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• Promoting the Green Economy through Environmental Sound Management of Used Lead–Acid Batteries (ULABs): An Experience in Central America, the Dominican Republic and Colombia

  Miguel Araujo
  Basel Convention Regional Center for Central America and Mexico (BCRC-CAM)

  Amidst the current global economic crisis, a transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy ― a so-called ‘Green Economy’ ― is under way. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the leader of the Green Economy (http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/), has acknowledged this in Towards the Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, which was published on February 2011. Moreover, this report highlights enormous opportunities for decoupling waste generation from GDP growth that include recovery and recycling. The Green Economy requires not only green private investments and technology transfer, but public policies that are in harmony with these investments and that contribute to the widening of green job creation by regulatory frameworks which do not allow unfair competition by companies with inappropriate environmental and social practices and which favour the public purchasing of environmentally-responsible products and services.
  
  Transportation has been highlighted as one of ten sectors where the Green Economy can contribute to combating climate change and to improving both energy and resource efficiency. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid so far to the potential of promoting the Green Economy within the car battery sub-sector by tapping into significant technological developments and a new multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach which, with a life-cycle focus, can help to create jobs and significantly reduce the serious contamination caused in many countries by improper management of Used Lead–Acid Batteries (ULABs).
  
  Guatemala, and Central America and the Caribbean, present today an interesting experience in that important gains in the Green Economy have been achieved and are bound to strengthen significantly in the coming years. This will create a system that is sustainable in economic, environmental and social aspects, but which requires a special partnership between the public and private sectors.
  
  This presentation will explore the advances and opportunities for capturing synergies between lead–acid battery manufacturers and ULAB-related stakeholders (e.g., those involved in collection, temporary storage, transportation and recycling of batteries) so as to deliver a win–win scenario in Central America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere.
  
  

  Biography: Miguel Eduardo Araujo Padilla is the Director of the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Transfer of Technology for Central America and Mexico (BCRC-CAM), hosted by the Secretariat of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), San Salvador, El Salvador. An expert in Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr Araujo Padilla has held prominent positions in many organizations in Latin America and internationally. Mr Araujo Padilla served as Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador from 1997-1999, as Director of Corporate Strategies, Partnerships and Communications of IUCN-The World Conservation Union, based in Gland, Switzerland.
  
  Mr Araujo Padilla holds honorary positions as an adviser on the Environment and Sustainable Development for a number of organizations in Central America. He currently holds the position of Vice-president of the Board of Directors of SALVANATURA de El Salvador.
  
  Miguel Eduardo Araujo Padilla graduated with a B.A. Law from the Universidad José Matías Delgado, El Salvador in 1980. He was awarded an M. A. in Economics and M.S. in Public Administration from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982 and 1983, respectively.
  

• Novel Carbon Materials for Improved Cycleability and Dynamic Charge-Acceptance in Advanced Lead–Acid Battery Applications

  Paolina Atanassova
  Cabot Corporation

  New applications such as micro-hybrid cars and the storage for renewable energy are placing strong demands lead–acid batteries in terms of improved cycleability under high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) conditions and high dynamic charge-acceptance. Research efforts have demonstrated a pronounced effect of carbon additives in reducing negative plate sulfation and significant improvement in the cycleability and charge-acceptance of both valve-regulated (VRLA) and flooded types of lead–acid battery. Nevertheless, further improvements are necessary in developing advanced lead–acid batteries with improved charge-acceptance and cycleability for micro- (Groups 1&2) and mild-hybrid cars.
  
  Carbon blacks are materials with unique hierarchical structures and are made from oil feedstock via a high-temperature, high-throughput process. The characteristics of the morphology, purity and surface properties of carbon blacks can be controlled and designed to fit the requirements of the new advanced lead–acid battery applications.
  
  Cabot has developed new grades of carbon blacks with controlled high surface-area and morphology that are suitable for incorporation at high loadings in the negative plates of lead–acid batteries. Controlled surface area and structure allow for systematic studies of the effect of carbon and thereby an improved fundamental understanding of the carbon characteristics. In addition, these new grades of carbon black offer a combination of properties that eliminate the trade-offs observed with conventional carbon blacks. Simultaneously, they deliver high charge-acceptance and cycleability when tested as additives in negative plates. The presentation will present test data under HRPSoC conditions for the charge-acceptance and cycleability of VRLA batteries with the new carbon black grades in comparison with conventional carbon grades and control plates.
  

  Biography: Paolina has a Ph.D in Chemistry from Sofia University, Bulgaria. Since 2003 she has been R&D Project Manager at Cabot Superior MicroPowders (CSMP), a division of Cabot Corporation. Her work has been focused on the development of advanced materials for variety of energy storage devices such as fuel cells and batteries. She has over 40 publications in the area of catalysis and advanced materials, 32 issued US patents, 87 US patent applications, and over 40 conference presentations.

• Renewable Energy Back-up Lead–Acid Batteries for Indian Environments

  Bhaskar Bishnu
  Luminous Power Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

  India is the world's sixth largest energy consumer; it accounts for 3.4% of global electrical energy consumption. About 70% of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants, 21% by hydro electric plants, and 4% by nuclear plants. More than 50% of India's energy needs are derived from its substantial coal reserves.
  
  Spurred by accelerating economic growth, India’s energy consumption has been rapidly increasing. The 17th Electrical Energy Survey Report by the Government of India shows that per capita consumption of energy over the last decade has increased by 10% per annum, while electrical power generation has risen by 8% annually. The gap between power generation and power demand has been steadily widening and this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
  
  To minimize energy shortfall and reduce the carbon footprint, India is now investing heavily in the renewable energy arena, though it is still far behind global renewable energy initiatives. Renewable energies (REs) under development include wind, solar, biomass and hydro. This presentation discusses battery characteristics of interest for each of these primary development areas and the selection of suitable battery back-up systems.
  
  Because of the use of low-cost raw materials, an established distribution, service and recycling infrastructure and a safe operational record, lead–acid batteries are the natural choice for the RE applications. In order to capitalize adequately on this massive opportunity in the developing world, the lead–acid battery industry needs to focus on understanding the real life issues under the demanding battery operating scenarios so as to deliver optimized application-specific solutions.
  

  Biography: Bhaskar is the Senior Manager, R&D for Luminous Power Technologies. He is a graduate in Production Engineering from the College of Engineering & Technology, Jadavpur University and has been in the battery industry for the last 14 years. Starting his career in the automotive industry with India’s premier auto manufacture, Hindustan Motors, he has held key technical roles with major Indian battery manufacturers like Exide, Tata Global Yuasa Batteries and Minda Batteries. As a core team member of battery development team at Luminous, Bhaskar has already filed for Indian patents covering innovative battery design & components.

• Advancements in Plate-making, Pasting and Handling of Lead–Acid Battery Plates

  Douglas Bornas
  MAC Engineering

  This presentation details advancements made by MAC in many aspects of lead–acid battery plate-making. From better quality pasting through flash drying to stacking at high speeds, the focus has been on improvements to meet the ever-increasing requirements of battery manufacturers. With the ability to control over-paste on the top and bottom of each grid, the ability to flash-dry plates evenly and consistently at over 50 m per minute, and the ready collection, stacking, alignment and even brushing of these plates, MAC has met the expectations of the battery industry.
  

  Biography: Douglas Bornas graduated from the University of Lowell with a Bachelor's Degree in Operations Management. He joined MAC in 1997.
  
  Douglas is responsible for the worldwide marketing and sales for MAC, coordinating with offices in Michigan, NY, Denmark, Tokyo, and China.

• Understanding Analyses: How Can You Trust Them?

  Ulf Buggelsheim
  Eco-bat Technologies Ltd

  Often in lead-acid battery production when a perceived problem arises with an alloy, customers and suppliers will examine the issue with the aid of analytical data. In many of these cases we readily accept the set of analyses with little or no question to their accuracy, possibly making judgments based on erroneous data. What is not often appreciated is there are important metallurgical principles that can have a major influence on results from a sample; for example in the segregation of certain elements in an alloy upon solidification.
  
  This presentation will show how lead producers and customers can work together to achieve optimal performance of lead and lead alloys in battery production with a better understanding of these principles and their effect. A theoretical approach as well as practical results will be presented using experimental results obtained from Pb-Ca alloy and soft lead studies. The precision of analytical methods and results will also be discussed. The audience will gain an appreciation to the fundamentals behind metal analysis, and why it is important to understand the differences and variances that can occur in obtaining analytical data.
  

  Biography: Ulf Buggelsheim was born in Villach, Austria. He holds a Diplom-Ingenieur in Materials Science from the University of Leoben. From 1978, he undertook various activities in the Leadsmelter Arnoldstein Austria. Since 1998 , Ulf has been the Managing Director of BMG Metall & Recycling GmbH (a secondary lead smelter in EcoBat group). n 2008, Ulf became the MD Technical Coordinator of EcoBat Europe.

• Updating the Manufacture of Absorptive Glass-Mat Designs of Valve-regulated Lead–Acid Batteries

  Francesco Capuzzo
  SOVEMA S.P.A.

  The demand for absorptive glass-mat (AGM) designs of valve-regulated lead–acid batteries AGM batteries is constantly increasing. It is therefore, very important to provide the best manufacturing process for this class of battery.
  
  SOVEMA is able to provide all the technical solutions and equipment to achieve the highest quality level for AGM batteries, namely:
  
  • ball mills for the production of oxide;
  • process lines for the fabrication of rolled strip and punched grids;
  • systems for the preparation of the plate active-materials and for high pressure spreading of the paste on the grids;
  • a curing system to ensure the correct percentages of tribasic lead sulfate and tetrabasic lead sulfate;
  • an assembly stage that consists of an enveloping machine, a group accumulator, a cast-on-strap (COS) machine, and an assembly line which is able to perform group preparation, insertion of the groups into the containers, inter-cell connection, heat sealing of the cover and all the necessary line tests.
  • a facility to charge the batteries at controlled temperature and current, followed by a finishing line for battery levelling, plugging and washing, and to carry out all the tests required.
  
  The above sequence of machines can be connected to a central computer which stores all the data necessary for product traceability.
  
  
  

  Biography: Massimiliano has been employed at Sovema since 1997 and is currently the Vice President Sales & Marketing: Sovema SpA and Sovema USA and Sovema China.
  
  He has a Degree in Electronics (Verona, Italy).
  

• Development of enhanced flooded lead-acid battery for ISS applications

  Dr Subhas Chalasani
  Exide Industries Limited

  Idling stop-start (ISS) vehicles have attracted tremendous attention as a commercially viable way to improve fuel efficiency and to cut down the tail pipe emissions which are mandated through regulatory requirements. Although ISS technology can not satisfy all these requirements, it is the lowest hanging fruit for the vehicle manufactures to cut the fuel consumption and the emissions. Due to these advantages coupled with its simplicity, the technology is rapidly becoming a widely acceptable solution.
  
  The batteries employed in ISS vehicles need to support frequent engine crankings and increased battery usage continuously in partial state of charge (PSoC) condition. This condition is also referred as high rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC). Under these operating conditions, the conventional lead acid batteries have been failing prematurely. These failures are due to the accumulation of insulating lead sulfate on the surface of the negative plates causing insufficient charging of the battery. The improvement of the negative electrode performance under PSoC conditions will determine the success of lead acid batteries for hybrid electric vehicle applications. As a leading battery manufacturer, Exide Industries Limited has come up with improved version of the flooded lead acid batteries for ISS application which ensures high life expectancy and improved charge acceptance under partial state of charge conditions. These finding will be summarized in this presentation.
  

  Biography: Dr. Chalasani is currently President R&D (auto), Exide Industries Ltd. He has over 25 years experience in the battery industry and holds a Ph. D. in Electrochemistry from IIT Bombay. He did his post doctoral research in battery and fuel cell material at University of Texas at Arlington, and Loughborough University of Technology, England. Prior to joining Exide Industries Limited, he was a battery consultant at Boeing developing lithium ion battery packs for commercial airplanes including the 787 Dreamliner. He led various battery development programs at General Motors, Valence Technology, Lucent Technologies, AT&T Bell Labs. He has 16 patents and over 25 publications to his credit.

• The Research on Ultrabatteries Applied to Electric Bicycles

  Hongyu Chen
  South China Normal University

  Transport is one of the largest sources of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and fossil-fuel consumption. In part this has lead to a growing demand for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) to reduce air pollution and consumption of fossil fuels. CSIRO Energy Technology has developed the Ultrabattery, a new technology that will reduce the cost and boost the performance of batteries in HEVs. The Ultrabattery is a hybrid energy-storage device, which combines an asymmetric supercapacitor and a lead-acid battery in one unit cell, taking the best from both technologies without the need for extra electronic controls. The capacitor will enhance the power and lifespan of the lead-acid battery as it acts as a buffer in discharging and charging. China is the leader in the production and use of batteries for Hybrid/electric use, so the Ultrabattery applied to electric bicycles may have some very exciting prospects.
  
  In a test regime, 12V/10Ah valve-regulated Ultrabattery’s have been assembled for partial state of charge (PSoC) applications, adding one or two activated carbon electrodes into a lead-acid batteries negative plate groups per cell. Conventional 12V/10Ah VRLA batteries were employed as the reference. Results show that the rapid charging and discharging property of the ultrabattery is better than reference battery, and the peak power is higher than that of conventional lead-acid counterparts. Further, the sulphation of negative plates was retarded, whilst the cyclic life of the ultrabattery was extended under HRPSoC operational conditions. The Ultrabattery was be subjected to 1900 cycles before reaching the cut-off voltage value of 10.5V while reference batteries lasted only 1176 cycles. But high discharge current performance and initial capacity of the Ultrabattery was not improved by combining an asymmetric supercapacitor and a lead-acid battery in one unit cell.
  
  The success of the Ultrabattery will obviously make electric bicycles more affordable and widespread. At the same time, the Ultrabattery has the very some prospects in EVs/HEVs. In turn, this will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the urban environment and the consumption of limited supplies of fossil fuels.

  Biography: Hongyu Chen holds a PhD in Corrosion and Protection from Beijing University of Science and Technology.
  
  From 1992 – 1998 he held various positions at Guangzhou Storage Battery Enterprises Co. Ltd. Including Engineer, Senior Engineer and Director of the Research Institute. Since 1999 he has been an Associate professor, Professor and Dean of the School of Chemistry and Environment of South China Normal University
  
  

• Advanced Valve-regulated Lead–Acid Batteries — Enabling a Hybrid Revolution?

  Allan Cooper
  European Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium

  Since 2000, the Advanced Lead–Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) has been demonstrating valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) batteries in hybrid electric vehicles and has shown that advanced designs can sustain this duty cycle and exhibit good reliability. For cost reasons, this demonstration work has been performed by converting existing vehicles and to date, therefore, has involved the use of Japanese vehicles because their manufacturers were the market leaders in hybrid technology.
  
  In Europe, the market appears to have approached hybridization from a different direction, with the introduction of the low-cost, micro-hybrid stop–start system with limited regenerative energy recovery, such with BMW’s EfficientDynamics, in order to meet the requirements of the first layer of carbon dioxide emission regulations. This market is still firmly held by the lead–acid battery industry.
  
  Recently, a company in the UK, Controlled Power Technologies (CPT), has promoted an alternative way to achieve mild-hybrid performance, which would meet the projected next level of carbon dioxide regulations at a fraction of the cost of the current systems uses an integrated motor-assist with a high-voltage nickel–metal-hydride battery. The new system uses aggressive engine down-sizing coupled with both electrical and mechanical supercharging; it operates with advanced lead–acid batteries at low voltages.
  
  This presentation describes the conversion of a VW Passat to the new system by AVL Schrick and the subsequent evaluation of vehicle and battery performance. The work will allow VRLA batteries to be at the leading edge of hybrid technology rather than trying to play catch-up with other battery chemistries.
  

  Biography: Allan Cooper is European Projects Coordinator for the ALABC. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1961. He spent most of his working life in the lead industry with the Cookson Group. He retired in 1991 and became an independent consultant. In this capacity he has worked closely with the ALABC and with the International Lead Association in the UK.

• Influence of Pulse-charging on Lead–Acid Batteries

  Mikaël Cugnet
  INES/CEA, Electrical Storage Lab., BP 332, 50 Avenue du lac Léman, 73377 Le Bourget-du-lac, France

  Pulse charging is known to allow rapid charge of flooded lead–acid traction cells for electric vehicles without substantial loss of energy. Recent studies have shown other advantages of this technique, namely, avoidance of premature capacity loss, improvement in cell cycle-life, reduced sulfation of the negative plates in valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) cells, prevention of the thermal runaway phenomenon, and capacity recovery after deep sulfation.
  
  In the framework of the SPSoC1 Project (Optimization of Charge Algorithm and Battery Design to Improve Cycling Performance under Partial State-of-charge Operation: Investigations on Conditions Typical for Photovoltaic Systems), which is supported by the Advanced Lead–Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), an entire work package is dedicated to the study of the behaviour of standard batteries under pulse charging, in comparison with conventional constant-current–constant-voltage charge. The main goals are to extend battery cycle-life, to increase active material utilization, and to reduce maintenance by limiting water consumption. To achieve these goals, the investigation is being conducted in two different ways:
  
  (i) in-situ studies by means of a new cell design (separator design, additives in electrolyte and negative active-material);
  (ii) ex-situ studies by means of a pulse-charging procedure.
  
  In addition, an attempt is being made to simulate lead–acid behaviour by mathematical modelling of the coupled physical phenomena that are involved. This presentation will describe how the model has provided an effective tool to simulate successfully some of the findings of the SPSoC1 Project
  

  Biography: Mikaël G. A. Cugnet received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in control engineering from the University of Bordeaux I, Bordeaux, France, in 2002, 2004, and 2008, respectively. His Ph.D. thesis entitled “Ageing integration to the management of an automotive lead-acid battery” has been a successful collaboration between the IMS (control engineering research lab.), the LRCS (electrochemistry research lab.), and the French car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën, under the supervision of Jean-Marie Tarascon and Alain Oustaloup. He spent almost two years at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow, working for Bor Yann Liaw on battery modeling and diagnosis. He is currently project manager in the Electrical Storage Lab. of the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), mainly involved in projects with car manufacturers for EV applications. He is the holder of four patents, author of 14 papers, and active member of the Electrochemical Society since 2008.

• Global Market for Industrial Lead–Acid Batteries: New Developments in Automotive Hybrid Applications and Trends for the Future

  Bob Cullen
  Hollingsworth & Vose

  This presentation discusses the current situation of the industrial battery market and the outlook for the future. An outline is given of the size of the global market in US $/Euro, together with a detailed analysis of both the stationary and the motive power markets.
  
  The markets are divided into geographic regions, namely, Europe, North America, China, India, Pacific Rim, and South America. The key segments of each major market category are evaluated, such as forklift batteries in the motive power market, and telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) markets in the stationary area. The market history over the past few years is reviewed, but more importantly, an indication is given of the trends and driving market forces in the next three years.
  
  A detailed analysis of the telecom market is presented and includes an update of the capital expenditure trends in this market over the next two years. Finally, a report is given of a special study of the developing trends in the application of absorptive glass-mat (AGM) valve-regulated lead–acid batteries for start–stop hybrid electric vehicles, as well as for the storage of renewable energy.
  
  

  Biography: Bob received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of North Carolina. He spent 15 years in a variety of Sales & Marketing Management assignments with Polaroid’s Industrial Marketing Department prior to joining Hollingsworth & Vose Company in 1991.
  
  During his past 20 years with Hollingsworth & Vose, Bob has been involved on a daily basis in the battery world as Director of Sales and then as Worldwide Director of Sales & Marketing. On July 1, 2000, he was promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Over the past 15 years, he has done an excellent job researching and forecasting the growth of the U.S. and World Industrial Battery Markets, its trends and the driving forces behind this growth.
  
  In September 2000, Bob was one of the Keynote Speakers at the Worldwide Intelec Conference in Phoenix, discussing the convergence of voice and data in the Telecom world. Later in the same month, he presented a picture of the Worldwide Industrial Battery Market at the 7th ELBC in Dublin, Ireland. In that year, he was also the Keynote Speaker at the IMBA Conference in Chicago, one of the invited speakers at the 3rd International Telecommunications Infrastructure Conference in Brazil and one of the featured speakers at the 9th Asian Battery Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in September 2001.
  
  During the past 15 years, he has delivered the North American Industrial forecast at the annual Battery Council International meetings. These forecasts are used in many instances as the basis for forward planning.
  
  
  

• India Lead–Acid Battery Market: An Inside-out View

  Vinod Sagar Dumra
  Rahimafrooz Batteries Ltd, India

  The presentation provides an inside-out view and assessment of the Indian automotive and industrial lead–acid battery markets. The survey includes a brief history of the markets for the decades between the 1920s and 2000, for 2000 to 2005, and finally for 2010. For the automotive sector, vehicle production data and overall battery demand are reported for motorcycles, passenger cars, tractors, light and heavy commercial vehicles, generator sets, and other miscellaneous applications for automotive batteries. The phenomenal growth of the inverter battery market using automotive and tubular-plate lead–acid batteries is highlighted. Growth of the market for industrial batteries is led by the Telecom revolution in India. A brief examination is made of the market for electric vehicles (particularly electric 2-wheelers) and oft he expected growth in golf carts for various applications. The presentation closes with a description of the India lead–acid battery scene in 2011 and an evaluation of the outlook for the period up to 2020.
  

  Biography: Vinod Sagar Dumra, is a Graduate Mechanical Engineer with post graduate qualifications in Management. He has been working continuously in the battery Industry since 1964. He has been working with Rahimafrooz Batteries Ltd since 1997 and is currently their Business Advisor for India.
  
  Vinod Sagar has worked for various companies including Tudor India, ABM Nigeria and Chloride India / Exide Industries Ltd.
  
  

• Advanced Spiral Wound Lead–Acid Batteries for Mild–Medium Hybrid Vehicles

  Melchor Fernandez
  EXIDE Technologies

  Most car companies are releasing prototypes of their existing models with different degrees of hybridization. Micro-hybrids have already become a commercial reality, with some manufacturers trying to equip almost all of their existing fleet with the stop–start option. Mild-hybrids make use of options like regenerative braking, boosting on acceleration and some driving in pure electric. All car manufacturers have released several prototypes of such vehicles that are equipped preferentially with nickel–metal-hydride batteries. Clearly, there is an outstanding opportunity for the lead–acid battery to become a key player in this new market provided, of course, that it can match the technical requirements of hybrid vehicles.
  
  In order to prepare the lead–acid battery to play a role in this promising application, several projects founded by the Advanced Lead–Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) have been undertaken in Exide. In this work, different forms and amounts of carbon and graphite have been added to the negative active-material (NAM). In the first project N4.2, the cause of failure, that is the accumulation of lead sulfate in a dense layer on the surface of the plate, was identified. In the second project C1.2, different expanded graphites with low specific surface areas (SSAs, m2 g-1) were added to the NAM. Outstanding good results in the range 200 000 – 220 000 Power Assist Cycles, equivalent to 200 000 – 220 000 km of real driving, were achieved. Finally, in C1.2A, different medium/high SSA carbons have been found to give good charge acceptance above 600 W kg-1, with cycle lives in the range of 150 000 to 200000 cycles.
  

  Biography: Mr Fernández, is a Senior R&D Engineer, working in the EXIDE Technologies R&D Laboratory in Azuqueca, Spain. He has more than 37 years experience in the field of the lead-acid battery, having been engaged in most parts of the technical aspects of the lead-acid battery.
  
  Mr Fernández has been especially engaged in the development of the VRLA technology within EXIDE, having started lead research in this tecnology from the begining of the eighties. This technology was developed for all business areas; firstly for standby, secondly for cycling, and finally for SLI.
  
  During the last eight years, Mr Fernández' main topic of interest has been the development of the lead-acid battery for the application of hybrid vehicles, leading some ALABC funded projects and obtaining outstanding results, especially on charge acceptance.

• Further demonstrations of the flooded-type UltraBattery under micro-HEV duty

  Jun Furukawa
  The Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd.

  There is growing concern over global warming and the limited supply of fossil fuels. As a result, there is a strong push for automobiles with reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and improved fuel economy. In Europe, for example, various governments demand automakers to decrease CO2 emissions from the present value of about 160 g for every 1 km driven to 130 g by 2015, and this is expected to decrease further to 95 g per km by 2020. Likewise, the Japanese government requires automakers to improve fuel economy from the present value of 13.6 to 16.8 km per L by 2015. With such requirements, micro-hybrid electric vehicles (micro-HEVs) with new features that include idling-stop and regenerative braking in addition to alternator control will become the main stream in the near future. Similar to the conventional automobile, the micro-HEV has only one 12-V lead–acid starter battery. Nevertheless, there are great differences in the service conditions of the battery between these two vehicles.
  
  The 12-V UltraBatteryTM is a hybrid energy storage device that combines a lead–acid battery with a supercapacitor. It has excellent high-rate, partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC) durability. At the 11th European Lead Battery Conference in Warsaw, Poland, we reported the performance of the flooded design of UltraBatteryTM for micro-HEV applications. In this presentation, the cycling performance of the UltraBatteryTM will be discussed since the unit is expected to be suitable for micro-HEVs given its excellent dynamic charge acceptability compared with the state-of-the-art lead–acid counterpart.
  

  Biography: Jun Furukawa joined the Furukawa Battery Company in 1980. From 1985 to 1998, he was involved in R & D for the Ni-Cd battery and the Ni-MH battery for mobile phone and satellite applications. Since 1999, he has been responsible for R & D of the Lead-acid battery for automotive and industrial applications, and from 2003 he has been project manager of the Ultra Battery. He holds around one hundred patents in his R & D areas. In 2009, he won the Technical Development Award of the Electrochemical Society of Japan for “Development of the Ultra Battery”. He is currently general manager of the R & D department 1. He is a member of the Electrochemical Society of USA.

• Price Risk Hedging for Lead Acid Battery Producers - One Step Beyond the Basics.

  Rick Holmes
  Mitsui Bussan Commodities (Aust)

  This presentation will describe the London Metal Exchange, the way it works and metal price determination.
  
  It will try to identify where the Battery Maker has most price risk, and how to use hedging to cover these risks.
  
  Finally it will mention a few essentials in setting up hedging departments.
  
  

  Biography: Rick Holmes has worked for Mitsui for 13 years. He runs the Sydney office of Mitsui Bussan Commodities Limited, an Associate Broker Clearing Member of the LME.
  
  He worked for Rio Tinto in their Copper mines and later for their Aluminium division in Trading Physical and Futures non ferrous metals.
  
  From Rio he moved to Alcoa where he was the Trading Manager in Asia before moving to Knoxville and again trading Futures and Physical Aluminium. He then joined Mitsui & Co. He is trained as an Economist and an Industrial Engineer.
  

• Powering Indian Rural Citizen Service Centres through Solar Photovoltaic Systems

  Shashikant Joshi
  Green Vision Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore INDIA

  Indian rural development is progressing following the advent of information technology. The Government of India’s e-Governance programme is one such example where citizens in rural areas can be served. Citizen Service Centres (CSCs) have been planned to provide various common services together with tele-medicine, meteorological reports, and even news of commodity prices and their stocks. There is even a move to include disaster management information at CSCs.
  
  Solar photovoltaic systems have been considered as power supplies for CSCs. The daily power requirement is about 1 KW, with 3 days of autonomy. The system is comprised of 1 KW peak solar panels with multi crystalline silicon cells, a maximum power-point tracking type of charge controller with a high efficiency inverter, and set of tubular-plate lead–acid tubular batteries. Solar power generation and demand/usage at the CSC are remotely monitored. On 24/7 basis, information is collected and stored on a central server where the service provider can access information and monitor revenue generation for maintaining the CSC.
  
  The components and performance of the solar photovoltaic system are discussed in this presentation.
  
  
  

  Biography: Joshi has 25 years in the storage battery industry starting with R & D programmes on quality of materials, processes and value engineering with thirty research papers and presentations. He has also been working with European, Japanese and Chinese companies on technology transfers to Indian companies on Lead acid, Nickel-cadmium and Nickel-iron secondary batteries.
  
  For the last four years Joshi has worked as a consultant to Indian and overseas companies on various aspects of battery and related electronics. He has developed and commercialized pulse charge and MPPT type charge controllers. His current assignment is with Green Vision Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore India.
  
  Joshi has a basic degree in Analytical chemistry and electrochemistry and a Ph.D. from University of Mumbai. He went on to Germany and Switzerland for post doctoral work on corrosion, clean room analysis, modeling of battery electrodes and material characterization.

• Process and Battery Improvements through Use of Tetrabasic Lead Sulfate Seed Crystals

  Ian Klein
  PENOX GmbH

  Additives can not only improve the performance of lead–acid batteries but also deliver some advantages for the production process of batteries. The recent increasing demand for batteries with improved depth-of-discharge performance is forcing the battery manufacturers to examine the characteristics of their active materials.
  
  PENOX GmbH has found that cured active materials with tetrabasic lead sulfate (4BS) crystals of small size can improve lead–acid batteries in terms of deep-discharge and life-time performance. The Company’s additive TBLS+® helps to adjust the size of 4BS crystals size so that the active material meets the specific demands of the battery application.
  
  In addition to effecting improvements in battery performance, 4BS is able to speed up plate production and will not create energy and process time barriers during the formation of batteries. With the experience obtained from more than 50 industrial tests, PENOX GmbH can now demonstrate how to speed up production through use of TBLS+® as a seeding material for active materials.
  
  

  Biography: Ian has been working since 1999 for PENOX GmbH as Lab and Quality Manager. He is also involved in all material related R&D activities of PENOX. in addition to technical support for customers he provides technical assistance for paste production, curing and formation processes to the battery industry. Before joining PENOX Ian worked for more then 20 years in the pigment, zinc and zinc oxide industries as a Lab-Manager and Researcher. Ian holds a Master's degree in environmental science.

• Global Lead Industry Dynamics - Impact on Battery Industry in view of increasing volatilities

  Murali Krishna
  TransGraph Consulting Pvt Ltd

  In the changed global economic dynamics, with increasing volatility and uncertainty, the traditional approach to forecasting the prices seem to be insufficient. The approach of Mapping the Market Thought (MTMT) is a unique methodology adopted by TransGraph Consulting combining the Fundamental, Economic, Investment Money flow, Technical and Econometric analysis to forecast the direction and price levels.
  
  The Presentation covers the global demand supply of lead, the cost of production, international trade in Lead and major markets for lead including China and India. The presentation emphasizes on the Battery Industry dynamics, SLI (Automobile Industry) and stationary (Infrastructure) Batteries, increasing raw material cost for Battery manufacturers and Policies that procurement managers need to adopt in order to cope up with the vagaries of lead price volatilities and effectively manage the inherent price risk. On the supply side it extends its scope to the secondary lead production capacities, major hurdles going ahead and the impact assessment. The outlook on global economy and other price influencing factors form part of the paper. The paper concludes with the forecast of Global Battery industry growth in long term, global lead demand and supply balance sheet for coming 2-3 years, major themes that are going to drive the lead prices in future along with an extensive technical analysis providing the most probable outlook on lead prices.
  

  Biography: Profile of Mr. Murali Krishna
  Current Role: CEO – Consulting Business
  Mr. Murali Krishna heads the consulting business of TransGraph, leading Delivery and
  Marketing teams. His unique experience of working with start-ups, small and large
  companies as well, helping TransGraph in scaling up the Consulting and Research
  businesses. His un-paralleled intelligence on emerging trends in financial and
  commodity markets add value in achieving the company’s vision.
  Education:
  MBA in Finance from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
  Work Experience:
  A thorough commodity professional with over 13 years of experience in Commodity
  Market analysis and Risk Management practices. He has worked with large FMCG
  companies, Private and Foreign banks, managing commodity Research, and Consulting
  and Risk Management practices. He has been regular speaker in many commodity
  conferences / seminars across the globe on market trends and emerging dynamics in
  commodity markets.
  
  Played a lead role in product development and support at Calypso Technology
  
  Conceptualized and implemented the Risk Management function at ITC – IBD
  
  Had varied experience in managing the big teams at Oriental Bank of Commerce
  and National Stock Exchange
  Achievements
  
  Instrumental in re-building teams for next level growth in TransGraph.
  
  Was instrumental in increasing the functionality of commodity module in
  Calypso’s cross asset font to back software.
  
  Had set-up hedge desk and implemented Risk Management in short span of 4
  months and substantially mitigated the market risk at ITC – IBD
  
  Brought operational Risk under control by designing and implementing
  operational guidelines for Capital markets operations of Global Trust Bank.
  
  Was instrumental in preparing contract specs for various commodity future
  contracts in Indi

• Inverters: From Today's Challenge to Tomorrow's Opportunities

  Carole Laine
  Amer-Sil

  In a few short years, inverter systems have carved out an important place in Indian society. The inverter is also the first consumer application for industrial batteries. In this short period, the typical inverter battery has evolved from the automotive type to the industrial design, i.e., from flooded flat-plate to absorptive glass-mat valve-regulated or tubular-plate batteries, to best withstand the special duty cycles. The evolution will not stop here and further modifications will be made.
  
  The presentation will explain why this evolution happened, what the remaining challenges are, and what the future holds. Focus will centre on separators and gauntlets produced by Amer-Sil that are considered to be suitable for gaining improvements in battery performance.
  

  Biography: Dr Carole Lainé is engineer from the European engineering school in Chemistry Polymer and Materials of Strasbourg and got her PhD in composite materials and polymers from the University of Lyon. Dr Carole Lainé has a professional experience of 6 years in technical textile and especially in PVC coating formulation and rheology. Dr Carole Lainé works for Amer-Sil since 2009 as R&D Manager.

• UltraBatteryTM for electric bike/scooter, utility and wind-energy applications

  Lan Lam
  CSIRO Energy Technology

  The initial performance of the 2-V UltraBatteryTM in terms of capacity and power is evaluated according to the US FreedomCar Battery Test Manual (DOE/ID-11069, October 2003). The cycling performance of the UltraBatteryTM is evaluated using:
  (i) the Simplified Urban Driving Schedule (SFUDS) profile for electric bike/scooter applications
  (ii) the profile developed by Sandia Laboratory, USA, for utility applications
  (iii) a simplified profile developed in the Furukawa and the CSIRO laboratories for wind-energy applications.
  For comparison 2-V conventional batteries are subjected to the same tests.
  
  The results show that both the power and the cycle performance of the 2-V UltraBatteryTM improve with reduction of plate thickness. Furthermore, the UltraBatteryTM gives slightly higher power and much longer cycleability in comparison with conventional batteries. These findings will be discussed in detail.
  

  Biography: Dr Lam obtained his Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering degrees at Yokohama National University, and his Doctor of Engineering degree at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He joined CSIRO in 1988 and is now a Project Manager in the Energy storage Group of the CSIRO Energy Technology. Since 1988, he has been the research leader of many projects that have been well sponsored by either domestic or international companies/research organizations with the aims to advance the leadacid batteries for automotive, industrial, electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle applications. Recently, he has developed a hybrid lead-acid and supercapacitor storage device, known as ‘UltraBattery’. This type of battery has demonstrated successfully in the Honda Insight HEV and is currently evaluated under wind-energy applications.

• 3BS or 4BS? A Critical Analysis of Product and Process Requirements

  Douglas LAMBERT
  Battery Technology Services

  The fundamental chemistry and production process parameters required for the formation of basic lead sulfates; such as tribasic lead sulfate (3PbO.PbSO4.H2O) or ‘3BS’, and tetrabasic lead sulfate (4PbO.PbSO4) or ‘4BS’ in lead–acid battery pastes and cured plates; are well documented. Under real-life plant operating conditions, however, the constraints of time, process capability and staff skill often have a disastrous effect on the outcome of the chosen plate processing and curing pathway and result in waste (e.g., an unwanted and incorrectly prepared plate, unacceptable finished battery performance, and increased cost).
  
  This presentation reviews the current scientific and technological knowledge associated with the production of basic lead sulfates and summarizes the importance of their correct selection and application in lead–acid battery plates. Results of a detailed investigation into the effects of varying the paste-mixing parameters, plate-pasting conditions and the subsequent curing processes on the cured plate and the consequential effects of unwanted 3BS and/or 4BS on the plate/battery formation process and finished battery quality are presented. Critical process considerations and control parameters are identified to ensure effective manufacture of the optimum plate for the desired battery application.
  

  Biography: Douglas (‘Doug’) W.H. LAMBERT - B.Sc (Hons) Applied Chemistry – University of Portsmouth (1975)
  
  Doug has over 30 years experience in the battery industry, working for both battery manufacturers and battery manufacturing equipment suppliers. He was Managing Director of Associated Battery Manufacturers (East Africa) Limited, and Chloride Exide (Kenya) Limited, from 1996 to 1999, General Manager of WIRTZ Manufacturing Co. Inc. (Europe) Limited, from 1990 to 1996 and Technical and Quality Director of CBS Batteries Limited, from 1987 to 1990.
  
  Doug is the author, and joint author, of more than 20 technical papers, which have been presented to major international battery conferences around the world, and published in associated scientific, and trade journals. He was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Power Sources, from 1992-2002.
  
  Since May 1999, Doug has been a self-employed, freelance Lead-Acid Battery Technologist and Consultant specialising in Strategic Business Planning; Management Systems (Quality Assurance, TQM, LEAN Manufacturing); Staff Training and Coaching; Product Design and optimisation, Technical Audits, Process and Operations Analyst.

• Development of an Advanced Ceramic Battery

  ANDREW LOYNS
  ATRAVERDA LIMITED

  Lead–acid batteries have been used successfully for well over 100 years in a wide-range of applications and have thereby grown into a multi-billion dollar business. The price advantage compared with nickel and lithium systems is significant and the recycling infrastructure is well established. The primary disadvantage is weight and researchers have sought to improve performance by both minimizing the use of inactive lead in the battery and finding a material that will allow a bipolar construction.
  
  
  Atraverda has developed a component, based on a composite-laminate form of the Ebonex® material, which allows the production of bipolar lead–acid batteries. Ebonex® is the registered trade name of a range of titanium sub-oxide ceramic materials, typically Ti4O7 and Ti5O9, that combine electrical conductivity with high corrosion and oxidation resistance.
  
  Details of the structure of the composite and battery construction techniques are discussed. In addition, performance data obtained by Atraverda are presented and compared with conventional designs. The characteristics of both conventional monopolar and bipolar batteries are reviewed. The major advantage centres on the ease of directly constructing 24, 36 or 48 V units which may be connected in parallel to provide high capacity modules. The results indicate that the use of Ebonex® ceramic composite material as a bipolar substrate will provide lightweight and durable high-voltage lead–acid batteries for a wide range of applications.
  

  Biography: Andrew has been with Atraverda Limited for 9 years having previously spent 8 years working for the Yuasa Corporation and Hawker Batteries Group. He held several positions at Hawker including Technical Director for thin plate pure lead batteries at Hawker Energy Products. Andrew raised the initial capital for Atraverda to develop its bipolar battery and is currently the company’s Chief Business Development Officer. Andrew received his Chemistry degree and Doctorate in Electrochemistry from Bristol University in the United Kingdom.

• Requirements of a Main Storage Battery in a Modern Conventional Submarine

  Nick Lukacs
  Pacific Marine Batteries, Adelaide, Australia

  The flooded lead–acid battery has been used as the Main Storage Battery (MSB) in diesel-electric submarines for the past 120 years but, is it’s time coming to an end? With the maturation of air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems and the steady improvements of lithium-ion technologies, many companies are beginning to invest in the re-design of conventional submarines. Where does this leave the humble lead–acid cell?
  Submarines are designed over a period of 15–20 years with an expected service life of over 30 years. The design of a conventional submarine is a complex systems-engineering task, where each component has a great effect on the rest of the system. The MSB directly integrates to the electrical system but also has a significant impact on habitability, safety, weight, volume and operational performance of the submarine. To ensure successful delivery of such a complicated system, key technology decisions must be made early in the design phase, up to 15 years before the boats are even scheduled to enter the water.
  The battery designer must become aware of the submarine requirements early in these design phases. New technologies offer improved operational capability and thus the performance characteristics once required from the lead–acid cell will have to change. Will the cell adapt to meet this new range of requirements or will submarine designers select alternative technologies?
  

  Biography: Nick holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) with Honours from the University of Adelaide.
  
  He began working with Pacific Marine Batteries in 2007 through their Undergraduate program and has since become a Project Engineer, working on Collins support projects, including safety upgrades and in service battery analysis. Recently he has been working with the Australian Dept of Defence to understand the requirements for a new class of submarines and to plan how present and future battery technologies may be incorporated.
  

• Improvement of Lead–Acid Battery Performance by Nano-carbons

  Venkateswarlu Manne
  Amararaja Batteries Limited, Tirupathi - 517520, (A.P) India

  The lead–acid battery is a versatile energy-storage technology and is still the best choice for both medium- and large-scale industrial and automotive applications, despite of its relatively low specific energy (Wh kg-1). Most of the newer applications, such as renewable energy storage, power control, electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), demand relatively simple battery technology that is characterized by higher energy and higher power, rapid charging, longer life, and greater reliability with enhanced safety. To meet the increasing demands, the incorporation of nano-carbons of high surface-area in the negative expander has resulted in significant improvement in electrical performance. Consequently, research efforts have focused on further exploration of the benefits of nano-carbons and there have been reports of remarkable improvements in charge-acceptance, high-rate capability at partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC), capacity, and life.
  This presentation describes an investigation of the impact of different grades of nano-carbons on the performance of negative plates in 5-Ah valve-regulated lead–acid batteries. The study incorporates three different grades of nano-carbons that cover wide range of surface area from 80 to 2000 m2 g-1. Preliminary data indicate that some of the nano-carbons exert a beneficial effect on the battery parameters. A possible mechanism for these improvements has been formulated and will be discussed.
  
  

  Biography: Venkateswarlu Manne, Ph.D, has fifteen years of research experience. He joined the Amararaja group in 2009 heading the Fundamental, Analytical and Caliberation Labs. His main research interest is to develop new (nano) materials of Electrolytes and Electrodes, with different grades of carbons, to improve the Capacity, HRD & life of the Lead acid & Li-ion batteries for stationary and auto/electric vehcile applciations. Prior to joining Amararaja, Dr.Venkateswarlu worked with Electrotherm, HBL Power Systems, & SRM Easwari Engineering College in India and NTUST, Taiwan. He published 50 articles in journals and contributed a book chapter in the “Packaging Nanotechnology” published by ASP. He is a member of the Board of Studies of the M.Tech (Nano-Sci. & Tech.) of Pondicherry Central University and also a life member of the Society for Advancement of Electrochemical Science & Technology (SAEST).
  
  
  

• Electrochemical Behaviour of Carbon Materials in the Lead–Acid System

  Matthew Maroon
  EnerG2, Inc.

  Emerging automotive, power back-up and renewable energy applications are driving the demand for increased performance from lead–acid battery technology. The industry has responded rapidly to this challenge by adopting advanced cell designs and seeking improvements to the chemistry. The latter has centred on the inclusion of carbon to the negative active-material. Carbon can act to increase the power performance, charge-acceptance, partial state-of-charge cycle-life and sulfation resistance of lead–acid batteries under many types of duty cycle. Despite these advances, no unifying theory has been formulated for the mechanism of carbon’s activity in the lead–acid system. EnerG2 is working to augment research done by the lead–acid industry by taking a step back and performing fundamental studies on carbon-only electrodes to understand the electrochemical behaviour of pure carbon in sulfuric acid.
  
  This paper will present data obtained from gassing studies on electrodes comprised of various carbon materials (graphite, carbon black, EnerG2 carbon) when held at a potential that simulates charging of the negative plate. The knowledge so gained will be used to tailor carbon materials for optimum performance and minimum side-reactions. Such fundamental research and development will allow EnerG2 to synthesize a family of carbon materials with extraordinarily high specific capacitance while maintaining a low deleterious hydrogen gassing. It is expected that the advanced materials will help to enhance the performance of lead–acid batteries to meet the strenuous duty cycles of advanced vehicle drive-trains and power back-up applications.
  

  Biography: Matthew Maroon holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bradley University and has nearly a decade of experience in energy storage, especially with respect to advanced lead–acid battery design and electrochemistry.
  
  Following a period working at Firefly Energy, he is now the Business Development Manager for EnerG2.

• Lead ― Speculation or Fundamental Revaluation?

  Helen Matthews
  Brook Hunt

  Over the past couple of years, the lead price has repeatedly outperformed those of other base metals, notably zinc and aluminium. Although some of this increase can be attributed to the interest of investors in the base metals complex as a whole, lead is also enjoying its own revival. So:
  • What accounts for the renewed popularity and attractiveness of this once much-maligned metal?
  • What are the underlying reasons for the price increases and how long might they continue?
  • Are the price increases driven by fundamental or non- fundamental events?
  
  To answer these questions, it is necessary to consider the fundamental outlook for lead. This includes identifying the key drivers for the growth in lead demand and the regions where this growth is likely to occur. China’s ongoing dominance in the global lead market will be discussed, as will the growth prospects for other emerging economies such as India. The security of primary and secondary lead sources, growth in recycling rates and increasing environmental legislation will also be considered, along with structural issues facing the industry. The lead price outlook for the next year and into the future will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on the impact for lead–acid battery manufacturers.
  

  Biography: Helen Matthews is a senior metals market analyst specialising in lead for UK-based mining and metal industry consultants Brook Hunt. Before joining Brook Hunt in 2003, Helen was an editor for the Mining Journal in London, having worked previously for the company as a gold mining industry analyst. Prior to this she worked as an industry consultant specialising in mine project cash flow analysis.
  Helen holds a degree in Geology plus a Masters degree in Mineral Project Appraisal from The Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London.
  

• High-Performance Valve-regulated Lead–acid Batteries for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

  Geoffrey May
  FOCUS Consulting

  Lead–acid batteries are the most effective power sources for automotive engine starting and, more recently, have become established as the preferred choice for soft hybrids, i.e., for the stop–start or idle–stop systems that are being offered for a wide variety of vehicles in order to comply with emission requirements. This presentation describes the development of advanced lead–acid batteries with substantially improve performance. The units can be successfully deployed for mild-hybrid applications and offer an effective alternative to nickel–metal-hydride or lithium-ion batteries.
  
  The limitations of performance of lead–acid batteries operated in a partial state-of-charge may be overcome by three key design changes:
  
  (i) by the use of valve-regulated rather than flooded batteries;
  (ii) by the addition of special conductive carbon materials to the negative active- material;
  (iii) by the employment of grid designs and cell constructions to optimize both current collection and utilization of active materials in the cell.
  
  The development and testing of these technologies in small cells is discussed for both shallow discharge cycling and simulated hybrid electric vehicle duty cycles, excellent cycle lives have been obtained. The performance of a battery pack of fifty-six 6-Ah batteries, connected in series, is now being evaluated in a 2010 Honda Insight. The pack provides an energy storage capability of 675 Wh and an equivalent performance by virtue of high volumetric energy density. The design of the battery will be described and its performance compared with that of the OEM nickel–metal-hydride battery.
  

  Biography: Geoffrey May has been in the battery industry for many years. He is a chartered engineer and obtained both his first and second degrees from the University of Cambridge. He was Group Director of Technology for Hawker Batteries/BTR Power Systems (now EnerSys) from 1991 to 2000. He joined FIAMM as Chief Technology Officer in 2000 and in 2003 he set up his own Consulting Business - FOCUS Consulting - which provides technical and business development services to a wide range of companies.

• Recent developments in organic expanders

  Tim McNally
  Borregaard LignoTech

  It is well known that organic expanders exert significant influence on lead-acid battery performance in areas such as capacity, cold cranking, and charge acceptance. The study to be presented benchmarks the commercial expanders “Vanisperse HT-1” and “Vanisperse A” relative to blank controls and postulates possible mechanisms to explain these improvements based on prior research and these recent findings. Two new organic expanders were introduced in the study, which demonstrated further improvements in cold crank, capacity and battery life.

  Biography: Tim McNally is a Senior Research Associate with Borregaard LignoTech. He is the company's world-wide Technical Application Manager for organic expanders in lead-acid batteries. Tim has been with Borregaard LignoTech for 14 years and has 24 years experience in the field.

• Advanced VRLA (Gel) Battery Design with Wireless Battery Management - New Opportunities for Industrial Battery Operation

  K-D Merz
  Abertax Technologies

  As a consequence of battery requirements in material handling and standby applications, a new modular battery has been researched, designed and developed which incorporates the latest state-of–the-art technologies. With their novel design Abertax technologies have integrated their 25 years experience in chemical, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering expertise, into the ultimate product which meets today’s expectations in providing a quality battery service.
  
  This patented concept combines the latest developments in gel technology with a novel box design which optimizes the space and simplifies the logistics required for providing the ideal battery pack. Apart from this, the box lid design has the necessary space for the integration of a battery monitoring system which provides essential data to ensure a quality service. The monitoring system can transmit the data wirelessly and Abertax offers an online monitoring service which provides the customer or service provider with the essential battery data. This results, in a complete “Energy System” which fulfills today´s demand of all industrial battery applications and has major advantages to today´s standard products in manufacturing and field operation.
  
  The paper will introduce the major design features of this new battery generation and present the performance data. The latest developments of the online battery monitoring system will also be discussed. The main technical and operational advantages, as well as the new business opportunities, will be highlighted for both the Motive Power and Network Power applications.

  Biography: K-D graduated in chemical engineering at Tech. College in Duesseldorf in 1980. He worked in Research and Development at Sonnenschein Batteries for 7 years before he moved to Application Engineering. From 1993 to 1999 K-D was Marketing and Product Manager for EV and HEV Applications. From 2000 to 2007 he was Director of Marketing for Motive Power Products for Exide Technologies.
  Since 2008 K-D decided has been self employed working on battery technology and battery applications, sustainable energy generation and EV and HEV technology. He consults to several battery companies in Europe, Asia and USA on VRLA battery technology, works on systems integration of batteries and accessories for complete energy solutions for customers in the material handling industry and cooperated with several companies on the development of new products, components and solutions for the battery and energy industry.
  

• Recent Development and Applications of Carbon-enhanced Lead-acid Batteries

  Boris Monahov
  ILZRO - ALABC

  A new generation of carbon-enhanced valve regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries denoted as LC technology has been developed by the ALABC and its members. The UltraBattery was the first commercially available product. Other batteries like the Pb-C battery, those with 3D structured carbon (reticulated vitreous carbon, carbon foam and carbon honeycomb) and with dual tab or bipolar grids demonstrating excellent performance on high recharge rate cycling at partial state of charge are under continuing development. VRLA batteries with carbon additives to the negative paste produced by the existing factory equipment are also under test.
  Commercially available carbon powders added solely or in specific combinations to the negative active material (NAM) increase capacity, power, charge acceptance, cycle life. The effect depends on carbon type, amount and microstructure. The carbon surface can be modified so that its affinity to H2SO4 and Pb is changed. Carbon particles can be incorporated in the skeleton structure of NAM or bound to the surface of Pb crystals. Their double layer capacity can improve high rate charge acceptance. Carbon particles can form microelectrodes polarized in parallel to Pb crystals. The voltammetry of carbon electrodes in H2SO4 solution demonstrates that carbon in the negative plate can be involved in electrochemical processes and influence hydrogen evolution.
  The UltraBatteries have been successfully demonstrated on the road. Four more ALABC projects are ongoing. LC batteries will be used in a super micro hybrid vehicle offering as much carbon emission reduction as in hybrid vehicles but for a fraction of the hybrid costs.

  Biography: Boris gained his Ph.D. in electrochemistry from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1994 and has undertaken Post Doctorate research. He also holds a Master of Science in Solid State Physics.
  He is currently employed at ALABC, NC, USA, as the Program Manager, having previously held positions at Firefly Energy Inc and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  He has had 39 articles published in international Electrochemical Journals with 450 citations found and 3 patents pending
  

• B-LAB: Changing the Game for Lead Acid

  Selwyn Mould
  AIC B-LAB Company

  For many years various researchers have investigated an alternative “Bipolar” architecture for lead acid batteries which could offer fundamental and significant performance, cost and life advantages over conventional monopolar designs. However many challenges, including cost and technical aspects, have limited the practical applications of this bipolar architecture.
  
  AIC and East Penn Manufacturing have been collaborating on a novel approach to Bipolar Lead Acid Batteries (B-LAB). This paper will present an advanced B-LAB, which has been extensively validated and shown to deliver the benefits this battery offers - namely improved energy density, longer cycle life and lower manufacturing cost. Moreover, this technology leverages existing lead acid production and recycling infrastructure.
  
  The performance and manufacturing economics of BLAB are examined and compared to Li-ion for stationary and light duty urban EV’s.
  

  Biography: Selwyn is CEO of AIC’s advanced battery business venture, ABC. He has extensive experience in program management, complex supply chains and advanced manufacturing in Technology and Engineering companies. He started his career working for Chloride in the UK in the 1980’s, where he rose to be a Production Manager in the Motive Power battery division. From there he moved into management consulting, first with Touche Ross and then with Gemini Consulting.
  
  In 1996 he joined Pilkington, where he was Head of European Logistics and then moved to Group Lotus to lead the Supply Chain function for Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. At Lotus, Selwyn was responsible for negotiating supply agreements with Toyota and BMW and for the supply chain for Lotus building the Tesla roadster. Selwyn joined AIC in 2007.
  
  He has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

• EUROBAT’s Contribution to European Sustainable Mobility

  Mario Natalucci
  FAAM SpA - Battery and Electric Vehicle

  This presentation commences with a description of EUROBAT, its tasks, and its goals. It is then shown how European institutions are collaborating to achieve the goals of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy that has been formulated and enacted by the European Commission.
  EUROBAT and its members are actively working together on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles travelling on European roads, as well as in other parts of the world. Almost all of the EUROBAT members are Original Equipment Manufacturers and provide products to most of the European vehicle industry. Some of the members are individually part of global corporations and are involved in many activities, for example, the Focus Group on European Electro-Mobility of CEN-CENELEC that is tackling the standardization of road vehicles and associated infrastructures.
  EUROBAT members have very good relationships with each other and they are cooperating with other European manufacturer associations, the European Commission, and public/private technology platforms such as ACEA, ERTRAC, AVERE, and CLEPA. All this involvement is important for initiating and performing the research and development programmes for the best technologies, not only for hybrid vehicles (micro-, mild-, full- and plug-in-) and battery-powered electric vehicles, but also for range extenders and fuel-cell electric vehicles.
  A case study will be presented. This details how a EUROBAT member — the FAAM Group — has been actively working since 1974 to develop storage batteries which have already been employed in sustainable mobility projects and which, in the future, will help to increase sustainable mobility.
  

  Biography: Mario Natalucci, was born in 1964 in Italy. He graduated in Economics and with a Doctorate from the University of Bologna (Italy). Mario has been the Senior Project Manager of the FAAM Group since 2006. He is in charge of the co-ordination and support of corporate R&D and innovation projects. He’s also in charge of relationships with the Eurobat (the European Association of the Battery Manufacturers). Mario is active in the Automotive Battery Committee and up until 2010 he worked for the Research and Technical Development Committee. He has been working for the FAAM Group since 2001: from 2001 to 2006 he has been in charge of the OE Manufacturers markets for lead-acid batteries. From 1999 to 2001 he worked for MAIT of Osimo, Italy where he was in charge of the world markets for their products, mainly drill rigs for foundation works.
  
  Mario is also involved in many activities with his Rotary Club and the Rotary International District no.2090, especially for projects concerning awareness about energy saving and a balanced energy production.
  
  

• A Composite Battery Separator Suitable for High-Speed late enveloping machines

  Gubbi Krishnappa Natesh
  Raman FibreScience Private Limited

  A composite battery separator made with wet-laid technology has been developed for use in high-speed plate enveloping machines. The uniqueness of the separator lies in its material composition that allows its use in configurations with and without ribs and with and without glass mat. The separator is versatile in its design and can be produced in a variety of back-web thicknesses and rib configurations.
  
  The composite battery separator is characterized by high puncture strength, the absence of leachable impurities, and exceptional resistance to electrochemical oxidation even under high battery operating temperatures. There is evidence that the composite separator assists in reducing acid stratification in stationary batteries.
  
  One of the unique features of this separator is that it can be produced with ribs of varying dimensions, designs, spacing and alignment. The spacing of ribs can be varied and they can be in the form of continuous beads, random beads or dots. This potentially allows for substantial savings in material cost.
  
  This presentation highlights the features and advantages that such a wet-laid composite battery separator offers against conventional separators and its added value to battery performance.
  
  
  

  Biography: Mr. G. K. Natesh, heads the Research and Innovation Division of Raman FibreScience Pvt. Limite. He is a polymer engineer with 20 years experience in research. His activities are in the area of emulsion polymers, adhesives, fibre-polymer composites for applications such as electrical insulation, foot wear materials, fluid sealing materials, porous materials for battery separators and special filter media. Mr Natesh has one patent to his credit and is involved in technology transfer to Indian and International companies. He has participated and presented papers in several international conferences and seminars.

• Next-generation Valve-regulated Lead–Acid Battery with Higher Performance and Higher Reliability for Motorcycle Use: Development of GYZ16H Type Battery

  Shin Osaki
  R&D Department, Technical Development Division, GS Yuasa International Ltd.

  A next-generation valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) battery had been developed with a concept of ‘high capacity backed by certain relief and high reliability. The resulting GYZ20L battery was designed for use as an OEM type for large-sized motorcycles and commenced production in August 2008. The GYZ20H version with high cranking performance appeared in February 2010 and was equipped with pre-fixed nut in a new design of terminal to allow multiple connection of wiring cables.
  
  The GYZ16H battery (size the same as that of the existing YTX14 unit) has now been developed with advanced technologies as a next-generation OEM type for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The rated capacity and high-rate discharge capacity are higher than that of existing batteries by 30 and 50%, respectively, with sufficiently high cranking performance even at a low temperature of -25 oC. Good storage performance with a charge recovery rate of 90% is attained after long storage for 2.5 years at 25 oC. Aeration of the filter is assured by a new cover structure, even if muddy water comes into contact with the battery during vehicle running.
  

  Biography: Shin Osaki was born in 1973 in Shiga, Japan. He enrolled at Ehime University in 1993, majored in applied chemistry, and joined YUASA in 1999.
  He has 13 years of experience in the development of lead-acid batteries. Shin is presently a member of the R&D Department, Technical Development Division, GS Yuasa International Ltd.

• Development of Thin-plate, Pure Lead, Valve-regulated Lead–Acid Batteries for Telecommunications Applications in Challenging Environments

  SHAWN PENG
  Leoch International Technology Ltd

  A new range of thin-plate, pure lead, valve-regulated lead–acid (VRLA) batteries has been developed for use in environments in which temperature conditions and power quality impose limitations on the service-life of conventional batteries. These batteries employ punched grids with a special alloy containing a carefully balanced amount of tin. This element prevents the formation of insulating layers at the grid|active-material interface under conditions of deep discharge. The adoption of punched grids permits the use of thinner plates than in conventional VRLA batteries and this, in turn, leads to enhanced performance in terms of discharge behaviour and charge-acceptance. The battery design provides a solution to the more onerous demands for decentralized power with extremes of temperature, cyclic requirements and intermittent deep-discharges that are increasingly found in telecommunications applications. The construction and technical performance of the battery will be described and examples of successful deployment will be outlined.

  Biography: Mr. Shawn Peng is the Vice President of Leoch International Technology Ltd. He is in charge of new product development and external technical exchange. Mr. Peng graduated from China Nankai University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in physics and electronics and obtained a master’s degree in natural science from Louisiana State University in 2004. After graduation, he remained at Louisiana State University as an assistant lecturer and researcher until 2006. Mr. Peng joined Leoch Group in 2006 as an engineer and was promoted to his current position in 2010.

• Appropriate Technology for Curing Lead–Acid Battery Plates for Small- and Medium-scale Manufacturers

  C.S RAMANATHAN
  BATTERY CONSULTANT

  CCuring of pasted plates is a critical step in the manufacture of lead–acid batteries. The porosity, mechanical strength, electrical performance and life of the plates are largely determined during the curing process.
  
  Small- and medium-scale battery manufacturers in India do not always possess appropriate equipment and process know-how for the correct curing of plates. Methods of achieving high relative humidity and temperature using rudimentary equipment are discussed. Such facilities have been successfully installed in battery manufacturing plants in some parts of India. Maintaining the moisture content in the paste at the required level, the use of tetrabasic lead sulfate seed crystals, the incorporation of other additives and a suitable curing algorithm all serve to enhance plate quality. A drop test on the shop floor for checking adhesion and cohesion of the paste assesses the effectiveness of curing. Curing of tubular plates (not usually practised) after filling and pickling of plates produces a corrosion layer that is essential for good adhesion of the positive active-material to the spine.
  
  

  Biography: C.S.Ramanathan holds a Master’s Degree in Electrochemistry and a Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian institute of Science, Bangalore. He spent two years in related industrial units in France . Later as head of R&D at AMCO Batteries Ltd, he developed batteries for domestic and export markets. After retiring, he is working as a consultant to the industry and helps upgrade the technology on the shop floor. In 2010, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Indian Lead Zinc Development Association( ILZDA) and the Battery Society of India.

• Advantages of Premium Pasting Paper vs. Commidity Product

  Dominik Roster
  Glatfelter Gernsbach GmbH & Co. KG

  Glatfelter is a world leader in specialty papers and engineered products. Over the years Glatfelter CFBU has developed a range of long-fiber products for the electrical market (batteries and capacitors). Tailor-made products are specially designed to enhance customer’s manufacturing processes and products.
  Special DYNAGRID pasting papers made on multi-layer inclined-wire paper machine are today widely used by global leaders in the battery manufacturing industry. The unique inclined-wire technology enables DYNAGRID pasting paper to provide distinct advantages like high wet strength and rough surface to ease the anchorage of drying paste. For the lead-acid battery manufacturer this reduces the plate rejection rate and reduces ultimately manufacturing cost.
  

  Biography: Dominik Roster has been with Glatfelter Company since October 2000 as Sales & Product Line Manager - Electrical Nonwovens of the Composite Fibers Business Unit located in Gernsbach, Germany. He is responsible for global Sales & Marketing efforts in battery pasting & electrical capacitor markets, and is developing the new wet-laid-nonwoven portfolio.
  
  Before his current role Dominik served several sales roles within Technical Specialties department at Glatfelter CFBU including responsibility for product launches, business development projects, and became a subject matter expert in wet-laid nonwovens.
  
  Dominik Roster has a degree in business economics (Diplom-Betriebswirt - BA) from the Duale Hochschule Baden-Wuerttemberg of Karlsruhe, Germany in 2003.
  

• Environmental and Occupational Health Issues Challenging Chinese Lead-acid Battery Industry

  Yuehong Shu
  South China Normal University

  Environmental and occupational health issues associated with the Chinese lead–acid battery industry have been investigated. The report shows that roughly 1460 lead–acid battery plants operate legally with permits from the government, but it is estimated that more than 500 plants operate without permits. Due to the serious environmental pollution problems and occupational health issues caused by these plants, the lead–acid battery industry is giving rise to much environmental concern in China. One major issue is the exposure of the plant workers and local residents around the plants to lead, with more and more cases reported during the past five years.
  
  Due to the scale and magnitude of the above environmental problems, the Chinese government is taking serious action to regulate the industry. Consequently, the industry is facing an uncertain future in China. This presentation discusses potential strategies and the means to achieve sustainable development of the lead–acid battery industry. The importance of national policies, legislation, supervision and control in regulating the industry is fully explored.
  

  Biography: Yuehong Shu received her Ph.D. degree (2006) in environment science at Sun Yat-sen University in the Research Group of Professor Jia Xiaoshan, working on the control of persistent pollutants. She has been an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental & Chemistry, South China Normal University since November 2010. Her current research interests focus on the environmental pollution control and occupational health protection, and cleaner production for lead-acid battery industry.

• A logical path towards sustainability:

  A. Srinivas
  Mahindra & Mahindra

  Strong economic growth in India has been propelling the vehicle population, which in turn increasing the cumulative fuel consumption and the release of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. This adversely affects the environment leading to the poor standard of living, particularly in the major cities. The social responsibility is on the automotive manufactures and the component suppliers to address these issues by introducing eco-friendly vehicles in a cost effective way. Though hybrid vehicles are promising as an immediate stop gap arrangement to mitigate the pollution effects, considerable challenges are to be addressed before realizing significant market penetration. This paper presents an overview of prevailing traffic and environmental conditions, potential solutions along with challenges, and a logical path towards sustainable mobility solutions for India. This paper also addresses a cost effective micro-hybrid solution which has been successfully launched in India. The development of lead-acid batteries to support these vehicles will also be discussed.
  
  

  Biography: Mr. Srinivas is currently Vice President - Research and Development, Mahindra & Mahindra and responsible for the electrical & electronics division of both Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors. He obtained his M.S in Automotive Electronics degree from Coventry University and has 23 years of work experience.

• Advanced Lead–acid Battery for High-power Applications

  Tracy Strickland
  Exide Technologies

  Exide Technologies has spent the past several years developing advanced lead–acid technology for high-power applications. The technology is intended to compete against nickel-based batteries for use in mild-hybrid vehicles, which typically require high-power pulses without a need for deep discharges or great energy storage capability. Though intended for civilian consumers, the technology is applicable for any duty in which a high specific power and low cost are desirable. The specific power of present prototypes reaches 1 kW kg-1 on both charge and discharge, and is this is achieved through advances in material and process technology.
  The current prototype ― designated as Generation III following two previous iterations ― is a single spirally-wound lead–acid cell. The single cell building block allows for voltage and packaging flexibility that is unavailable to most prismatic-shaped 6-/12-V modules. The cell combines absorptive glass mat separators with extremely thin carbon-enhanced electrodes for minimal internal resistance. This low resistance translates into a slow rate of heat generation during application and thereby makes simple air cooling systems sufficient in most cases.
  The ideal application for the advanced lead–acid cell is a weight dependent system demanding state-of-charge (SoC) cycling with high-power pulses throughout. Life testing is currently underway and the cell is projected to last +5 years in such an application.
  

  Biography: Tracy Strickland, MSME, P.E., Design Team Leader, Advanced Batteries, Global Research and Development, Exide Technologies, Milton, GA, USA
  
  Ms. Strickland has 20 years of experience in advanced lead acid batteries for electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle applications. While at Delco Remy, General Motors, she lead a team of engineers to design high voltage lead acid battery packs and patented control strategies for several major OE customers. Presently at Exide Technologies, a world leader in lead acid battery manufacturing, recycling, and stored energy solutions, she is leading the global Advanced Battery Development group and is concentrating on developing the next generation high power density lead acid battery for application in the emerging hybrid electric vehicle market.
  

• Environmental Aspects and Role of Plastics and Fibreglass-reinforced Plastics in battery manufacturing

  Chirag Thakkar
  JR Fibreglass Industries Pvt. Ltd.

  As we march ahead in the new century, a sense of concern for the environment has been growing among us. The manufacturing of batteries is a serious source of air pollution. Sulfuric acid mist and lead oxide are major pollutants in battery manufacturing industry. Sulfuric Acid is very corrosive and harmful to the environment and is classified as a carcinogen. Consequently, many battery manufacturing companies have installed equipment for air pollution control. Thermoplastics (e.g., polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride) and fiberglass-reinforced plastics (or FRP) have played an important role in helping battery manufacturers achieve environmental compliance with a safe and clean working atmosphere. Wet scrubbers (which are accepted as ‘best available control technologies’, BACTs) are now manufactured from FRP to control the pollution created during battery production. Similarly, jar formation baths, which are commonly fabricated from SS316 steel or polypropylene, are now also made out of FRP. With more and more importance being placed to health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, plastics and FRP now have a major role to play in the lead–acid battery industry.

  Biography: Chirag Thakkar is the Director at JR Fibreglass Industries Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India. The company specializes in turnkey solutions for Facility Fume Exhaust Systems and FRP Equipment for various industries like Battery Manufacturing, Chemical, Petrochemical, Metallurgy and Pharmaceutical. Chirag has completed his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from UICT, Mumbai, India and his Masters in Chemical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo, USA. He has great experience in design & manufacturing of Air Pollution Control Equipment like Wet Scrubbers, Fume Exhaust Systems & FRP Equipment for the Battery Manufacturing Industry.

• Novel Composite Grids to Provide Improved Lead–Acid Battery Properties

  Hans Warlimont
  DSL Material-Innovation

  A new galvano-forming technology has been developed to produce battery grids in any optimized design and composite layer structure of the grid material.
  
  The first component of the continuous production technology is an electroforming unit that produces grid strip of any specified design structure. The design can be determined by choosing a corresponding tool for the electro-deposition. The subsequent major part of the production line consists of a series of galvanic coating modules, each of which can deposit a specified metal or alloy to a predetermined thickness on the strip. The final product is a strip of any grid design that consists of a composite of layers of specified properties in the cross-sections of the grid wires. The finished grid strip is ready to be pasted and processed in conventional pasting and battery making equipment. The viability of the grid making technology has been demonstrated at the laboratory scale. An industrial pilot line is in operation and is currently being expanded.
  
  The special features of the novel composite grids are high electrical conductivity and uniform corrosion behaviour. Battery tests have demonstrated lower resistance, improved cranking and cycling behaviour, and a lower rate of sulfation. These attributed are due to the higher grid conductivity and the uniformity of potential distribution across the plates. Moreover, the particular corrosion behaviour can be exploited to reduce grid weight. The possibility to use scrap as raw material reduces the grid cost.
  

  Biography: After a distinguished career in metallurgical research, Dr Hans Warlimont, became the Founder and Head of DSL Dresden Material-Innovation GmbH. He is the inventor of the novel technology of galvano-forming of composite battery grids.
  

• Separators for Lead–Acid Batteries in Heavy Cycling Applications

  J. Kevin Whear
  Daramic

  Due to favourable economics in comparison with other chemistries, lead–acid batteries are regularly used in cycling applications that include inverter, hybrid electric vehicle, renewable energy and industrial traction operations. Needless to say, both the number of applications and the volume of batteries used continue to grow.
  
  Heavy-cycling duties give rise to a specific set of challenges to the lead–acid battery such as premature capacity loss, acid stratification, excessive shedding of positive active-material, and short circuits. This presentation discusses various modifications to the separator as a means to circumvent such life-limiting phenomena.
  
  

  Biography: J. Kevin Whear graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University Tulsa and went to work in the petrochemical industry for a number of years. Approximately 23 years ago, Kevin joined Daramic and has worked in manufacturing, quality and technology. For the past 6 years, Kevin has served as Daramic’s Vice President Technology, guiding and directing customer technical support and new product development efforts world-wide. Kevin has had the opportunity to present at many venues including previous Asian Battery Conferences, European Lead Acid Battery Conferences, and BCI conventions. To date, Kevin has numerous granted and filed patents to his credit. Most notably, Kevin has had the opportunity to co-author the chapter on Lead Acid Separators, in the Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources, published last year.

• Lead–Acid Battery ― Design for Recycling

  Brian Wilson
  International Lead Management Center

  Modern automotive battery manufacturing facilities are producing lead–acid batteries that have inherent environmental and health risks if they are not managed correctly at the end of their useful lives. Consequently used lead–acid batteries (ULABs) are subject to strict environmental and occupational exposure legislation. Hence, battery manufacturing plants tend to be clinically clean, tidy and free from airborne contamination. In every sense, battery manufacturers aspire to the ‘cleaner production philosophy’.
  
  Increasing numbers of forward-looking manufacturers are accredited with ISO 9002 for outstanding quality and with ISO 14001 in recognition of their ‘Environmental Management Systems’. As a consequence of ISO 14001, more and more facilities are conforming to sound environmental practices.
  
  During ULAB collection and delivery to secondary lead plants, however, adverse environmental and handling problems have been identified and these could be associated with the design of certain battery types. Moreover, recyclers are also experiencing mechanical and environmental problems that are linked to certain designs and components of some modern lead–acid batteries.
  
  Lead–acid batteries have the highest rating for recycling of any metal commodity. Given that every such battery has a finite life, it is important that the design and the components used in the manufacturing process enable the battery to be recycled in a safe, environmentally sound and sustainable manner. Battery design and the choice of the appropriate components are therefore critical to complete a ‘Clean Product Life-Cycle. This presentation examines these design concerns, discusses how they manifest themselves during the recovery phase, and suggests means to overcome their impact.
  

  Biography: Brian Wilson is the Program Manager for the International Lead Management Center located in North Carolina, USA. He is responsible for the design and implementation of multi-stakeholder lead risk reduction programs. Before joining the Center he worked for 15 years with the oil industry followed by 18 years with MIM Holdings in the Metals Industry.
  
  

• Wirtz Continuous Plate Making

  John O. Wirtz
  Wirtz Manufacturing

  Over the last 5 years, we have developed and successfully installed punching lines for positive grids and will deliver a strip casting and strip rolling mill system for the completion of a continuous positive plate making system. Our punched grids offer the Wirtz patent pending reformed grid members to overcome paste adhesion issues which is the most serious concern with all wrought positive grids.
  
  With the direction in the European market toward VRLA automotive batteries and other demands for VRLA batteries, extremely close tolerance plates with full framed grids for both positives and negatives is a requirement.
  
  Both our concast negative grid making and orifice type pasting machines are proven to deliver these required full framed negative grids with close tolerances, for many years. The positive plates made from our full framed punched grids will have the same exact tolerances as our concast negatives.
  

  Biography: John O. Wirtz

• Chinese Lead-acid Battery Market: Status and Outlook

  Raymond Zhang
  Beijing Antaike Information Development Co.

  China is the No. 1 lead acid battery producer and the user in the world. The lead acid battery capacity increased significantly in recent years. Up to 2010, China produced 114.16mln kvah of lead acid battery, up by 17.3% compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of the lead acid battery fabricators has risen to more than 2,000 units, most of which are located in east regions of China like Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, etc.
  
  The boom of Chinese lead acid battery market is mainly fueled by the high speed development of downstream consuming sectors: automobiles, e-bike, UPS, etc. We will also discuss the status of those sectors and see what is going in those markets in the future in China.
  
  The lead pollution from related operations was reported frequently in recent 2 years in China, which made the government determine to take tough measures on the sector this year. As a result, a big number of lead acid battery producers and recyclers have been ordered to suspend operation, relocate or close directly since June, 2011.
  
  The government published a list in August, which contains the status of 1,930 lead acid battery fabricators and secondary lead producers after the examination. About 83% of those checked companies (by number) have been closed or ordered to suspend operation. It brought a profound impact in Chinese lead acid battery market. The speech will also analyze the impact in short term and long term sight.
  

  Biography: Raymond Zhang is an analyst with Beijing Antaike Information Development Co., Ltd., the leading nonferrous metals information provider and consultancy in China. Raymond writes and edits the China Lead, Zinc & Tin Monthly Report, the Lead Quarterly Report and the Zinc Quarterly Report. He is also involved in customer-tailored consulting projects in the lead and zinc markets.
  
  

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