Disclosed is an electrode for a lead acid battery formed of an electrode plate having a first side and a second opposing the first side, an active material paste applied to at least one of the first and second sides and a fiber mat embedded in the active material paste.

Disclosed is an electrode for a lead acid battery formed of an electrode plate having a first side and a second opposing the first side, an active material paste applied to at least one of the first and second sides and a fiber mat embedded in the active material paste.

Battery electrodes are provided that can include a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame. Methods for manufacturing battery electrodes are provided that can include: providing a sheet of conductive material; and framing the sheet of conductive material with a polymeric material. Batteries are provided that can include a plurality of electrodes, with individual ones of the electrodes comprising a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame.

Battery electrodes are provided that can include a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame. Methods for manufacturing battery electrodes are provided that can include: providing a sheet of conductive material; and framing the sheet of conductive material with a polymeric material. Batteries are provided that can include a plurality of electrodes, with individual ones of the electrodes comprising a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame.

A grid for an absorbent glass mat lead acid battery is also disclosed. The grid has a frame formed of a top frame element having a current collection lug, a first side frame element, a second side frame element, and a bottom frame element. A plurality of grid wires are arranged in radial configuration within the frame which radial configuration emanates from a radiant point located outside a boundary of the frame. A plurality of horizontal grid wires cross the plurality of grid wires arranged the radial configuration. The grid comprises virgin lead or high purity lead or highly purified secondary lead. An absorbent glass mat lead acid battery is also disclosed.

A bipolar lead acid battery with increased energy density is provided. The battery includes a number of lead acid wafer cell that each comprise a negative electrode having a negative electrode plate and a negative active material positioned on the negative electrode plate, as well as a positive electrode having a positive electrode plate and a positive active material positioned on the positive electrode plate. The positive electrode plate comprises a metal foil with a conductive film thereon, such as a titanium foil or substrate with a titanium silicide coating thereon. The lead acid wafer cell also includes a separator between the negative and positive electrodes, wherein the separator includes an electrolyte for transferring charge between the negative and positive electrodes.

Apparatus and techniques described herein can be used to provide a bipolar battery plate with lower resistance as compared to other approaches. In an example, a bipolar plate comprises a conductive current collector substrate with lead-containing surfaces on both sides, onto which active materials are applied. Interfaces with low contact resistance can be created between the active materials and the current collector substrate by a combination of mechanical, thermochemical, and electrochemical techniques. Specifically, the present subject matter can include a bipolar plate fabricated by applying wet, (e.g., uncured) active materials to the current collector, and performing a curing procedure such that a corrosion layer with low contact resistance is formed between the active materials and the underlying surfaces of the current collector.

A method of manufacturing a plate suitable for use as a bipolar plate 500 in a bipolar battery 1 is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of extruding a first polymer containing conductive particles to form a conductive polymer plate 505, cutting a conductive polymer core 512 from the conductive polymer plate 505, and overmoulding the conductive polymer core 512 with a second polymer to provide a non-conductive polymer surround 516. A bipolar battery 1 is also disclosed, as well as a method of making a bipolar battery 1.

A battery separator has performance enhancing additives or coatings, fillers with increased friability, increased ionic diffusion, decreased tortuosity, increased wettability, reduced oil content, reduced thickness, decreased electrical resistance, and/or increased porosity. The separator in a battery reduces the water loss, lowers acid stratification, lowers the voltage drop, and/or increases the CCA. The separators include or exhibit performance enhancing additives or coatings, increased porosity, increased void volume, amorphous silica, higher oil absorption silica, higher silanol group silica, reduced electrical resistance, a shish-kebab structure or morphology, a polyolefin microporous membrane containing particle-like filler in an amount of 40% or more by weight of the membrane and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene having shish-kebab formations and the average repetition periodicity of the kebab formation from 1 nm to 150 nm, decreased sheet thickness, decreased tortuosity, separators especially well-suited for enhanced flooded batteries.

A bipolar lead-acid storage battery has both life performance to withstand long-term operation and high capacity performance. Positive electrode current collector plates include a lead alloy sheet, a mass loss per total surface area of a test piece is 100 mg/cm.sup.2 or less when measured after the test piece is placed in sulfuric acid at a concentration of 38 mass % maintained at a temperature of 60 C., and a continuous anodization performed at a constant potential of 1,350 mV on a reference electrode for 28 days. A thickness of the collector plate arranged on one surface of a substrate that covers both a side of a positive electrode and a side of a negative electrode of a cell member is between 0.10 mm and 0.50 mm, and a ratio of a volume of the current collector plate to a rated capacity of the battery is between 0.11 and 0.67.