2019 has been declared by UNESCO as the Year of the Periodic Table. To celebrate, we are releasing a series of blogs about our favourite elements and their importance to the chemical industry. Today’s blog focuses on lead and its place in the battery industry.

2019 is a critical year for the European Battery Industry. As policymakers set priorities to decarbonise the energy systems, whilst boosting Europe’s economic and technical performance, lead-acid batteries have become a viable player in the battery industry. 

Increased government action and ongoing transformations to address the environmental situation has furthered global interest in the lead battery market, as they remain crucial in the battle to fight against the adverse effects of climate change. Subsequently, reliance on fuel technologies is lessening as we see a rise in the lead battery industry which had a market share of 31% in year 2018 with an annual growth rate of 5.4%.

According to reports by Reports and Data, the Global Lead- Acid Battery market is predicted to reach USD 95.32 Billion by 2026. Rising demand for electric vehicles and significant increases of this battery use in sectors including automotive, healthcare, and power industries, are a large push behind the growth in this market. 

Thus, expansion of these sectors and particularly the automobile sector, means further development in this market will be underway, especially as it is the only battery technology to meet the technical requirements for energy storage on a large market scale. 

 

Lead-acid battery is a rechargeable cell, comprising plates of lead and lead oxide, mixed in a sulfuric acid solution, which converts chemical energy into electrical power. The oxide component in the sulfuric acid oxidizes the lead which in turn generates electric current.

In the past, lead has fallen behind competing technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries which captured approximately 90% of the battery market. Although lithium-ion batteries are a strong opponent, lead still has advantages. Lead batteries do not have same fire risks as lithium-ion batteries and they are the most efficiently recycled commodity metal, with over 99% of lead batteries being collected and recycled in Europe and U.S. 

 

Researchers are trying to better understand how to improve lead battery performance. A build-up of sulfation can limit lead battery performance by half its potential, and by fixing this issue, unused potential would offer even lower cost recyclable batteries. Once the chemical interactions inside the batteries are better understood, one can start to consider how to extend battery life.