Implementation of battery man-agement systems, a key component of every LIB system, could improve lead–acid battery operation, efficiency, and cycle life. Perhaps the best prospect for the unuti-lized potential of lead–acid batteries is elec-tric grid storage, for which the future market is estimated to be on the order of trillions of dollars.
Of the 31 MJ of energy typically consumed in the production of a kilogram of lead–acid battery, about 9.2 MJ (30%) is associated with the manufacturing process. The balance is accounted for in materials production and recycling.
The lead–acid battery has undergone many developments since its invention, but these have involved modifications to the materials or design, rather than to the underlying chemistry. In all cases, lead dioxide (PbO 2) serves as the positive active-material, lead (Pb) as the negative active-material, and sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4) as the electrolyte.
In the charging and discharging process, the current is transmitted to the active substance through the skeleton, ensuring the cycle life of the lead acid battery. 3.4.2.
Technical progress with battery design and the availability of new materials have enabled the realization of completely maintenance-free lead–acid battery systems [1,3]. Water losses by electrode gassing and by corrosion can be suppressed to very low rates.
The high-rate charge acceptance of lead–acid batteries can be improved by the incorporation of extra carbon of an appropriate type in the negative plate — either as small amounts in the active material itself, or as a distinct layer as in the UltraBattery ®.