Past, present, and future of lead–acid batteries
Abstract
When Gaston Planté invented the lead–acid battery more than 160 years ago, he could not have foreseen it spurring a multibillion-dollar industry. Despite an apparently low energy density—30 to 40% of the theoretical limit versus 90% for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs)—lead–acid batteries are made from abundant low-cost materials and nonflammable water-based electrolyte, while manufacturing practices that operate at 99% recycling rates substantially minimize environmental impact (1). Nevertheless, forecasts of the demise of lead–acid batteries (2) have focused on the health effects of lead and the rise of LIBs (2). A large gap in technological advancements should be seen as an opportunity for scientific engagement to expand the scope of lead–acid batteries into power grid applications, which currently lack a single energy storage technology with optimal technical and economic performance.
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References and Notes
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Science
Volume 369 | Issue 6506
21 August 2020
21 August 2020
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Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
This is an article distributed under the terms of the Science Journals Default License.
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Published in print: 21 August 2020
Acknowledgments
The approach applied to develop structure-function correlations was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. The research efforts were supported by the Lead Battery Science Research Program through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, an Office of Science user facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under contract no. DE-AC02-06CH11357. We thank E. Coleman, D. Strmcnik, M. Zorko, C. Ferels, N. Chaudhari, and in memoriam Stefan Djokic for support in experiments.
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