Recent advancements in lead battery performance and new

demonstration work of ALABC 1618 Program

Alistair Davidson Direction Products and Sustainability, ILA

Boris Monahov Program Manager ALABC

AABC Mainz 1 February 2017

The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium

70 members22 battery manufacturers28 lead producers13 suppliers7 research & testing

4 / 17

AUTOAdvanced lead

batteries (12 and

48V) continue to

be capable of

delivering

required

performance /

fuel & CO2

benefits at lower

cost than

alternatives

AUTO

OEM vehicle

development

programs aimed

at meeting future

emission targets

to include 12V

micro hybrid and

48V mild hybrid

lead batteries

ESS

Advanced lead

batteries

continue to

deliver required

performance with

lower lifetime

cost than

alternatives

ESS

Lead batteries

specified as

product of

choice in

utilities and

domestic

energy storage

sector

WORK PROGRAMs

TECHNICAL R&D TECHNICAL COMMS

LEAD BATTERIES REMAIN PRODUCT OF CHOICE

Automotive Use of Lead Batteries

•Lead batteries essential for 12V Start Stop/micro hybrid Applications.

–Performance markedly enhanced by:

• basic research

• variety of innovations developed by production engineers, academic institutions and the

ALABC research program

–most technical parameters of modern lead and lead-carbon batteries are now

markedly enhanced or can be enhanced to match the requirements of OEMs

• improved dynamic charge acceptance

• reduced water loss at normal and elevated temperatures

• higher cold cranking power

• extra-long cycle life at high rate partial state of charge

• steady performance at elevated temperatures

Lead Batteries in 48 V applications

•ALABC has been involved in a number of successful demonstration

projects over the years with Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Ford

•Lead batteries provide excellent option for 48 V applications

• Cost effective CO2 reduction.

–99% recycling

–reliability and safety benefits

•Further information requested by OEM partners

–Would like further battery performance data under real world driving

conditions.

–Would like realistic cost estimates for battery packs under high volume

assumptions.

Generation 1: High Voltage Hybrid Projects

•Objectives

–Demonstration of lead battery endurance in mild hybrids

–Understanding hybrid vehicle battery requirements and challenges, optimize batteries

•Outcomes

–100,000 track miles on Honda Insight Mk 1 Furukawa Ultrabatteries

–150,000 road miles on Honda Civic Hybrid East Penn Ultrabatteries

–Good basis for further projects

Honda Insight with Ultrabatteries, Europe Honda Civic Hybrid with Ultrabatteries, USA

Up to 1 kWh the UB: as good as NiMH in Energy Power, Volume, Life

Generation 2: the 12/48 V Midsize Vehicle Projects

•Objectives

–Building 12/48V hybrids with lead-carbon batteries, optimize engine + battery system

–Demonstration of a commercially attractive alternative to other battery chemistries

•Outcomes

–Generation of significant interest (lots of requests from OEMs for PbA 48V hybrid

–Potential for further projects to exploit in production

Passat 1.4 gasoline Passat 1.4 gasoline Optima 1.7 Diesel Focus 1.5 Diesel

Meeting CO2 targets sustainably and at affordable price

Examples of field recorded data sets

Module and system voltage evolution during one test cycle

Examples of field recorded data sets

Capacity charged and state of charge during a test cycle

Examples of field monitored module temperature

Cell temperature is easily maintained below 40oC (max 40oC)

12/48 V Metrics – comparison of test vehicle parameters

The Test Vehicles and Their Batteries Offer Strong, Affordable Solutions

Key lessons from mild hybrids with lead-carbon batteries

1. The vehicle benefits from calibrating for each battery type (Orbital, Ultrabattery)

2. The NEDC test puts a premium on the charge acceptance around 20-25°C.

Lead-carbon batteries perform much better at only slightly higher temperature

(27°C+)

3. The best performance with lead-carbon batteries is achieved between 35 and

40°C without any deleterious effects on life

4. The best balance between charge acceptance and available energy appears to

be around the 40% SOC point

5. The benefits of improved cell design (Ultrabattery) have been very significant.

6. Customers today want to buy complete packs, not battery modules.

Communication with OEMs – Next Program

•Although there is interest, particularly from some OEMs, some more test

results are needed to address some questions that have been raised.

•The main question is:

“Though the performance is good on the relatively intense test running

shown, will the performance be maintained in more typical running?”

•A proposed new test aims to provide evidence of satisfactory operation on

an agreed test cycle more representative of typical driving. This has been

developed in discussion with an OEM and Millbrook Proving Ground.

Proposed Cycle (18 steps in 9.4 hours)

km km/hdrive (min)

park (min)

total hours

urban 6.4 32 12 0.2

park 15 0.5

rush hour 7 16.2 26 0.9

park 60 1.9

urban 6.4 32 12 2.1

urban 6.4 32 12 2.3

park 30 2.8

road 20 50 24 3.2

park 120 5.2

urban 6.4 32 12 5.4

park 60 6.4

road 20 50 24 6.8

park 15 7.0

urban 6.4 32 12 7.2

urban 6.4 32 12 7.4

park 30 7.9

rush hour 7 16.2 26 8.4

park 60 9.4

SUM PER DAY 92.4 172

Data Capture

•Key channels (all recorded at 10Hz when running):

–Module voltages and temperatures

–String current

–Battery charge

–Hybrid operating state (if available)

–Vehicle speed, engine RPM, throttle and brake positions

•Key off data recorded at low rate for battery

•Sampled data sent back to test manager over GPRS, monitored daily

•Full data collected every two weeks on SD card

Procedure

•Two week data collection, then rapid review

•Test will be continued for the next two week period if everything is

performing well, until it is felt that satisfactory performance has been

demonstrated to OEMs.

•Test will be stopped if any substantial performance shortfall is found

•Results will be made available to key partners, including raw test data.

Conclusions

• Past ALABC Demonstration Programs have demonstrated benefits of lead batteries at both 12V and 48V level.

• A number of OEMs seriously considering lead batteries for 48 V applications, but have requested further data under real world driving conditions.

• ALABC revaluating past data to show how optimisation of operating conditions (e.g temperature), vehicle calibration and cell design can maximise performance of Pb batteries.

• Will conduct new project using our current demo vehicles to collect data showing optimised performance under OEM recommended typical driving conditions. (To be presented at US AABC in San Francisco in June).