Abstract

PEDRO, Mário R.  and  SEQUEIRA, César A.C.. Lead-acid battery evolution axis. C.Tecn. Mat. [online]. 2007, vol.19, n.3-4, pp.30-40. ISSN 0870-8312.

The recent environmental requirements had compelled the automobile and energy production industries to look for new solutions. The hybrid and electric vehicles and the photovoltaic and wind systems are examples of this research. Thus, it became necessary to find energy storage systems (ESSs) for these new applications. This study is developed in this direction, taking as starting-point the most common SAE: the lead-acid (LAB). Subsequently, alternatives to LAB were studied. The work focused in two points: electrodes and their components. The solutions implicate the total or partial substitution of the lead electrodes by polymers, ceramic or fiber glass, being almost ready to commercialization bipolar batteries with ceramic base that announce the double of specific energy. These ceramics can also be added to the positive paste. The negative paste has been less investigated than the other. As alternative, the Li-ion battery is close to reach its development peak and his mineral reserves are an order of magnitude lower than the ones of lead/nickel. The nickel is used in the hybrid vehicles NiMH batteries, also constituted by other elements that limit their production and increase the battery cost. ZEBRA Battery is a valid option, although it requires working with temperatures above 200ºC. The ultra battery, based in LAB, can be an alternative in a near future, as well as the bipolar ones. The conclusion for storage systems for renewable energy sources is that the LAB will continue to prevail in the next decade.

Keywords : lead-acid; lead electrodes; active mass; hybrid vehicle; photovoltaic power system; Li-ion.

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