Lead-acid batteries have dominated the storage industry for many years. In applications in isolated microgrids, this option has been preferred, due to its cost, reliability and safety.
The main criticisms are related to the low energy density, low cycle rate and short useful life.
The new generation of lead acid batteries, so-called "advanced lead acid batteries", has introduced significant improvements in these aspects. More recently, the "superbattery" has hybrid configuration adding a supercapacitor.
In the meantime, ion-lithium batteries begin to fill exponentially (and competitively) all spaces for energy storage applications. So, what will be the role of the "new acid lead batteries" ?; Will they be able to compete in modern electricity networks?
Dear Osvaldo,
Hope you are well!
The requirements on the large scale energy storage in renewable energy generators to raise their reliability are demanding concerning the highest energy storage density and high reliability and lifetime in addition to cost effectiveness.
The battery types which approach these tough requirements will dominate.
Lead acid batteries are very economical and safe therefore they will continue their use in other energy storage applications as there wide spectrum of battery storage applications.
My answer is conceptual one!
Best wishes
The importance of battery arises with the requirement of energy storage, cost, space, and life of the battery.
Most of the new batteries have a different composition of lightweight elements, so the chemistry of batteries played a major role. Energy density, Specific Energy, Specific Power, and Durability makes the demand for a battery.
Li-Ion, SolidState batteries are becoming cheaper day by day with increased energy storage capacity, reduction in size, weight, and long-lasting makes them most preferable compared to lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries consume a larger space with low storage options.
Dear Osvaldo,
Hope you are well!
The requirements on the large scale energy storage in renewable energy generators to raise their reliability are demanding concerning the highest energy storage density and high reliability and lifetime in addition to cost effectiveness.
The battery types which approach these tough requirements will dominate.
Lead acid batteries are very economical and safe therefore they will continue their use in other energy storage applications as there wide spectrum of battery storage applications.
My answer is conceptual one!
Best wishes
Whoever criticizes the "short useful life" of a lead acid battery has little idea about the useful life of a LiIon battery :)
Recent lead acid batteries, used according to their specifications (yes - there are different designs available, depending on the target application) and experiencing aminimum of maintenance/care, may have a longer useful life than recent LiIon batteries. Plus: they are not very critical in terms of charging, do not tend to burn etc.
I expect to continue to see lead acid batteries installed wherever size and weight are not considered constraints. That is: mainly in stationary storage applications.
Whether these hybrid batteries will really gain traction (vs. combining a battery block with an independent supercap block, maybe with an intermediate DC/DC converter to really protect the lead acid batteries from current spikes beyond their specification), only time can tell.
Thanks for the comments. This is a timely discussion. Some of our projects (isolated microgrids) are under review in terms of storage options.
On the other hand, the phenomenon COVID 19 is leading to a review of technological dependencies and also the availability of natural resources. Many natural resources associated with the production of batteries are concentrated in few countries. Additionally, lithium is demanded by both electric car industry and energy storage markets. This causes a strong pressure on the production of lithium. On the other hand, lead is recyclable and is reused to build new batteries.
I would like to hear your comments on these aspects.
Recycling of lead acid batteries is well-known and relatively simple, given their simple built-up and 100+ years of experience with these.
But once worn-out LiIon batteries are available in reasonable quantities, I expect to see recycling of LiIon batteries as well. Although the processes required will certainly be more complex, due to the multitude of materials involved.
And we might see NiCd and NiMH chemistries resurface as well for stationary storage: in some aspects (mainly peak current to capacity ratio) they are superior to lead acid batteries and even LiIon batteries. (While the ban of NiCd is understandable in the consumer sector, they might be still applicable for "industrial" applications. The advantage of the Ni-based batteries is - beyond the peak current - a simplicity not far from lead acid systems. Plus the fact they rarely burst in flames.
Osvaldo R. Saavedra For the kind of application that you are looking for and WHERE (and when) it will be implemented are crucial points. Clearly, if the project is "for now" and remotely located, in my opinion, lead acid still will be a choice. Recycling is "easy" (as mentioned) generating the possibility (locally) to create small recycling business (depending on volume) especially if the batteries used in this project are already coming out from the car industry (perhaps already recycled?). In any case, special attention should be paid towards safety (fumes and other). For this point, several guidelines were produced and are constantly updated. Another point is the charge discharge dynamics difference between the several technologies and those will need to be carefully designed. All those points together will make your business plan a good toll of choice to see what will be the more efficient for the particular situation.
The life of (newer) Lead Acid Batteries is, likely to be, very long.
Their (predicted) life will be several decades long, at least, as a part of most stationary, emergency backup power for commercial applications, working not[1] very far from RT (Room Temperature).
LA-Batteries (LAB) was a 'strange' (heavy and massive-big[2]) device, since long ago (1859, G.Planté[1]).
Today, 'nobody' wants them, but ... everybody needs and employ them, somehow, since very long time ago. However, a very long (any)time (several decades) is predicted for their demand, even as a (small) part of isolated microgrids, for high initial power backup.
Their older (1999-sales, 40–45%) commercial domination was/is hidden in its good folk (nick-)name, the "starting Car-engine Battery"; a shorter, cool, nick name, is the 'Car Battery'; it is, actually, so effective[2,3], due to their very FAST (only a few ms) power response, during the critical phase of starting, either a car engine, or an emergency power backup (low cost desktop-PCs, hospitals, etc.).
1. Lead acid_battery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery
2. Their massive electrolyte has unique (ions' storage) specifications; it contributes to the massive storage of BOTH (sign of) ions. So, their response is very FAST (a few ms) during the critical phase of starting, either a car engine, or an emergency power backup since BOTH (highly concentrated) ions are available very near (a few nm) the electrodes, without any (practical) ions' far convection (initially) and any ions' common transport 'from one electrode to the other'; this is a weak point of the, more admirable, LiB(atterie)s, versus their, main, competitors, for emergency power, today.
3. How Batteries Store and Release Energy: Explaining Basic Electrochemistry https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00479
Can the storage capacity increased by using Lead foam in the batteries?
Yes, dear L. K. Varga,
the storage capacity scales with ALL (together, the size of the) active materials, e.g. the two electrodes (foams[1]), as well as the volume(/mass) of the (active) electrolyte.
1. The 'solid' state electrodes, in newer LA-Batteries, are, already, in some form of a foam morphology/ies.
Dear all, I think for large scale storing energy, redox flow battery is the most future prominent choice. My Regards
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