Abstract |
The objective of this program was to develop a high charge rate, high discharge rate lead-acid battery compatible with the requirements of a hybrid heat-engine/electric vehicle. Because the power requirements and charge-discharge profiles for a hybrid-vehicle battery are sufficiently different than those for a conventional lead-acid battery, a development program was undertaken to optimize the lead-acid battery for hybrid-vehicle use. As a result of this program, ten test cells producing specific powers of 150 W/lb for a 75-sec discharge and 204 W/lb for a 20-sec discharge were developed and tested. The achievements under this program included: fabrication of thin, conductive vitreous carbon-epoxy substrates, chemically inert to lead-acid cell environment; a method for applying (pasting) the active material onto the substrate; negative bipolar plates that exceeded the performance target of 2A/sq in (0.3 A/sq cm) at 1.5V for 60 sec. and out performed standard pasted plates. (Author) |