Some years ago a consortium of enterprises and a university from different European countries and industrial sectors was established to work together in the development of lighter lead–acid batteries for electrical and conventional vehicles with new innovative materials and process techniques, with the final goal of increasing the energy density by means of a battery weight reduction. Its main idea was to substitute the heavy lead alloy grids mechanical support of the active masses and collectors of the current produced during the charge and discharge lightweight metallised polymeric network structures PNS. with reduced mesh dimensions in comparison to conventional grids. The network was then. | ELSEVIER Journal of Power Sources 78 1999 220-230 Lead-acid batteries with polymer-structured electrodes for electric-vehicle applications . Soria J. Fullea F. Saez F. Trinidad . Tudor Research Laboratory Exide Europe Carretera NacionalII km 42 . Box No. 2 E-19200 Azuqueca de Henares Guadalajara Spain Abstract Some years ago a consortium of enterprises and a university from different European countries and industrial sectors was established to work together in the development of lighter lead-acid batteries for electrical and conventional vehicles with new innovative materials and process techniques with the final goal of increasing the energy density by means of a battery weight reduction. Its main idea was to substitute the heavy lead alloy grids mechanical support of the active masses and collectors of the current produced during the charge and discharge reactions by lightweight metallised polymeric network structures PNS with reduced mesh dimensions in comparison to conventional grids. The network was then coated with conductive materials and corrosion resistant layers to conduct the current flow. In this paper the electrode characteristics and the design features of the batteries prepared in the project will be described and their electrical performance presented. 1999 Elsevier Science . All rights reserved. Keywords Lead acid batteries Electric vehicle Polymeric support Electroplated materials Manufacturing processes Electrode and cell testing 1. Introduction The increasing concern for the environment and the pollution problems caused by the ICE vehicles specially in the big cities have led to a worldwide interest for the development of efficient electric and hybrid vehicles. The battery as autonomous energy storage system is a key element in the operation of the electric vehicles due to its great influence on the final cost range and performance of the vehicle. The characteristics of the batteries available in the market today impose hard .
