7KH DGMXVWPHQWV FDQ EH PDGH E\ the machine operator, or in a closed loop system when coupled with “Our newly D WKLFNQHVV PHDVXUHPHQW V\VWHP $GMXVWPHQWV ZLOO QRW LQWHUUXSW SURGXFWLRQ RU UHTXLUH OLQH VWRSSDJHV DQG WKH DGMXVWPHQWV FDQ EH PDGH patented paster in increments as +/-0.0005 inches or 0.012 mm. technology makes AUTOMATED PASTED PLATE THICKNESS CONTROL. our plate making AVAILABLE ONLY FROM FROM WIRTZ. system the only To get the latest in pasting precision you’ve been looking for visit one in the world wirtzusa.com or call us at 1-810-987-7600. that can keep a consistent thickness within any KH=;AÍ ;9LAGF INNOVATION. PERFORMANCE. RELIABILITY.

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LEAD BATTERIES: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE Another one he will discuss, is a coordinated response and communications effort in response to moves by the State of California to review and potentially tighten health and safety standards in the workplace including redefining acceptable levels of lead in the blood and air exposure levels to lead.

“There is a proposal out there and while that is specific to California at the moment, it could pave the way for other states and even the federal government to follow suit. We are now coordinating a response and sharing communications with state regulators.

“Naturally, our voice counts for more if there are four associations instead of one.”

In relation to proposals such as this, Thorsby says the Alliance can make a legitimate case on such matters because the industry has so often taken matters into its own hands on such issues.

Three years ago, EUROBAT, BCI and the ILA agreed to target lowering blood levels in workers in the lead industry from the current regulated level of 40μg/dL to a voluntary standard of 30 μg/dL by 2016.

“That would mean levels would come down , which would be quite something, and well below government recommended levels. We still have some work to do but that is the sort of achievement that is possible if we work collaboratively,” he says.

But such challenges are not limited to North America. Westgeest at EUROBAT says: “Given the regulatory context in Europe, the work of EUROBAT is very important and we are happy to take leadership on any European issues but we’re also aware that our work has wider implications and applications beyond Europe that our partners will find useful.

“The main objective is to establish a secure and sustainable market for lead-acid batteries and that means negotiating multiple regulatory and legislative challenges. For many issues, Europe is at the forefront of these changes. This is a global business and we know that other regions globally watch closely what happens in Europe — and that makes our work even more important.

the word further afield, potentially by adding new members.

Steinwurtzel believes that the Alliance’s long term aim should be to grow further and involve more trade associations from elsewhere in the world. The ABR, he says, has restricted its geographic remit and will enjoy the benefits of a more global reach.

“Many of our issues are global and our expertise can be applied globally,” he says. “A few years ago CEC prepared a paper that set out the best management guidance practices for smelters covering a range of health and safety issues.

“The ABR and BCI worked with CEC in the development of the guidelines including arranging for visits by the CEC to representative smelters in Mexico, Canada and the US. The guid-

ance was issued for North American smelters but would have been relevant anywhere in the world. This partnership may allow us to better share information such as that.”

Thorsby agrees that more members would make the Alliance even more powerful.

He sees the Alliance as having three main objectives: to ensure lead batteries remain the product of choice in a world where there is often misinformation about the chemistry; to consistently tell the many positive aspects of the lead battery story and highlight innovation and new technology being developed; and to help create a regulatory environment that allows members to operate economically and produce a reliable product that meets the energy needs of the world.

There is an easier way to get your message across — for free

Speak to us!

Energy Storage Journal is always eager to hear market comment.

So much so, we’ve dedicated two areas of the magazine just for you to tell it as it is.

The first is our section called COMMENT — which rather says it all.

Here give us your views about what our industry is doing well (or badly) or just needs to open a discussion, this is where to air your views.

The second is called CONFERENCE IN PRINT. Here we’re looking for scholarly articles looking at the nuts and bolts of what we do. We’re looking for technical papers that can explain advances in chemistry or technology.

Contact: editor@energystoragejournal.com

Going global One of the other long term aims of the members seems is also to spread

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Disclaimer: Our editorial board necessarily vets every article that we print and will impartially approve pieces that it believes will be interesting and supportive of the energy storage industry and related products. Articles submitted should not be marketing pieces.

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 23

15 ELBC PRESENTATIONS Battery state detection is at the heart of ensuring that better automotive batteries are fit for purpose — both for now and the future.

Battery state detection and the art of better management Grzegorz Pilatowicz, a specialist in electrical engineering and automotive systems at Aachen University, will present at the ELBC conference on what he describes as a novel method of internal failure detection for leadacid batteries operated in contemporary and future automotive applications.

The approach, at its simplest, works by installing a low-cost electronic battery sensor on each lead-acid battery being used in a micro-hybrid vehicle.

Even though future generations of micro-hybrid vehicles with coasting or stop-in-motion functionality will likely be equipped with two battery storage systems to provide necessary redundancy.

“Accurately detected battery failure could avoid switching off the engine in case of detected failure and reduce the risk of power-down of the entire power-net with its safety-critical loads,” Pilatowicz says.

“Using an example of the developed approach, I will also emphasize the need of having advanced, reliable, highly accurate and robust battery state detection solutions. Without them the energy management of the vehicle will assume the worst-case scenario so that any advance in battery technology in terms of maximal cycle number, expected life or any further parameter will not help much.”

His presentation will differ from the majority of others at ELBC in that the most other presentations will specifically cover advances in battery technology.

“However, the battery storage systems in the continuously growing number of applications are not only batteries but a pair of battery+battery management system,” he says.

“Showing the delegates how important advances in battery state detection are, will be helpful for their own

jobs. Too many would rather work on improving batteries but do not focus on how are they going to be used later on in the vehicle.”

The standard OEM requirements in many cases deviate more and more from the real load profiles (and other conditions) imposed in the field. “Focusing just on them and not on the real application is not optimal,” he says.

As a delegate, Pilatowicz believes one of the biggest talking points this year will be recent advances in battery technology (especially EFB batteries) and the future of lead-acid batteries.

Other big talking points will be the perceived threat of a lead-ban, which he predicts will happen in the coming decade in the automotive industry, and the use of carbon additions and other additives to improve the performance and expected life of the leadacid batteries.

He describes the developments taking place in EFB batteries as being an exciting area right now as they improve and close the gap with AGM batteries.

“Current dynamic changes in the battery industry and technology are also very exciting,” he says. “New advanced technologies are knocking at the door of the traditional lead-acid

24 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

battery applications.

“The lead-acid battery industry needs to invest a big sum of money to develop technologies that are cheap, long living and better adapted to be used in the future battery related applications. Otherwise, other advanced technologies like lithium-ion batteries will constantly increase their share.”

Specifically, he is looking to attend the presentation by JCI about AGM batteries “Investigating AGM Batteries from Car Operation” and Moll about EFB batteries “Further Improvements of EFB With Respect to Better DCA, Higher Cycling Performance and Outstanding Cold-Cranking Power”.

He is also looking forward to seeing a presentation about the future of leadacid batteries from Ford “The Future of Automotive Batteries — Challenges and Opportunities for Lead Acid” and Jürgen Garche’s “Future Battery Energy Storage Systems — With Lead Acid Batteries?”

“ELBC is a great networking event with good quality contributions and the most renowned speakers from the lead industry. I always enjoy the possibility to have interesting discussions.

This is also a great place to introduce my organization to the lead-acid battery community,” he says.

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15 ELBC PRESENTATIONS The hunt for better separators has never been more intense given the increasing range of functions that batteries have to deal with.

New expanders for new battery applications Melchor Fernández García, chief scientist of APG with colleagues, will present a paper on the use of new expanders in developing battery applications specifically in start/stop hybrid electric vehicles.

Lead acid batteries applications have had be developed rapidly for microhybrid and mild/full hybrid vehicles in which braking energy recuperation as well as electric boosting during acceleration is provided by the battery.

“To fulfil both tasks, it is necessary to develop batteries with enhanced electrical characteristics,” Garcia says. “First, it is necessary to increase their cranking ability to take care of the strong increase of the number of engine crankings after each vehicle stop.

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“Second, it is necessary to increase battery charge acceptance to recover the maximum braking energy to decrease fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

“Finally, as the battery works in a partial state of charge, it is necessary to overcome the deleterious effects promoted by the strong sulfation levels developed in the plates especially in the negatives that otherwise would limit the life of the battery.”

Without the proper additives, negative plates develop an inner structure composed of numerous and big lead sulfate crystals that limit their electrical performance.

However, during the last decade, numerous studies have demonstrated the outstanding characteristics of organic

expanders and different carbon and graphites mixtures for controlling the negative plate effects developed in the new battery applications.

“The use of special carbon and graphites, have allowed increasing charge acceptance and battery life in percentage increases over 100%. APG is supplying and developing new expander mixtures for these new battery applications. The presentation will be related with these developments and the results obtained up to now,” he says.

APG is not alone in these endeavours. All the major separator firms — Daramic, Entek, Micorporous, Hollingsworth & Vose, to name a few — have invested much time and energy in developing expanders.

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 25

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15 ELBC PRESENTATIONS Bipolar silicon-lead batteries could be just the technology to fit into the renewable energy revolution that is starting to happen.

The joys of bipolar silicon Collin Mui, materials and process development engineer for Gridtential Energy, will present a paper at ELBC on the application of a bipolar silicon-lead technology that his company has developed that is suited to use in renewable energy applications.

As the world’s energy infrastructure changes from fossil fuels to renewables, Mui points out that storage is positioned to become an essential element of the electric grid. But to fulfil this emerging market, battery technologies are needed that can be charged and discharged quickly, have high efficiency and long cycle life, and which are sustainable and safe, as well as highly scalable at low-costs.

“Although traditional lead battery technology is safe, reliable, cost effective, and widely deployed, its application to renewables is limited due to its poor cycling performance at fast and deep discharge especially under hightemperature environments,” Mui says.

“Therefore, innovations in lead battery technology that improve performance and can leverage existing infrastructures are the most desirable for renewable energy storage. “ Gridtential Energy has developed what it calls Silicon Joule Technology to meet the demands of renewables storage. The technology features an advanced silicon-lead battery design that integrates silicon wafer current collectors into the bipolar battery architecture.

“The superior material properties of silicon combined with efficient packaging into the bipolar configuration results in an innovative technology suitable for renewable energy storage,” Mui says.

“More importantly, the Silicon Joule Technology is manufactured by leveraging the high-volume and low-cost solar processing infrastructure, which can scale up quickly, and it is also compatible with the ubiquitous and sustainable lead battery manufacturing base.”

Silicon has many advantages over traditional lead alloy current collec-

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Mui: innovations for renewables

tors. Silicon wafers are light and stiff, impervious to sulfuric acid, thermally conductive, and can be doped to lower their resistivity.

“To protect the silicon surface from native oxidation and to render the surface electrically conductive, we have utilized solar processing techniques to deposit contact and adhesion layers onto the silicon surface,” he explains.

He says the company has also performed cyclic voltammetry experiments to investigate the electrochemical stability window of the silicon current collector. “Our results showed that the modified silicon surface is electrochemically stable within the operating range of lead battery chemistry.

Our experiments also in-

dicated that the current collector does not degrade under prolonged and aggressive cycling,” he says.

He says that to construct a bipolar battery with silicon, current collectors are edge-sealed and stacked with active material pastes isolated by absorbed glass mats to constitute single cells.

Then the cells are arranged electrically in series such that the silicon wafers isolate neighbouring cells hermetically.

Because current flows perpendicular though the silicon wafers, current density distributions within battery plates are largely reduced or eliminated to mitigate common failure mechanisms such as sulfation and stratification especially under fast and deep discharge conditions.

“In addition, the tight package of silicon wafers in the bipolar battery enables a mechanically resilient and thermally efficient design. We have performed extensive tests on 6V alpha batteries under different cycling and environmental conditions. The results showed that the batteries exhibit good capacity retention at C/2 and C/4 discharge rates. In addition, the batteries demonstrate superb performance at 0˚C and 40˚C,” Mui says.

“The Silicon Joule Technology combines materials, design, and process innovations to deliver superior cycling performance at low cost, which makes it an ideal solution to meet renewable energy storage demands.”

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 27

15 ELBC PRESENTATIONS HighWater Innovations will tell delegates of a VRLA cell for use in high power battery packs for hybrid electric vehicles.

Optimizing spiral-wound VRLA cells to deliver higher power in smaller packages Three executives from HighWater Innovations will present on a new Geometrically Optimized (GO) VRLA cell the company has developed for use in high power battery packs for hybrid electric vehicles.

George Brilmyer, Michael Gilchrist and Tony Coffman will present a paper entitled ‘A Geometrically Optimized VRLA Battery for Power and Thermal Management in HEV Applications’. They will argue that this low-profile, spiral-wound cell is designed to meet cost, performance and recycling targets for the growing HEV battery market.

“The innovation in the GO Battery is its unique low aspect ratio grid,” says Brilmyer. “These grids, complete with multi-current collecting tabs are specifically designed for high power

applications. These grids with their short grid-tab current path, result in a wound cell that has disruptively low electrical resistance that is 3x lower than a similar size (Ah) conventional spiral-wound VRLA battery.

The resultant wound cell has two tabs per wound lap that creates a structure having four rows of tabs at

the top edge of the wound cell. Opposing rows of tabs are the same polarity by design.

“This clearly disruptive technology, offers power levels that are three to four times greater than current commercially available VRLA products,” the company said ahead of ELBC. “The single cell building block will offer the battery pack designer many options in terms of pack shape and fitment.

“The stacked cell arrangement, with its open central cooling-core, permits optimal thermal management with no end-cell effects thus maximizing battery life. Several ‘GO Battery’ HEV pack designs will be presented for comparison to existing battery pack size and weight targets.”

the exact same test regime in all situations. In terms of gravimetric and volumetric specific power, these early results are disruptive and transformational.

Note that despite the exemplary performance, these cells were hand-pasted, and therefore there is significant room for improvement.

In a hand-pasted plate, the paste is applied on to the grid frame with little or no over-paste. This means that the paste (active material) to grid (inactive material) ratio is lower than typical since machine pasting is required to optimize the paste to grid ratio and to properly compact the paste into the grid frame.

THE RESULTS The results shown below are compelling in terms of specific power, both gravimetric and volumetric. They show a direct comparison of these hand-built cells and five different commercially available VRLA cells/batteries. This comparison was made by using a 10-sec HEV Power Test using Design Specifications

10-Sec Power Pulse Testing (1.6vpc CV Discharge)

VRLA / Brand /

Nominal Capacity (Ah)

Wt Actual (g)

Dimensions

Volume (Liters)

Max Amps

10 Sec Wh

10 Sec Power (Watts)

Specific Power (W/Kg)

Specific Power (W/L)

Go Battery Cell #167

5.0

588

58mm x Dia 85mm

0.329

454.0

1.67

601.2

1,022

1,827

EnerSys Cyclon X-Cell

5.0

362

73mm x Dia 44.5mm

0.114

84.1

0.33

118.8

328

1,046

EneSys Cyclon E-Cell

8.0

486

100mm x Dia 44.5mm

0.156

100.3

0.38

136.8

281

880

Optima Group 34 Yellow

RC = 120

19,587

254mm x 172mm x 198mm

8.692

1,089.0

21.20

7,632.0

390

878

EnerSys Group 31

RC = 188

30,820

330mm x 173mm x 240mm

13.703

1,029.0

21.90

7,884.0

256

575

East Penn ETX30L

26Ah

9,585

168mm x 132mm x 175mm

3.883

488.0

12.34

4,442.4

463

1,144

28 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

www.batteriesinternational.com

Save the Date Monday 18 – Friday 22 September 2017

Lead & Battery Week Live!

Kuala Lumpur International Convention Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Event Launch Date: 26 September 2016 Receive Event News & Updates: www.leadbatteryweeklive.com or visit the Batteries International booth.

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15 ELBC PRESENTATIONS Decentralized power supply solutions is going to be a major challenge to lead acid batteries. The problem is not that lead batteries are inadequate to the task so much as the public expectation that lithium can do it so much better — irrespective of the price.

Challenges await as energy storage moves into the home Dirk Uwe Sauer, chair of electrical engineering at Aachen University, will present a paper looking at how an increasing share of fluctuating renewable power generation increases the demand for balancing the power.

The paper, entitled, ‘Lead-acid batteries in a competing market — stationary batteries for grid services and PV-home storage systems’ will examine the challenges caused by a clear trend towards decentralized power supply solutions in households, communities and industry.

Sauer will argue that while lead-acid batteries generally can fulfil many of the requirements, they are increasingly challenged by lithium-ion batteries in all fields.

He notes that within the first quarter of 2015 the share of lead-acid batteries in the German market introduction programme for PV home storage systems achieved 30% after about 60% at the beginning of the programme some 18 months earlier.

“Based on the experience from the scientific evaluation programme of PV home storage systems in Germany and a 5 MW multi-battery system we will analyze the requirements, the actual market situation and the challenges for lead-acid batteries to survive in these markets,” he says.

Sauer says the presentation will show how new markets for batteries are developing, especially in the field of frequency control (primary reserve), and PV home storage systems develop in Germany.

“The presentation will show the typical sizing, the load profiles and the expectations of the users from the systems. But it will also show which battery technologies are dominating this markets and why lead-acid bat-

www.batteriesinternational.com

teries do almost not exist anymore in these markets,” Sauer says.

“The presentation will show the challenges the lead-acid battery is facing and hopefully makes clear what is necessary to cover at least parts of these markets for lead-acid batteries.”

Sauer’s fears over the lack of lead acid batteries in the residential storage market that are using solar panels as part of their energy supply are increasingly being matched by domestic sales. And, more generally, worse by the expectation that lithium is the natural choice for these installations.

“The issue for most consumers buying, say, a Tesla PowerWall or what’s being called the next generation of products by Sonnen, Mercedes, Nissan and the like is not particularly price sensitive,” says one industry

commentator. “The difference in price between lead acid storage versus lithium is small — a few hundred dollars on the total of a four figure sum — but if the perception is that you’re going for the best, then it’s only a fraction of the price.

“Moreover if you can play the environmentally green card that these home installations are using recycled EV batteries — as per Nissan and Mercedes-Benz’s latest products, then you’ve got another tier of advantage.

“Once again it’s not about which is the better alternative about price but which is looked at as old technology.

Fighting this myth is the struggle for the whole of our industry now that distributed energy is going to become part of everyone’s lives.”

“Fighting the myth of lead acid as being old technology is the struggle for the whole of our industry now that distributed energy is going to become part of everyone’s lives” Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 31

ENERGY STORAGE: A WIDER VIEW

Pre-ELBC seminar to look at where renewable energy and lead battery storage coincide Geoffrey May, director of FOCUS Consulting, will chair a pre-conference seminar ahead of ELBC examining the use of lead-acid batteries for smart grids, utility and domestic energy storage. It will be facilitated by David Rand, chief research scientist emeritus at CSIRO Energy Technology.

The seminar will examine the use of renewable sources of electricity, especially wind and solar, looking at their intrinsic intermittency and their inability to provide power in line with demand — making energy storage in electricity networks essential.

The seminar will be divided into five presentations followed by an open discussion. The presentations come from Juergen Garche from the University of Ulm who will consider the performance and cost considerations for battery energy storage systems; Dirk Uwe Sauer a professor from ISEA-RWTH Aachen University, will present a paper called lead-acid batteries in a competing market — stationary batteries for grid services and PV home storage; and Matthias Vetter from Fraunhofer ISE, who will present on larger on- and off-grid PV battery systems.

The final two presentations will be

by Christian Folke from Uniper Technologies, who will examine a M5BAT energy storage project; and Peter Stevenson from Yuasa Europe whose presentation will be called Operational experience of a 3MWh VRLA battery energy storage system.

May says interest in the session has been high: “Lead acid is in the minority in some parts of this space but the products can easily be as good and often more cost effective than lithiumion. Plus, of course, lead is much more recyclable and safer at end of life than lithium-ion.

“There is a cost associated with disposing of lithium-ion products at the end of their life, which is not always factored in when companies choose to use them. So lead acid has a strong

“There is a cost associated with disposing of lithiumion products at the end of their life, which is not always factored in when companies choose to use them. So lead acid has a strong case to make in terms of its environmental arguments and on costs.” case to make in terms of its environmental arguments and on costs.”

May says more types of batteries are being deployed to provide this capability, the market for energy storage systems is growing rapidly and could become one of the largest markets for batteries worldwide.

The seminar will focus on the use of lead-acid batteries in smart grids, utility and domestic energy storage. The potential of the market is difficult to quantify but lead acid could secure a market share of approximately $2 billion within the next five years, though he admits that the potential for lithium-ion in this space is much bigger at this stage.

“This represents a significant opportunity for the industry, which it must

32 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

take,” he says. One potential outcome of the session he is chairing could be more collaboration between lead acid companies interesting in sharing knowledge and exploiting this space.

“I am sure some of the trade associations would also have a role to play,” he says. Most of the delegates will be from battery companies attending the wider ELBC event but he is hopeful that some specialists in renewable energy may also be attracted to the seminar and even executives from utility companies.

Most of the speakers are from Germany which is renowned for its advanced energy storage sector.

The seminar will be held on Tuesday September 13, 2pm-5pm

www.batteriesinternational.com

International Thermal Systems LLC 4697 West Greenfield Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53214 USA

Main: 414.672.7700 Sales@itsllcusa.com internationalthermalsystems.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT

Farmer Mold & Machine Works

OMI-NBE

Abertax Technologies

Site No: 49

Site No: 20-21

Site No: 16, 17

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

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

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

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

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

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: +39 363 901 9811

34 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

ABERTAX Technologies Ltd. was set up to research, design and produce innovative products. It started its operation by assisting bfs (Batterie Füllungs Systeme GmbH). Today we have a number of innovative patented products for use with the: • Battery Monitoring System (BMS, e2BMS) • Capacitive Level Sensors (CLS) • Gas Release Valves (GRS) • Magnetic Water Valve (MV) • Intelligent Battery (IB) All products are primarily aimed for use within the battery environment. Further in our range we offer Magnetic Valves (MV) for industrial cleaning machines and for Roof Tanks / Water Storage Tanks. Research and Development is an ongoing process with a team of electrical, electronic and chemical engineers with more than 25 years of experience in battery technology. Teamwork and collaboration ensures we deliver customer satisfaction which is the basis for our success.

Contact details: Abertax Technologies Ltd. KW17A, Corradino Industrial Estate PLA3000, Paola, Malta TeL:: +356 23 678100 Fax: +356 21 808

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta 13-16 September 2016

H MMOND THE CHANGE CATALYST

MAC Engineering

Hammond Group

International Thermal Systems

Site No: 85

Site No: 83

Site No: 81

H MMOND THE CHANGE CATALYST

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

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

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

Hammond Group Inc. (HGI) is a specialty chemicals company focused on serving the world’s battery industry and enabling PbA batteries to serve the next generation of energy storage applications.

HGI’s advanced expander products are designed to improve battery performance in demanding, High Rate Partial State of Charge (HRPSoC) operations including idle stop-start, micro-hybrid, and green energy storage applications.

International Thermal Systems is the industry leader in curing technology. Our Battery Manufacturing Division engineers provide energy efficient solutions for your curing and drying needs. With over a 1000 worldwide installations we can offer both standard and customer specific chamber sizes to accommodate any requirements.

HGI recently launched a state-of-the-art Lead Acid Battery Laboratory in Hammond, Indiana which will complement a new, high-capacity expander production plant.

Customer support is our focus with: installations, installation supervision, equipment commissioning, spare parts and system audits are all part of the complete solution we can provide. Contact our Battery Division representative today to arrange for a consultation on how ITS can help to maximize production.

Contact details: 1414 Field Street, Bldg. B Hammond, IN 46325 Tel:+1 219 931-9360 Email: customerservice@hmndgroup.com Website: www.hmndgroup.com

Contact details: Michele Siewert Tel: +1 414.902.5309 Michele.Siewert@itsllcusa.com www.internationalthermalsystems.co

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

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

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

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 35

www.sovema-gs.com

www.bitrode.com

www.solith.it

HOLE IN ONE!

Hit a hole-in-one with Sovema as your strategic and technology partner for PbA and Li-Ion battery manufacturing systems!

No other company can offer you the same excellence in engineering, innovation and global presence as Sovema.

The best players choose Sovema for their extraordinary performances!

SOVEMA: ALL IN ONE SOLUTIONS

www.sov-el.com

www.sovema.it

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT

ENTEK Site No: 52

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

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

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

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

Eagle Oxide

Sovema Group

Site No: 35

Site No: 6/7

We are a global leader in the design and manufacture of production and automation equipment serving the lead acid battery industry. With over 25 years of experience working with battery manufacturers, Eagle has the expertise to meet your battery production needs.

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

Competition continues to push hard in the battery and energy storage industry.

The ability to produce batteries with higher performance, at lower cost, and with lower environmental impact is a constant challenge.

Eagle’s knowledge of lead oxides and manufacturing automation makes Eagle the strategic business partner you need in this competitive market.

Stay ahead of the competition. Contact Eagle Today!

Contact details: EAGLE Oxide Services, 5605 West 74th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46278 USA Tel: +1 (317) 290-8485 Fax: +1 (317) 290-8766 Email: eaglesales@eagleoxide.com

38 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

SOVEMA S.p.A. Founded in 1969 SOVEMA is the worldwide leading supplier of machinery for lead-acid battery production.

Recognizing years ago that automation, lead saving and environmental control are critical to plant efficiency, SOVEMA’s specialists are continuously developing state-of-the-art manufacturing solutions for lead-acid battery production. In its own industrial premises near Verona (Italy), SOVEMA is the only equipment manufacturer capable of designing and producing turn-key battery plants. It is able to supply a complete range of automated systems 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.

Sovema is continually developing its equipment range in order to improve its market leadership and serve all kinds of energy storage manufacturers.

Contact details: Tel: +39 045 6335711 Email: sovema@sovema.it Web: www.sovema.it

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

WIRTZ Manufacturing at the 14ELBC;

The WIRTZ group of Companies provides global solutions to th battery manufacturing industry. With state-of-the-art equipment d developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, WIRTZ Manufacturing at the 14ELBC; and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxid systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic an The WIRTZ group of Companies provides global solutions to the world-wide fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling a battery manufacturing industry. With state-of-the-art equipment designed and plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lea developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, punched grid recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation). and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxide production systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic and high speed At the 14ELBC, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation control, and continuously improve critical process variables, in ord plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic that their resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation). the 14ELBC; and PERFORMANCE.

15 ELBC Mediterranean Conference WIRTZ Manufacturing at Centre, Valletta, Malta At the 14ELBC, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc..

The WIRTZ group of Companies global solutions to the world-wide control, andprovides continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure 1105 Twenty-Fourth Street 13-16 September 2016 that their With resulting battery productsequipment are of the highest QUALITY, battery manufacturing industry. state-of-the-art designed and DURABILITY Port Huron

and PERFORMANCE. developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, grid Michiganpunched 48061-5006 and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill andInc.. bartonUSAoxide production WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Tel: +1 810 987 7600 systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO Twenty-Fourth Street(semi-automatic and high speed The WIRTZ group of Companies provides global solutions to the1105 world-wide Email; sales@wirtzusa.com Port Huron fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation battery manufacturing industry. With state-of-the-art equipment designed and Michigan 48061-5006 plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic developed by; WIRTZ (gravity-cast, continuously-cast and rolled, punched grid USA recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation). +1 810 987 7600 and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxideTel: production Email; sales@wirtzusa.com systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semi-automatic and high speed At the 14ELBC, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically fully-automatic battery assembly lines); CONBRO (battery filling and formation control, and continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure plants); and BATTERYRECYCLING (turnkey battery breaking lead and plastic that their resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, DURABILITY recycling systems, including paste desulphurisation). and PERFORMANCE.

WIRTZ Manufacturing at the 14ELBC;

At the 14ELBC, WIRTZ will demonstrate their commitment to automatically WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc.. control, and continuously improve critical process variables, in order to ensure 1105 Twenty-Fourth Street that their resulting battery products are of the highest QUALITY, DURABILITY Port Huron and PERFORMANCE. Michigan Sovema Group Wirtz 48061-5006 USA WIRTZ Manufacturing Company Inc..

Tel: +1 No: 810 75/76 987 7600 Site No: 6/7Twenty-Fourth Street Site 1105 Email; sales@wirtzusa.com Port Huron Michigan 48061-5006 USA Tel: +1 810 987 7600 Email; sales@wirtzusa.com

Bitrode Corporation BITRODE CORPORATION, which is part of the group, is one of the most respected global suppliers of electric power conversion systems for EV/HEV battery testing, as well as production and test systems used in the battery manufacturing process.

SOLITH More recently SOVEMA started a new division, “SoLith”, to develop Lithium-ion battery manufacturing technologies. The SoLith team has more than 15 years of experience in process automation design, winding and stacking systems, lamination, electrode punching, tab welding and pouch forming.

Contact details: Tel: +39 045 6335711 Email: sovema@sovema.it Web: www.sovema.it

www.batteriesinternational.com

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, continuouslycast and rolled, punched grid and plate production); OXMASTER (ball-mill and barton oxide production systems, and paste mixing equipment); LEKO (semiautomatic 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 15ELBC, 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

Dross Engineering Site No: 4

Dross builds furnaces and special equipment for recycling non-ferrous metals.

Our president built his first furnace in 1970, a deironing furnace for his father’s recycling business.

Almost five decades years later, Dross Engineering has delivered 1309 installations. Dross Engineering only builds equipment for the recycling industry: for the lead battery business our product range encompasses: • Rotary furnaces • Breakers • Kettles • Charge machines • Casting machines • Ingot stacking machines • Bullion trains • Pumps • Particle arrestment filters • Agitators • Electrolyte recovery • Oxy-gas burners Specialization is Dross Engineering’s strength.

Contact details: Tel : +33 1 60 42 42 00 – Fax : +33 1 60 42 42 01 UK Tel : +44(0)20 77 484 359 / Fax : +44(0)20 77 484 459

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 39

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT

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Batteries International

HADI Group

Site No: 16a

Site No: 62

Batteries International has been serving the energy storage and battery industry for almost 25 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.

Contact details: 10 Temple Bar Business Park, Strettington, West Sussex, PO18 0TU United Kingdom Tel: +44 7792 852 337 www.batteriesinternational.com Email: publisher@batteriesinternational.com

42 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

HADI-Group – HADI Maschinenbau GmbH – HADI HADI’s current production program mainly involves machines built in modules, which can be arranged either as fully automatic machines/units or which can be used as single machines. The new generation of HADI machines offers high capacity with a wellbalanced price/performance relationship.

Shorter set-up times and serviceability are characteristics of our machines. HADI sets great store by the ergonomic aspects of its machines as well as on operational security. HADI traditionally uses and produces technologies which are gentle on the environment. With HADI machines, our customers can produce the best plates/batteries of consistent quality.

Our existing products consist of: Spine-casting machines, Paste filling machines, Paste-recovery and water-recycling unit, Gravity casting machines, COS machines, Assembly lines and Finishing lines.

Contact details: HADI Maschinenbau GesmbH Tel: +43 7472 62708 Web: www.hadi.at Email: office@hadi.at HADI Offermann Tel: +49 2332 915750 Web: www.hadi.at Email: hadi-germany@hadi.com

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta 13-16 September 2016

Sorfin Yoshimura Group

Batek Makina

Site No: 84

Site No: 63/64

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

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

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

Sorfin Yoshimura offers our customers the benefit of our decades of lead acid battery industry experience.

We serve hundreds of customers throughout the world each year and customize our services for each and every factory.

We are constantly combing the world for the latest innovations in both materials and machinery; seeking to add vendors to our already vast network.

When you choose Sorfin Yoshimura, you will quickly identify the unique combination of commercial savvy and engineering know-how that has enabled us to become the company that we are today.

We look forward for you to contact Sorfin Yoshimura, The Source of Power!

www.batteriesinternational.com

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

Sorfin Yoshimura Tokyo Contact: Tom Yoshimura, President email: tokyo@sorfin-yoshimura.jp Tel: + 81 03 5575-3111 Fax: + 81 03 5575-0826 Sorfin Yoshimura Qingdao Contact: Ms. Lisa Li; President email: qingdao@sorfin-yoshimura.cn Tel: + 86 532 8597-1191 Fax: + 86 532 8597-1192 Sorfin Yoshimura Europe Contact: Pierre de Costa Lobo email: paris@sorfin-yoshimura.fr Tel: + 33 01 7815-2715 Fax: + 33 01 7841-6778 Sorfin Yoshimura Brasil Ltda.

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

Batek designs and manufactures machinery for both the plate making and assembly departments of lead acid battery plants. Precision engineering is combined with experienced workmanship to build state of the art machinery to serve the battery industry.

The production premises of the company are located in Istanbul, and contains all rudimentary advanced CNC manufacturing machineries and tools. Batek’s founders, who had been working for the battery manufacturing equipment industry for more than two decades, set up the company in 2002.

Design, manufacturing, servicing and logistics are all carried out in this expanded plant. In all there are 50 skilled and motivated staff are putting their utmost effort to ensure best quality and servicing for our valuable customers. Batek runs a sophisticated ERP system to ensure consistency in quality for all parts of the company’s business activities. We offer enveloping and stacking machines, cast-on-strap machines, assembly lines, container hole punchers. Besides this we offer, cast-grid plate making equipment, parting and brushing machines, acid fillers, battery palletizers, container depalletizers and custom machinery and automation systems. Tens of battery manufacturers around the world have already experienced the BATEK quality. We are proud to be part of the achievements of our customers.

Contact details: Yunus Emre Mah. Iskenderpasa Cad. No: 21 Sancaktepe, Istanbul Turkey Tel: + 90216 484 80 44 (43,42,41) Fax: +90216 484 80 35 Email: batek@batekeng.com www.batekeng.com

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 43

Rotary Lead Pump Speed Regulated

Supplies up to 4 tons of lead per hour over an elevation of 1 meter in dosed quantities.

HADI Austria

HADI Maschinenbau Ges.m.b.H. A-3300 Amstetten, Ardaggerstrasse 96, Austria

Phone: Fax: E-Mail: Internet:

+ 43 7472 62 708 + 43 7472 62 708 - 6 office@hadi.com www.hadi.at

Di-Electric Tester Tester Di-Electric Quality Test Test of of Spraying Spraying Points Points for forAutomotive AutomotiveBattery BatteryContainers Containers Quality

Battery containers containers have have potential potential flaws. flaws. Weak Weakspraying sprayingpoints pointscan cancause causeleakages leakagesand andallallthe the time and energy energy invested invested goes goes to to waste. waste.All Allcontainers containersshould shouldbe bechecked, checked,before beforeeven even punching through through the the partitions. partitions.

HADI Germany Germany

HADI HADIOffermann Offermann Maschinenbau MaschinenbauGmbH GmbH SchulstraĂ&#x;e SchulstraĂ&#x;e3131 D-58285 D-58285Gevelsberg Gevelsberg Germany Germany

Phone: Phone: Fax: Fax: E-Mail: E-Mail: Internet: Internet:

+ 49 (0)(0) 2323 3232 / 91 5757 5050 + 49 / 91 + 49 (0)(0) 2323 3232 / 37 6464 + 49 / 37 hadi-germany@hadi.com hadi-germany@hadi.com www.hadi.com www.hadi.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT

AlfaKutu

Hagemann Systems

Site No: 15a

Site No: 43

Shandong Jinkeli Power Sources Technology Co., Ltd Site No: 46

AlfaKutu is a company specializing in production of plastic components of the lead acid battery industry since 1970’s. Our core business is manufacturing battery boxes, lids and other accessories made of PP (Polypropylene). AlfaKutu has since made a name of itself as an innovative partner for the battery producers in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Caucasia.

Our production capacity dramatically increased since 2002 and reached 6.000.000 sets by 2016. The rapid growth period is very well managed and created more business opportunities in this sector. Now we are delighted to announce our new factory which is being developed on 24,000 sq. of land and expected to be running with full capacity by August 2017.

We have held ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Certificate since the year 2000 and also had the certificates of ISO TS 16949, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 by the year 2015.

As Alfa Kutu, we carry our qualified products and services to all continents servicing the global lead-acid battery industry with our innovative, professional and customer service focused approach.

Contact details: Tel: + 90 212 875 13 70 Fax:+ 90 212 875 13 78 Web: www.alfakutu.com Email: fulya@alfakutu.com , info@alfakutu.com

Hagemann-Systems GmbH develops, produces and distributes rubber, plastic and metal products and their compound parts.

We offer a big range of innovative products with high quality standards as supplier e.g. for automotive, energy generating, electrical and rail vehicle industries.

Our advanced systems, quick response times and a distinctive service demand identify make us a qualified manufacturer of these products.

With our big knowledge and our new solution approaches, we offer our customers integral solutions from one source.

Beyond our influences to the pure product it is our vocation to create new efficient ways for our customers to optimize their challenges.

Contact details: Hagemann-Systems GmbH Hauptstrasse 74 a 42349 Wuppertal Germany

Shandong Jinkeli Power Sources Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 1982. It is the largest manufacturer and supplier of battery additives with over 70% domestic market share in China.

It is the member of ALABC, strategic partner of Borregaard AS and Cabot Corporation in China. With the help of its own advanced R&D center and a Joint Laboratory with Cabot Corporation, it could provide customers with not only single ingredients, but also customized products, even complete solutions and services based on their requirements.

Jinkeli’s main products include: (Customized)Preblended Expanders, CuringBon® (4BS), Humic Acid, Barium Sulfate, Short Fiber, Lignin, Carbon Black, Graphite, Cork Powder, Seamless Pasting Belt. NanoSilica Sol etc.

www.hagemann-systems.de Geschäftsführer / CEO Dipl.-Ing. Jens Trimborn Amtsgericht Braunschweig- HRB 200667 USt-Idnr.: DE 252 044 317

46 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

Contact details: Tel: +86 533 5316599 Web: www.jinkeli.com E-mail: jkl@jinkeli.com; sales-overseas@jinkeli.com

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta 13-16 September 2016

Inbatec Site No: 60

17ABC and 5ISLC

Vesotech

Site No: 16a

Site No: 67 Formation systems with acid recirculation technology The Inbatec Modules – We form your batteries

With over 80 years of experience in the lead acid battery field, VeSoTech specializes in providing turnkey formation solutions for lead-acid battery manufactures.

Asian Battery Conference & Secondary Lead Conference Launch announcements coming soon —26 September

Lead and Battery Week Live!

From Monday September 18 – Friday 22 September 2017

5th International Secondary Lead Conference Recognised as the premier event dedicated to the world of secondary lead.

17th Asian Battery Conference & Exhibition

We also provide prototyping systems for process confirmation and can develop solutions from a minimal of information based on our many years of designing and manufacturing machinery.

Using the latest automation technology and in collaboration with various specialist companies, we can provide competent, ecological and economic solutions ranging from upgrading older systems to conform with recent legislation to grass roots development of a full production facility.

Drawing on a multilingual and multicultural team, our passion is not just for our work but above all for the success of those that choose to work with us.

The largest and most important gathering of battery industry experts on the 2017 calendar of events Venue: Kuala Lumpur International Convention Centre City: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dates: Monday September 18 – Friday 22 September 2017 Complete an expression of interest form available at the Batteries International booth. (16a)

www.batteriesinternational.com

Contact details: Philip M. Larkin VeSoTech Engineering Sp. z o.o.

Chrzstów 191, 39-331 Chorzelów POLAND Tel/Fax: +48 17 774 5020 Email: biuro@vesotech.com

Inbatec is the world leader in formation systems with acid recirculation technology with more than 250 systems in operation worldwide. Our formation modules are reliable and proven and are used by many lead-acid battery manufacturers around the world.

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

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

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 47

Lugsulation® - Fully Insulated Connection Technology for battery cells, single cells and monobloc batteries with female thread Patent registered, perfectly fitting full insulation for battery connections 

protection against contact and corrosion



safe retrofitting self-installation on site by warranty through HSYScomponents use your cables from 10 mm² up to 95 mm²

 

reducing maintenance- and follow-up costs

Battery cell with fully insulated cable lug connection

The patented cable lug insulator LUGSULATION® is sealing different cable cross sections against water and acid

PI_HSYS_E_03

Application: quick repair, shortening of MRC charging connectors on site

www.hagemann-systems.com • Tel.: +49 (0) 202 / 94 60 90 70 • kontakt@hagemann-systems.de

Lugsulation® - Fully Insulated Connection Technology Our innovative, patent registered and fully insulated termination technology LUGSULATION® is offering to you:

protection against contact and corrosion: lip seal protects the complete connection safely

conical cable bushing seals gradually



shield against contact and aggressive substances



complete covering against corrosion, arcing and kreeping currents



dust and weatherproof protection as per IP 54



IP 66 or higher can be achieved with 2K-glue or through grease-filling



increase of security and conservation of conductivity

 ignition risk of electrostatic charging is prevented

individual cable connections from 10 mm² up to 95 mm²:      

existing cables are safely retrofitted by self-installation on site the innovative insulation seals the HSYS cable lug precisely cable lug according to DIN 13600 no additional surface treatment necessary direct contact between pole screw and cable lug cable adjustment through exchange of isolation for the next larger or smaller HSYS cable lugs

secure self-installation on site:     

shorten cable accordingly crimp the cable lug onto the cable adjust the insulation cone to cable diameter pull insulation over cable lug fixed through pole screw

reduction of maintenance and follow-up costs:    

permanent protection against corrosion, residual currents use of existing cables colored differentiation of the contacts without additional marking detachable connections

PI_HSYS_E_03

Our company is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001.

For more information please visit our web pages or contact us directly. www.hagemann-systems.com • Tel.: +49 (0) 202 / 94 60 90 70 • kontakt@hagemann-systems.de

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT

La Pneumatica Srl

Converted Products Inc

Oak Press Solutions Inc

Site No: 39-40

Site No: 29

Site No: 85

La Pneumatica was created in 1993 and has, for the last 20 years, maintained an ongoing commitment to the study and realization of new technologies in the field of industrial plants for battery production.

The company’s professional skills are reflected today in its ability to produce every type of machine, from those for elements preparation (COS and assembly line) to those for formation and finishing, responding to every type of production requirement, whilst at the same time guaranteeing almost absolute control on the final quality of the product, thanks to the incorporation in the line of specific checking systems.

Pasting Paper: Innovative. Economical.

Dependable — CPI PasteLoc Pasting Products

At Converted Products, Incorporated we have developed CPI PasteLoc Pasting Products with the goal of providing the highest quality pasting paper while remaining the most economical solution in the lead acid battery industry.

While keeping innovation and cost in mind with our customers, we are working on a soon to be released high performance product for the EFB and AGM battery markets.

Design, assembly, installation and start up: four little steps for a big success.

Contact details: Tel: +39 0363 989014 Web: www.lapneumatica.com Email: info@lapneumatica.com

Contact details: Tel +1 (414) 354-4433 or email us at sales@ convertedproducts.com. http://www.convertedproducts.com

50 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

Oak Press Solutions Inc will be highlighting their lineup of Battery Grid Punching Systems.

Oak punching systems can be configured for production volumes from 500,000 to 5,000,000,000+ batteries per year. Oak systems can produce lug-in strip or lug-out panels for SLI applications, multi-panel strips for E-Bike or motorcycle applications. The battery grid punching tooling from Oak incorporate many exclusive features including the patent pending embossed border tooling, quick change tooling and independently adjustable tooling stations.

Oak has been designing and building high speed punching systems for over 50 years at their facilities in Sturgis, Michigan, USA. In addition to the facilities in Sturgis they also have technical support facilities in China, Europe and India.

Oak’s experience in the battery industry consists of 16 battery grid punching systems and 35 battery grid punching dies to date. (more than all other battery equipment suppliers combined) Stop by Booths 61-63 to learn more about the fieldproven Battery Grid Punching Systems from Oak. Contact details: Oak Press Solutions Inc. Contact: Kent Lancaster Office: +1 269-651-8513 Mobile: +1 269-268-3116 Email: klancaster@oakpresses.com

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN

15 ELBC Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta 13-16 September 2016

BM Rosendahl Site No: 14-15

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

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

Customer-focus is a central value at BM Rosendahl. In order to cope with today’s and tomorrow’s demands, they always strive for the right solution with the best service to fulfil customers’ needs for different applications. To ensure a quick and reliable reaction to continuously changing market requirements, BM Rosendahl has installed a worldwide network with sales, service and logistic centres in Austria, the USA, South Korea and China.

Contact details: Rosendahl Maschinen GmbH Schachen 57, 8212 Pischelsdorf, Austria Phone +43 3113 5100-222 Fax +43 3113 5100-59 m.prasch@rosendahlaustria.com www.rosendahlaustria.com Sitz: Pischelsdorf, FN 74318 t, Landesgericht Graz

www.batteriesinternational.com

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Issue 99

Issue 96

Spring 2016

The kings of invention The pride and power of innovation in lead Testing, testing The struggle for greater precision in cycle life

The Great Divide The battle for next generation separators

Californian dreamin’ Untangling fears from hopes for the future

Renewable resource Energy storage moves into Europe’s homes

M FRO LES TA Bringing the industry try together D: OR www.batteriesinternational.com national.com TW AS L $50/€40 $50/€ / 40 E TH

Issue 95

Spring 2015

Picking the new industry leader

Nickel: still an important cog in the energy storage game

Lead squares up to lithium for large scale energy storage

New uses for an established chemistry Liquid power The next generation of flow batteries is starting to emerge

IDE KS AR ED TH

Summer 2015

Island microgrids Replacing costly diesel for renewables and batteries

The CEO interview Srivastava and Leclanché’s bid for world dominance

Fondly remembered Electrochemist genius Al Salkind passed away in June Profile: Lampe-Önnerud Mixing innovation, ability and commercialization

IDE KS AR ED TH

M FRO LES TA Bringing the industry together D: OR www.batteriesinternational.com TW AS L $50/e40 E TH

Jeanne Burbank’s legacy Battery pioneer whose lead insights are still with us

IDE KS AR ED TH M FRO S E L TA Bringing the industry together D: OR www.batteriesinternational.com TW AS $50/e40 EL TH

The new titans of lead Ecoult’s UltraBattery take lithium on — head to head

Capacitors come of age Will supercaps be the next miracle ingredient ‘x’?

Batteries International — a tried and tested way to turn our extensive readership to your advertising advantage

Go to www.batteriesinternational.com, click on subscriptions for your free trial Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 51

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN KEY — BY COMPANY NAME Abertax Anna Stuerhman a.stuehrman@abertax.com Site No: 16/17

Batteries International Karen Hampton karen@batteriesinternational.com Site No: 16a

Accuma Alberto Alceroni Alberto.alceroni@accuma.it Site No: 10, 11

baumhueter extrusion GmbH Christina Coban christina.coban@baumhueter.de Site No: 51

ACCUMALUX Eric Thiel/Michel Montoisy e.thiel@accumalux.com / m.montoisy@ accumalux.com Site No: 1

Bernard Dumas Thierry Touzeau Thierry.touzeau@bernard-dumas.fr Site No: 90

Accumation GmbH Thomas Ohl/Christina Wientjes tohl@puetzgroup.de / cwientjes@ puetzgroup.de Site No: 9 Accurate Products Morten Christoffersen mhc@accurate.dk Site No: 73/74 Akumsan AS Eren Unlu e.unlu@akumsan.com.tr Site No: 93 Alfa Kutu Fulya Hashas fulya@alfakutu.com Site No: 15a Alpha Industrie bedarfs gmbh Stefan Selig Stefan.selig@alpha-passoni.de/info@ alpha-passoni.de Site No: 31 Amer-sil Hubert Deruette hubert.deruette@amer-sil.com Site No: 58 Associated ElectroChemicals Pvt Ltd Khushal Bhatia khushal@abppl.com Site No: 70 ATI SpA Moira Soprana Moira_soprana@atispa.it Site No: 8 Atomized Products Group Lee Puckett Lee.puckett@atomizedproductsgroup. com Site No: 18 Batek Makina Kudret Aydin kudret@batekeng.com Site No: 63/64 BATTBOX (Arexim) Kiril Asenov/Yiannis Apostolou asenov@arexim.bg; yiannis.apostolou@ battbox.bg Site No: 55/56 Batterie Fullungs Systeme Sabine Schinzel s.schinzel@bfsgmbh.de Site No: 91/92

Bertola Snc Claudio Gaeta cgaeta@bertola.it / staff@bertola.it Site No: 33 BEST Gerry Woolf gerry@bestmag.co.uk Site No: 36 Biasin Plast Giuseppe Gallo g.gallo@biasinplast.com Site No: 45 Black Diamond Structures Dru Kefalos dkefalos@bd-structures.com Site No: 50 BM Rosendahl Richard Jonach Richard.jonach@rosendahlnextrom. com Site No: 14/15

Converted Products Inc Christopher Gorenc/Kathy Gorenc cgorenc@convertedproducts.com / kgorenc@convertedproducts.com Site No: 29 Daramic Francois Duga FDuga@daramic.com Site No: 47 Digatron Kevin Campbell Kevin.campbell@digatron.de Site No: 59 Dross Engineering John Simpson jsimpson@dross-engineering.com Site No: 4 DSC and KMT Adam Chen adamchen@dsccompany.com Site No: 72 Eagle Oxide Services Steve Halfaker steve@eagleoxide.com Site No: 35 EBC Korea Jhames Lee ebc@ebckorea.com 19 EcoBat Sabine Fleming s.flemming@ecobatgroup.com Site No: 78

Borregaard Frederik Bierre Frederik.bierre@borregaard.com Site No: 54

EFFEDUE-VI SRL Claudio Fanton fc@effedue-vi.com Site No: 24

Cabot Cayla Ferguson Cayla.ferguson@cabotcorp.com Site No: 97

Eirich Jasmin Mueller Jasmin.mueller@eirich.de Site No: 61

CAM Srl Maria Pia De Simone mariapia@cam-srl.com Site No: 25

EnerG2 Cynthia Kolb CKolb@energ2.com Site No: 34

CEMT Nancy via Maggie nancy@cemt.cn / sales6@cemt.cn Site No: 37

Engitec Technologies SpA Alberto Bergamaschini a.bergamaschini@engitec.com Site No: 77

Chem Resist Seamus Quinn squinn@chemresist.com Site No: 8a

ENTEK Carri Moffatt cmoffatt@entek.com Site No: 52

CMWTEC technologie GmbH Michael Wipperfurth mi.wipperfuerth@cmwtec.de Site No: 94

Farmer Mold & Machine Works Inc Jim Gilmour jgilmour@farmermold.com Site No: 49

Co-Efficient Precision Engineering Inc Steve Mate steve.mate@co-efficient.com Site No: 89 Continuus-Properzi SpA Gabriele Muscarnera sales@properzi.it Site No: 26

52 • Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

Froetek Sascha Brothuhn Sascha.brothuhn@froetek.de Site No: 68 Glatfelter Gernsbach GmbH Stefanie Orth Stefanie.orth@glatfelter.com Site No: 41

Golden Sunlight Kevin bdygxny@126.com Site No: 32 Goonvean Fibres Gareth Alderman galderman@goonveanfibres.co.uk Site No: 28 HADI Herbert Puchebner/Hannes Eigner puchebner@hadi.at ; eigner@hadi.at Site No: 62 Hagemann-Systems GmbH Jens Trimborn Jens.trimborn@hagemann-systems.de Site No: 43 Hammond Steve Barnes stevebarnes@hammondexpanders. co.uk Site No: 83 Hoffman Solutions Frank Kilian Frank.Kilian@wegmann-automotive. com Site No: 57 Hollingsworth & Vose Ian Dowdle Ian.Dowdle@hovo.co.uk; Site No: 5 ICS Italy Massimo Verzegnassi m.verzegnassi@ics-italy.it Site No: 22 Imerys Graphite & Carbon Benedetta Caprara Benedetta.Caprara@imerys.com Site No: 86 Inbatec Christian Papmahl Christian.Papmahl@inbatec.de Site No: 60 ITS Matthew Zea Matthew.zea@itsllcusa.com Site No: 81 JiangSu JinFan Power Technology Co., Ltd. Reddy Gu ghj@jsjf.com.cn Site No: 42 Jiangsu Sanhuan Industry & Commerce Co Ltd Jack Song sunh@sanhuancn.com Site No: 99 Kallstrom Bo Johansson/Anders Kallstrom bj@kallstrom.com / ak@kallstrom.com Site No: 69 Kobratec Marina Brustello negocios@kobratec.com.br Site No: 48

www.batteriesinternational.com

15 ELBC FLOORPLAN KEY — BY BOOTH NUMBER KraftPowercon Manoj Pagar Manoj.Pagar@kraftpowercon.com Site No: 53

Serma Technologies Anne-Marie Puyastier AM.Puyastier@serma.com Site No: 38

1

49

3

Alpha Beta Fiberglass Product Co., Ltd

Farmer Mold & Machine Works Inc

50

Black Diamond Structures

La Pneumatica Srl / Ferrazza Srl / Degani Aldo Srl Manuela Mombelli Manuela.mombelli@lapneumatica.com Site No: 39/40

Shandong Jinkeli Power Sources Technology Co Ltd John Tan john@jinkeli.com Site No: 46

4

Dross Engineering

51

5

Hollingsworth & Vose

baumhueter extrusion GmbH

6,7

Bitrode Corporation

MAC Doug Bornas dbornas@mac-eng.com Site No: 85

Sorfin/Oak Scott Fink and Kent Lancaster sfink@sorfin.com; klancaster@ oakpresses.com; Site No: 84

Mecondor Klaus Jousten Klaus.jousten@mecondor.be Site No: 2 Mircroporous Claudia Lorenzini claudia.lorenzini@microporous.at Site No: 82 MooJin Service Co Ltd Chris Kim rlarhksdnr@naver.com Site No: 95/96 MSS Products Laurence Whelehan laurencewhelehan@mssproducts.com Site No: 44 MTH Metall-Technik Halsbruecke GmbH & Co KG Yiota Halikiopoulou Y.Halikiopoulou@mth-kg.de Site No: 98 Nanjing Alpha Glassfibre Product Co., Ltd Helen sales@alphabeta.com.cn Site No: 3 Officina Meccanica Romanese srl Simone Plebani ufficiotecnico@omroff.it Site No: 23 OM Impianti Srl Melissa Maggioni melissa@omi-nbe.com Site No: 20/21 Owens Corning Mara Aldeghi Mara.aldeghi@owenscorning.com Site No: 30

ACCUMALUX GROUP

2 Mecondor

48 Kobratec

52 ENTEK

6,7 SOLITH

53 KraftPowercon

6,7 Sovema

54 Borregaard

8

ATI SpA

55/56 BATTBOX (Arexim)

8a

Chem Resist

9

Accumation GmbH

57

HOFMANN POWER SOLUTIONS

10, 11 Accuma Sovema Marcello Fantoni marcello.fantoni@sovema.it Site No: 6, 7

58 Amer-sil

12 Yucry

59 Digatron

TBS Mark Gardiner mark.gardiner@tbsengineering.co.uk Site No: 80

15a

UK Powertech Mark Rigby Mark.rigby@ukpowertech.com Site No: 71 Unikor Battery Co Ltd Chris Larry Ebene chrisukb@ukbkorea.com Site No: 100 VeSoTech Philip Larkin philip@lteng.eu Site No: 67 Water Gremlin Andrea Balzan Andrea.balzan@watergrem.com Site No: 13 Wirtz Eric Donjon edonjon@wirtzusa.com Site No: 75/76 Yucry Dai Zeng Shi yucry@yucry.com Site No: 12 Zesar Ahmet Yavuz yavuzsaricam@zesar.com.tr Site No: 66

13

Water Gremlin

14/15 BM Rosendahl Alfa Kutu

16/17 Abertax 16a

Batteries International

18

Atomized Products Group

19

EBC Korea

20/21 OM Impianti Srl

60 Inbatec 61 Eirich 62 HADI 63/64 Batek Makina 66 Zesar 67 VeSoTech 68 Froetek

22

ICS Srl

69 Kallstrom

22

SERI Group

70

22

SERI Plant

Associated Battery Products

22

SERI Plast Srl

71

UK Powertech

72 DSC

23

Officina Meccanica Romanese srl

24

EFFEDUE-VI SRL

73 FRIMAX

25

CAM Srl

74

26

Continuus-Properzi SpA

75/76 Wirtz

27

Pyrotek Netherlands BV

77

28

Goonvean Fibres

78 EcoBat

29

Converted Products Inc

30

Owens Corning

31

alpha industrie-bedarfs GmbH - passoni/alpha

32

Golden Sunlight

82 Mircroporous

33

Bertola Snc

83 Hammond

72

KMT Group Accurate Products Engitec Technologies SpA

79 Pinco 80 TBS 81 ITS

34 EnerG2

84 Sorfin

35

85

MAC Engineering

36 BEST

85

Oak Press

37 CEMT

86

Imerys Graphite & Carbon

38

87/88 PENOX

Eagle Oxide Services

Serma Technologies

39/40 Degani Aldo Srl

89

Co-efficient Precision Engineering Inc. Bernard Dumas

39/40 Ferrazza Srl 39/40 La Pneumatica Srl

90

PENOX Thorsten Peters tpeters@penoxgroup.com Site No: 87/88

41

Glatfelter Gernsbach GmbH

91/92 Batterie Fullungs Systeme

42

JiangSu JinFan Power Technology Co., Ltd.

Pinco Fabio Aresi Fabio.aresi@pinco-sa.com Site No: 79

43 accu-industrie-bedarf Kunstmann GmbH

Pyrotek Netherlands BV Peter Jetten petjet@pyrotek-inc.com Site No: 27

44

MSS Products

45

Biasin Plast

46

Shandong Jinkeli Power Sources Technology Co Ltd

43 Hagemann-Systems GmbH

93

Akumsan AS

94

CMWTEC technologie GmbH

95/96 MooJin Service Co Ltd 97 Cabot 98

MTH Metall-Technik Halsbruecke GmbH & Co KG

99

Jiangsu Sanhuan Industry & Commerce Co Ltd

100

Unikor Battery Co Ltd

47 Daramic

www.batteriesinternational.com

Batteries International • ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 53

BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: NICHOLAS CALLAN Nicholas Callan’s major claim to fame is as inventor of the induction coil.

But he also stumbled across the principle of the self-excited dynamo and was awarded one of the first patents for galvanization.

Callan’s coil and the world’s largest battery One of the great unsung heroes of the battery world has to be Nicholas Callan who, born in 1799 to a family of farmers just south of what is now Northern Ireland, became one of the giants in the world of batteries in the 19th century.

Unlike the scientific greats of his period, most of his life was spent buried in an ecclesiastical college at Maynooth near Dublin (and which accounts for his name disappearing from sight after his death).

It was here at St Patrick’s at Maynooth — which he entered to train for the priesthood in 1816 — that he was introduced to the world of magnetism

by Cornelius Denvir, then professor of natural and experimental history and Bishop of Down and Connor. But it was in 1824 when the now-Father Callan went to Rome to study divinity at the Sapienza University that he came across the ground-breaking work of Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta on electricity.

On his return from Italy in 1826, and his appointment to the chair of natural philosophy at Maynooth, he started experiments and began work on a device for producing high voltage currents. He built his first one in 1836. Taking a horseshoe-shaped iron bar, he wound it with thin insulated

wire and then wound thick insulated wire over the windings of the thinner wire.

He discovered that when a current sent by battery through a “primary” coil was interrupted, a high voltage current was produced in an unconnected “secondary’ coil (a large number of turns of fine wire). Callan’s Coil also used an interrupter that consisted of a rocking wire that repeatedly dipped into a small cup of mercury.

Because of the action of the interrupter, which could make and break the current going into the coil, Callan called his device the “repeater”.

It was the world’s first transformer.

Callan had induced a high voltage in the second wire starting with a low voltage in the adjacent first wire. The faster he interrupted the current, the bigger the spark.

In 1837, he produced his giant induction machine: using the escapement mechanism from a grandfather clock as his repeater in the primary coil to interrupt the current 20 times a second, it generated 15-inch sparks, an estimated 600,000 volts and the largest artificial bolt of lightning then seen!

The following year, he stumbled on the principle of the self-exciting dynamo (10 years after and in ignorance of

Callan’s laboratory at the University of Maynooth, Ireland

54 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

another priest, Anyos Jedlik). Simply by moving his electromagnet in the earth’s magnetic field, Callan found he could produce electricity without a battery.

He even managed to adapt a motor to drive a small trolley around his laboratory, which led him to propose that electromagnetic locomotives could be used on the new railways, instead of steam. In 1838, he designed an engine to propel a carriage and load at eight miles per hour and had hopes of using them to electrify the railway line from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire.

Gradually he realised that magnetism was powerful only at short distances, and that large magnets interfere with each other. Batteries were harder to manage than a steam engine giving the same power. After trials on a large scale, Callan had to admit defeat.

Callan next progressed to connecting ever larger numbers of batteries.

One of them consisted of 280 cells, but the units were of the conventional type with standard four-inch zinc plates. In the presence of 300 students he carried out some striking experiments with this battery. To test the magnetic effect he had a tug-of-war between a team of students and one of his electromagnets. When the current was sent through the set of primary coils, the students failed to dislodge the keeper from the magnet. He cut the current and the students fell in a heap.

He then progressed to connecting 577 cells with a combined area of zinc of some 9m2. It was at least twice as large as that constructed at the École Polytechnique on Napoleon’s orders, therefore “probably the world’s largest battery.” To charge it, he required 14 gallons of nitric acid and 16 gallons of sulphuric acid.

In March 1848, before an awestruck audience he demonstrated the pow-

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INNOVATION. PERFORMANCE. RELIABILITY.

BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: NICHOLAS CALLAN ers of his battery. A large turkey was instantly electrocuted when placed in the electric circuit. A five-inch arc of blinding light was obtained between copper and brass terminals. Carbon arcs burned away too rapidly for the length of arc to be determined. At this stage, several porous pots burst, and some copper leads fell off their zincs through combustion of the solder.

Callan used his students as human electrometers in his experiments, asking them to take electric shocks from his coil and then measuring its voltage by their reactions. Fortunately there were no fatalities but he did manage to render one student — who later became Archbishop of Dublin — unconscious. After this mishap, he limited himself to electrocuting turkeys.

The Maynooth battery With the need to produce reliable batteries for his researches in electromagnetism, Callan developed what came to be known as the “Maynooth Battery”, developing a single fluid cell the following year. Previous batteries had used expensive gold or platinum, or unsatisfactory carbon, for one of their plates and zinc for the other.

Callan found he could use inexpensive cast-iron instead of platinum or carbon. In the Maynooth battery, the outer casing was made of cast iron, treated with an anti-corrosive tin-lead mix, and the zinc plate was immersed in a porous pot. But he then found that he could make a simple and useful battery by dispensing with the porous pot and the two fluids, using a single solution. The Maynooth Battery The outer casing of battery was cast iron. In his damp basement laboratory the iron began to rust…to stop this Callan investigated a method of preventing this. It was for the principle of galvanization that he was granted a patent in 1853 by Queen Victoria.

The Maynooth Battery was put into commercial production by Edward Marmaduke Clarke at the Battersea Iron Works, and sold from his Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science, 428, The Strand, London.

Callan also experimented with various forms of electric lighting, from arc lights to limelights. By electrolysing acidulated water he produced hydrogen and oxygen, which gave him an oxyhydrogen torch with which he heated up a block of lime, producing an intensely brilliant light. He hoped

that this would serve for lighthouse beacons, but practical difficulties militated against its use — hydrogen and oxygen is a highly explosive mixture and on at least one occasion an explosion shattered the vessel in which the gases were contained.

Lifts two tons Since there were no instruments yet to measure current or voltage, Callan assessed his batteries by the weight they could lift when connected to an electromagnet. His best effort lifted two tons. When Callan reported this in the Annals of Electricity, an incredulous London professor visited Maynooth to witness the spectacle for himself.

For his researches, he purchased vast amounts of mercury, great sheets of copper and zinc, literally miles of copper and iron wire, porous pots and glass containers by the gross, platinum foil, brass and iron and coke in rod and sheet and plate, insulating materials in bulk. At times the science hall must have looked like a factory.

He was generous to fellow scientists in various parts of the world — even as far away as India, sending them induction coils and electro motors which he had had constructed.

In a couple of letters in 1855, one of Callan’s students Lawrence Johnson described Callan at work. “We have a priest here from County Louth, Dr Callan, the Professor of Science, and many are afraid he will blow up the College. Yesterday in St. Joseph’s Grounds we heard an explosion that was like the end of the world. … Cal-

lan is still experimenting night and day with gases and metals. In the Physic [sic] Hall today before the whole class he had his Box hopping by itself all over the floor. But he is a very holy priest”.

Certainly Callan fought a war between his scientific interests and his calling. He once confessed to using his finger-nail to trace diagrams of electro motors on the altar cloth and admitted his horror that scientific research had taken such a hold on his mind.

Callan, pioneer battery scientist died from natural causes at Maynooth on January 10, 1864.

Father Nicholas Callan: one of the giants in 19th century batteries

56 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

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BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: GEORGES LECLANCHÉ Georges Leclanché, the 19th century scientist and inventor is largely forgotten outside of France. But a billion flashlights across the world wouldn’t be shining without his invention.

The dry cell revolution So much in so little time. Georges Leclanché, creator of the dry cell battery, was only 43 when he died. Yet his legacy — found in the multi-billions of flashlight-style batteries scattered in homes across the world — has been global in impact.

Leclanché lived through a turbulent and desperate time for his native France — years of revolutions, anarchy, war and occupation. Twice during his life his family were political refugees forced to flee from their homes.

Leclanché was born in 1839 at Par-

main to the north of Paris. He studied metallurgy at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris, graduating as a qualified engineer in 1860.

His first job was a crucial one for the eventual development of his battery.

Working for the train company, Compagnie des Chemins de fer de l’Est, his job was to develop the rudimentary electrical systems used for signalling the length of the 500km line to Strasbourg. The problem for signalling in the formative days of the railways was more than just the ability to communicate in the early days of Morse code

THE LECLANCHÉ BATTERY SUCCESS STORY

It certainly had drawbacks — it wasn’t rechargeable, it had a lower energy density than other battery designs, it didn’t perform well in temperatures below freezing point, and it could have a tendency to leakage.

But it was cheap. It became the first practical commercial battery product.

The Leclanché battery became hugely popular for a wide range of domestic uses, due to the low cost of manufacture, and especially the relative safety of the materials, making it. Boosted by the original

large-scale production, its profile grew, and it evolved into a wide range of sizes of strengths, from the original 1.5V through to 9V. Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred use of the battery for demonstrations of early telephones also helped. Another early modification which improved safety and handling was an innovation

by Carl Gassner, who swapped a paste for the liquid that had enabled the transfer of charge, not just in Leclanché’s, but batteries in general.

During the 20th century, it proved to be perfect for the growing domestic consumer market. The 1960 Eveready battery handbook devoted a few pages to research on the Leclanché based cells, stating that a higher percentage of carbon gave higher currents, but with a lower capacity.

Research like this helped improve the performance by 700% between 1920 and 1990, so it was still finding use in a modified version inside the disposable Polaroid PolaPulse camera.

Though they have lost market share in recent years to newer types of longer-lasting alkaline batteries, his battery cells are still among the most popular consumer batteries we have today.

58 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

— it was creating the infrastructure needed to transmit signals.

Leclanché’s research was interrupted by yet more political trouble in France. In 1863 a crisis emerged when Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s Second Empire came under threat from legislative elections that threatened to limit his powers. Troops went on the streets.

For the second time in his life he went into exile. This time to Brussels, where he lived close to Victor Hugo, the French playwright and family. The exile was to last a further seven years until the end of the Second Empire.

Working in his shed, he continued to experiment and improve on his designs, moving from a battery using copper carbonate (which he patented in 1866), to one using manganese, which went on to be shown in 1867 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where it was awarded a bronze medal.

Until Leclanché, most batteries had been based on Alessandro Volta’s 1800 design. The most popular in Leclanché’s time was Planté’s lead acid battery.

In 1860 this had been demonstrated using long foil strips, which were wound spirally with intermediate layers of cloth, then immersed in a solution of 10% sulphuric acid. This was capable of high power, but also heavy, and the chemicals dangerous.

Leclanché’s cell, called a “dry cell”,

Leclanché’s research was interrupted by yet more political trouble in France.

In 1863 a crisis emerged when Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s Second Empire came under threat from legislative elections that threatened to limit his powers. Troops went on the streets. www.batteriesinternational.com

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BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: GEORGES LECLANCHÉ replaced Planté’s lead with zinc and a carbon-manganese dioxide mixture.

He also replaced the sulphuric acid with much less toxic ammonium chloride. This meant the cell was lighter; its safety and lightness was considered perfect for use in signalling, requiring occasional short-burst use and little maintenance.

Leclanché’s first battery wasn’t the sealed flashlight-style unit we think of today. Instead, open-topped glass jars, about 20cm high, were used to contain the various chemicals.

The first batteries kept the elements separate using a porous pot, allowing the liquid electrolyte to pass through it.

In 1871, the manganese dioxide/carbon mixture was moulded into two blocks, held in place around the 4mm5mm carbon plate by rubber bands. In a later development, the porous pot was replaced by a canvas container, and the zinc rod changed to a cylinder to increase the surface area and lower the internal resistance.

In 1867, he quit his job to promote the battery.

His Belgian friend, Charles Mourlon helped him industrialize the product, put him in contact with the Belgian telegraph service, and after testing, they adopted the Leclanché battery for their network; the Dutch railways did the same, and a workshop was set up in Brussels to produce the batteries for them.

In 1871 the Mourlon-Leclanché factory was employing five workers, run from the ground floor of a small white-shuttered building in Brussels on rue d’Aerschot. That year political events at home allowed him to return to Paris with the restoration of what became known as the third republic and the end to the Franco-Prussian war that May. And in one of the ironic twists of history, this time it was Napoléon III’s turn for exile. Captured the September before in the ineptly handled Battle of Sedan against the Prussians, he was deposed in absentia. He died in England three years later.

Leclanché opened a studio at 9, rue de Laval in Paris and settled down. At this point love entered his life and in 1873 he married Gabrielle Clémentine-Lannes. Two children followed swiftly — Max-Georges in 1874 and Marianne en 1876.

The year of Marianne’s birth was

an important one in the breakthrough of the development of his battery. He succeeded in gelifying the electrolyte through the addition of starch. This immediately made the battery easy to transport.

Leclanché formed a partnership with Ernest Barbier and a new LeclanchéBarbier battery was announced. Fate

was on his side this time. It was perfectly timed to coincide with the arrival of the telephone — commercialization of which started in France the following year — as well as the steady boom in rail. Leclanche-Barbier were the only makers of batteries in France.

He died in September 1882. He was just 43.

In 1871, the manganese dioxide/carbon mixture was moulded into two blocks, held in place around the 4mm-5mm carbon plate by rubber bands. In a later development, the porous pot was replaced by a canvas container, and the zinc rod changed to a cylinder to increase the surface area and lower the internal resistance

60 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

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BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: OTTO JACHE For the industrialized world the history of most of the 20th century is a chaotic one, characterized by battles of ideologies that resulted in decades of war and suffering. It was against this backdrop that Berlin-born Otto Jache, was to create the first gel based system and forerunner of the VRLA battery.

Otto Jache and the maintenance free battery Theodor Sonnenschein didn’t realise it at the time. But when in 1910 he set up his factory Akkumulatoren Fabrik — its speciality, starter batteries — he was providing the breeding ground for a generation of gel-based batteries that were to transform the energy storage industry a couple of generations later.

Sonnenschein’s unknown protégé was to be Otto Jache who was born in the south-east Berlin suburb of Treptow in 1915. He never knew his father who had died early on in the first world war. He was brought up by his mother Gertrud.

Thanks to good teaching and a particular enthusiastic science teacher, chemistry became his first love. After school, he went straight to work as a chemical engineering technician, first working for engineering firm C Lorenz, AG. and then at the Edeleanu petroleum refinery in Berlin.

Oddly enough, his early reputation was that of a prankster — his friends later recalled Jache’s love of improvising fireworks such as the night he spectacularly threw some NI3, nitrogen tri-iodide, into Berlin’s Landwehrkanal then stood back to watched the multi-coloured Bengal Fire display.

Another favourite was an innocuous looking lotion he developed which, when stepped on, went off like a gun.

But the clouds of war were already descending over Europe and Jache like millions of others became a soldier, fighting for Germany in France and later in Finland. As the war started to unravel and the Germans started to retreat he was forced to make a dash from Finland, when it signed the armistice in September 1944, to his homeland.

The alternative was to be taken prisoner by the Soviets and almost certain death. In a marathon journey more

suited to a movie he escaped via Norway, accompanied by a Norwegian, Reidum Ingrid Karlsen who had collaborated with the Germans and was also fleeing for her life. Reidum was later to become his wife.

Immediate post-war Germany faced the seemingly impossible task of regaining its place in the industrial world. And in the eastern sector it was made more difficult by the occupying powers.

62 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

One could no longer select places to work and live in. With the Soviets occupying the Berlin-Marienfelde suburb where the Sonnenschein factory had been based, they decided to confiscate some of the equipment as reparation payment.

But not all of it. Clemens Jonen, brother-in-law of founder the late Theodor Sonnenschein managed to save some material. After a considerable search, he came across the possibility of setting up a new factory at Büdingen in Hessen and moving his staff there, including Chemoteckniker Otto Jache.

Büdingen had been a garrison town for the Third Reich, with the local Thiergarten area used as a training field. In 1946 the occupying US Armored Divisions continued to use the training area. But it was in what was later to become Western Germany and Sonnenschein acquired a number of buildings to reset up the factory (which the firm was to occupy until 2008).

Jache’s first job at Büdingen was to cast lead grids for pasting together into positive and negative plates. For small batteries, these could be as much as 12 plates. To transport quantities of these around, with his fellow workers, Jache designed and built electric trolleys to replace the horse-drawn ones.

In terms of living quarters, everyone at Sonneschein had to make do with what was available. Some staff took up residence in the former hunting lodge of the Ysenburg princes.

For the next 30 years, Otto Jache’s home was to be a converted former ammunition depot, just 200 metres from the factory. It was here that his three children grew up. This proximity to his laboratory would mean that Otto could — and did — work into the night as he did not have far to get home.

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BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: OTTO JACHE Oddly enough, his early reputation was that of a prankster — his friends later recalled Jache’s love of improvising fireworks such as the night he spectacularly threw some NI3, nitrogen tri-iodide, into Berlin’s Landwehrkanal then stood back to watched the multi-coloured Bengal Fire display.

Social contacts were rare and, although invited, he did not join the skittles club formed by his colleagues.

Instead he became an enthusiastic gardener. Perhaps this quiet life was part of the reason for his marriage ending with Reidum who left to move to the US. After the death of Clemens Jonen in 1957, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, the husband of Sonnenschein’s daughter Marie-Luise, joined the company.

There were about 250 employees and he was looking for an outlet to expand. Until then the company had been making wet lead acid batteries for radios, and also for photo-flash devices with charge-indicators using balls of different specific weights.

Such batteries were tilt-proof but only operated when upright.

Encouraged by Schwarz-Schilling — although the idea had long been an avenue he wished to explore — Otto Jache formed a team to research dry fit batteries which could be used in transistor radios, photoflash and the like. His team found that lead-calcium (PbCa) gave a cleaner step from charging to H2-emission and avoided the formation of poisonous SbH3. Silica immobilized the electrolyte. Oxidation of the negative plates by air was hampered by a valve, integrated in the cover.

The first dryfit gel batteries were two cell 1Ah, Type 2Ax2, delivered in October 1958, although Jache’s patent was filed the year before. As they came to be accepted, these dryfits were used in telecommunications for gliders and even “environmentally important applications like toilets for cats and golf carts”.

Jache’s invention, the valve regulated lead acid battery — the first truly maintenance free battery — had been born. Within a decade it was to become the international standard for batteries. In 1965 the first dryfit licence contract was established with Globe Union.

Dryfit technology consists of closedsystem batteries in which the electrolyte is fixed in a gel. This means that no maintenance is required through-

out the entire service life of the batessentially of sulphuric acid and a gel tery. The special advantage of the former, comprising the steps of imSonnenschein dryfit battery lies in pregnating the pores of active matethe batteries’ suitability for extreme rial in the electrodes and the pores of operating conditions and the highest the separators.” demands on reliability.

For many years he was a consultBut the development of the VRLA ant for lead-acid separator firm Grace battery had still some way to go. One GmbH in Hamburg. of Jache’s close colleagues, Günter Otto Jache died on January 10, Piske, has recalled “When I finally 1993, aged 78. Unlike other battery joined Sonnenschein in February pioneers such as his contemporary 1959, I found many of these batterSam Ruben he never received any ies inadequate. So we had to tackle a awards for his contribution to the sequence of technical problems such world’s technology and, until this aras the filling method, charging, and a ticle, he has remained an unsung hero. reliable regulating valve.”

Even 50 years on, gel technology is In 1968, Jache married again and still vital for valve-regulated lead acid his new wife Sigrid bore him two sons. batteries.

In 1978 larger gel-filled cells for inWithout the gel technology that dustrial batteries from 24 up to 120 was developed by Otto Jache the volts were developed. These were to company Sonnenschein would have remain in production until 1984. stayed a medium-sized battery proJache was to remain an innovator ducer like many others. Because of and battery pioneer for the rest of his its gel technology and the export life. and worldwide service of its gel batLater in the 1970s, he filed another teries since the 1960s Sonnenschein patent application making his batbecame well known as a technology tery more sturdy, the patent read: and quality leader throughout the “The present invention relates to the world. leakproof bonding of components of In 1991, this good reputation was an electrical storage battery, and partransferred to CEAC which in 1995 ticularly to the leakproof bonding of was bought by Exide Technologies in storage battery components made of the US. thermoplastic material either to other components made of substantially the same material of to current-carrying components made of metal such as lead.”

Four years later, he was applying for a patent for “a precursor for an electrical storage lead battery which can be converted into an operative storage battery by the mere addition of a sulphuric acid electrolyte.”

In 1989, aged 74, he filed for a “Method Dryfit technology consists of closed-system batterfor the production of a ies in which the electrolyte is fixed in a gel meanlead accumulator with ing that no maintenance is required throughout the a thixotrophic gel as an entire service life of the battery. Above a modern electrolyte that consists Exide maintenance free battery

64 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

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BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: SAM RUBEN There are only a few people who can say that they have changed the lives of everyone. Sam Ruben was one such man.

The Duracell genius The golden age of battery heroes came to an end early in the 20th century when individual brilliance was subsumed into company research. But Sam Ruben, father of battery giant Duracell, was one exception to that rule.

Samuel Ruben was born of humble origins — his father was a Ukrainian born butcher — in July 1900 in Harrison, New Jersey. Showing an early aptitude for scientific studies by the age of 17 he was working as a researcher for the Electrochemical Products Company, a Brooklyn start-up that attempted to extract atmospheric nitrogen for wartime munitions via highfrequency electrical discharges.

The process never worked. The company floundered in 1921 but Ruben earned the respect of project consultant Bergen Davis, a physics professor at Columbia University.

Impressed by the young man, Davis allowed him to sit in at Columbia and to borrow books from his personal library. He also tutored him in the evening and made sure that he did his assignments.

In 1922, Davis persuaded Electrochemical’s main investor, patent attorney Malcolm Clephane to finance a private laboratory for Ruben in lower Manhattan using the equipment from the failed nitrogen project. Clephane would pay Ruben a small stipend and cover all expenses in exchange for 50% of any future royalties. For the first three years, Ruben did everything in the laboratory himself — swept the floors, cleaned the beakers, blew the glass.

At this point enter Philip Mallory whose company supplied tungsten wire filaments to manufacturers of incandescent lamps. Mallory learned of Ruben’s solid-state rectifier, a device that converted regular household electric current for use in radios. Before this, radios had been powered by lead acid batteries, which frequently spilled and ruined carpets and furniture.

Mallory obtained an exclusive licence, and incorporated it into a new battery charger. From then on the inventive genius of Ruben would be

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coupled to the other’s manufacturing muscle — a partnership that would last until Mallory’s death in 1975.

Among the first inventions to emerge from the New Rochelle laboratory was the dry electrolytic capacitor, a small device that stored electricity, making it possible to shrink the cost and size of radios.

Because early vacuum tubes for radios took so long to heat up, in 1936 he came up with the ‘‘7-second vacuum tube’’ used for tuning. Ruben next invented a battery which provided constant voltage to the tube.

During World War II, the Army Signal Corps asked Ruben to solve problems with unsealed zinc-carbon Leclanché batteries which often spontaneously discharged during storage.

Within weeks, Ruben sent prototypes of his so-called “tropical” battery, a small, scaled mercury cell, to the US Army’s Signal Corps Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

Initial tests confirmed that Ruben’s mercury button cell in its airtight casing resisted ambient atmospheric effects and had four to five times the

capacity of standard zinc-carbon cells.

In addition, the new cell had a flat discharge profile with a constant output of 1.34 volts.

Though tiny and long-lasting, a single cell by itself could not provide enough voltage to power an army radio. However, by combining 72 cells in series, the Signal Corps produced a battery pack powerful enough for use in its mobile communications equipment, including flashlights, mine detectors, and handie-talkies (today’s walkie-talkies).

Mallory and Co was given the contract to mass produce it. Initially, Mallory struggled with material and manpower shortages and its hastily prepared manufacturing techniques resulted in thousands of failed cells.

To increase production, the Signal Corps arranged for Mallory to sublicense the mercury battery to other US and Allied manufacturers, including Ray-O-Vac, Sprague, Magnavox, and British Eveready.

In this way, peak wartime production was able to reach a million mercury cells a day. The batteries were

Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016 • 67

BATTERY HEROES OF YESTERYEAR: SAM RUBEN

Sam Ruben and Fred Williams in the lab

successfully used in the harsh wartime theatres of North Africa and the South Pacific, Given its strategic importance, the mercury cell received a confidential classification from the US Patent Office and Sam Ruben was not allowed to apply for a patent until July 10, 1945, just before the end of the war.

Though he was owed approximately $2 million per year in royalties from the Signal Corps, Ruben felt that “it would be unconscionable to receive such large payments for military requirements during wartime.”

He turned over all his patents to the US government and cancelled his royalty arrangements with his licensees, accepting instead a flat payment of $150,000 per year for the use of his battery and other speculative inventions during the war. One of which was low temperature batteries capable at operating from between 40°F to -60°F (4°C to -51°C) From 1946 onwards, Ruben and Mallory worked on the cell’s design and consistency, including such improvements as a copper outer casing.

Though they were used in various applications, the batteries were not listed in Mallory’s catalogue until May 1952, a date close to Bell Laboratories’ introduction of the transistor.

Suddenly Mallory found itself in the midst of a revolution in electronics.

Old, clunky products were soon being miniaturised as transistors and new batteries were incorporated into their design. New consumer applications quickly emerged such as pocket-sized hearing aids in 1952.

The Ruben/Mallory battery attract-

ed the attention of inventor Wilson Greatbatch and heart surgeon William Chardack. In 1960, they implanted the first clinically successful cardiac pacemaker in a human. Powered by 10 Mallory mercury cells, the pacemaker operated without incident for 18 months before it was surgically replaced.

Later, in 1971, Greatbatch pioneered the even longer-lasting lithiumiodine battery system that eventually supplanted Mallory’s mercury cells.

However, Greatbatch later wrote that “we must not forget that it was this mercury cell that made pacemaking possible. It was the industry standard and remained so for some 15 years.”

Other battery companies joined in.

In 1957, Union Carbide introduced its own Energizer button cell in the legendary Hamilton Ventura, the world’s first electrically-powered wristwatch.

Three years later, Mallory cells were powering the Bulova Accutron, the first watch to employ a transistor.

Miniaturization was crucial for space flight, and Mallory mercury cells served on some of the first US satellites. They were also used during the Korean War. Though small and powerful, the mercury button cell was expensive to produce. Ruben and Mallory continued to innovate and improve the alkaline manganese battery, making it more compact, durable, and longer lasting than anything before it.

At about the same time, Eastman Kodak introduced its Instamatic cameras with a built-in flash unit and the Super Eight home movie camera both of which required more power than

68 • Batteries International • 15 ELBC Show Guide • Summer 2016

zinc carbon cells could provide. The cameras needed alkaline manganese cells but in a new size. Called the AA, Mallory made them, and also licensed the technology to others because the company, at that time, had no consumer distribution.

But it was not merely with the button cell that Sam Ruben can be credited. His dry electrolytic condenser, for example, was found in nearly every radio and television set manufactured for decades and in the starters of most electric motors, with several hundred million condensers produced annually.

In 1963, Mallory unveiled a new and improved Tarrytown Battery Research Center and dedicated the lab to the shy, unassuming Ruben in a public ceremony.

The following year the term “Duracell” was formally introduced as a brand. The name is a portmanteau for “durable cell”. It was simpler than the “Mallory Alkaline Manganese battery”.

The year after, Ruben was named Inventor of the Year by George Washington University.

Soon, the consumer market for Duracell batteries rocketed and supplies had to be rationed in the 1970s as manufacturing capacity caught up.

Although Sam Ruben never earned a college degree, let alone an engineering certificate or a doctorate, he received many academic honours.

He held honorary doctorates from Columbia, Butler University and the Polytechnic Institute.

From 1976 to 1984, Ruben was a staff associate at Columbia University, which in 1982 created a chair in electrochemistry at its School of Engineering and Applied Science to honour him and Peter Viele, the head of Duracell Inc, who died in that year and with whom Ruben had worked for many years.

In 1984, when Sam Ruben retired, his laboratories had accumulated over 300 patents and earned him millions of dollars in royalties.

Moving from New Rochelle to Milwaukee, Oregon, despite his great age, Sam was appointed an adjunct professor of physics at Reed College in Portland. He died on July 16, 1988, just two days after his 88th birthday. He was survived by his wife of 64 years, the former Rena Koch, a son, Laurens, three grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren.

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