Advanced Bipolar Lead/Acid Battery

Recent advances in sealed bipolar lead/acid battery (SBLA) development by JPL have proved that it can be a viable candidate for Electric Vehicle (EV) propulsion and other power source applicaiton. However, the use of electrically resistive polymer composite materials as (quasi-) bipolar electrode substrates has suppressed the optimalhigh power possibility of the lead/acid system and presented difficulty for bipolar sealing and packaging. Pinnacle Research Institute, Inc. (PRI) proposes to remedy these problems by substituting the polymer composite with a ceramic oxide coated metal substrate. This ceramic oxide/metal substrate, which has been developed by PRI, is electrically conductive, mechanically sturdy and thin. Moreover, it is chemically and electro-chemically compatible with H2SO4 and thus the conventional requirement for SnO2 plating of the anode can be avoided. Utilizing the ceramic oxide/metal substrate will enble PRI to incorporate its in-house developed bipolar sealing technique developed for Ultracapacitor technology. PRI will demonstrate unit cells and the feasibility of a multiple cell SBLA which is predicted to have an energy density exceeding 50 WH/kg and power density greater than l kW/kg without degradation to cycle life. The proposed advanced SBLA will be extremely rugged, maintenance-free, long cycle and shelf lives and be well-suited to a low temperature operation (-55 degrees c) for weapons application.