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European contact: Bob Tolliday +44 (0)20 7833 8090 [email protected]

February 10,  2017

Car makers and ALABC give boost to advanced automotive batteries

Automotive OEMS and lead-acid battery makers are accelerating a new collaborative work programme to ensure the next generation of energy storage systems meet car market needs in a two-year time frame.

The trade-off between charging performance and high-temperature durability in lead batteries was thoroughly discussed during a technical workshop in Kolster, Eberbach, Germany, with over 70 participants, organised by the European standardization committee CENELEC, Aachen University battery chair (Professor Sauer), and Ford's European research center.

As a result, car makers will now work closely on this topic with the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC), a global product driven pre-competitive research organisation focused on improving the performance of lead batteries for both automotive and energy storage applications.

Dr Eckhard Karden, of Ford, Aachen said: “This was a highly successful meeting. A lot of good information was shared.  Lead-acid has a lot of advantages in terms of robustness, maturity and cost. I’m pleased developments are speeding up.

“Many companies have different testing standards for the next generation 12-volt automotive batteries and we should harmonise on these. Agreed standards result in more efficient development processes, faster product innovation and reduced costs all round.”

Dr Alistair Davidson of ALABC said: “The Consortium is happy to work even more closely with the car industry to accelerate the development of the technology for the micro hybrid market. I am convinced that the advanced lead–acid battery consortium has a vital role to play in furthering the science that underpins this work.

“The test standardization includes harmonizing methods for determining water loss, dynamic charge acceptance, and start-stop cycle durability — the key feature which has made micro hybrids the most successful electrified cars, accounting for more than 60 % of the European car fleet.”

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About the ALABC

The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium is an international research co-operative comprised of lead producers, battery manufacturers, equipment suppliers, application developers, and research facilities organized to enhance the performance of lead batteries for a variety of markets, including hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications and various other energy storage systems.  A program of the International Lead Association, the ALABC pools the resources of its global membership in order to perform specific research on advanced lead batteries that otherwise would not be possible by any single entity.  For more information about the ALABC, visit www.alabc.org.