A method for impregnating an active paste into a fibre material in the manufacture of an electrode of a lead acid battery or cell, comprises moving a fibre material through a confined pasting zone also containing a Pb-based paste, while vibrating and maintaining a pressure on the paste, to continuously impregnate the paste into the fibre material. A paste impregnating machine is also disclosed, with a fibre material feed system, and which may use a lug along the fibre material to draw the fibre material through the paste application stage.

Batteries comprise a carbon fibre electrode construction of the invention and have improved DCA and/or CCA, and/or may maintain DCA with an increasing number of charge-discharge cycles, and thus may be particularly suitable for use in hybrid vehicles.

Batteries comprise a carbon fibre electrode construction of the invention and have improved DCA and/or CCA, and/or may maintain DCA with an increasing number of charge-discharge cycles, and thus may be particularly suitable for use in hybrid vehicles.

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 current collector with electrode tab areas of reduced resistance includes a polymer layer and a first metal layer. The polymer layer includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first metal layer is arranged on the first surface, and includes a first area and a second area coupled to the first area. In the direction of a thickness of the current collector, the thickness of the second area is greater than that of the first area. The present disclosure further provides an electrode plate and a battery cell using the current collector. Due to an increase of a thickness of the second area, a charge transfer resistance of the electrode tab is greatly reduced.

In an aspect, a lead acid battery comprises a sealed casing comprising sulfuric acid; an anode and a cathode that are both at least partially immersed in the sulfuric acid; wherein the anode comprises a current collector, an active layer, and a protective layer located in between the current collector and the active layer; wherein the protective layer comprises an electrically conductive carbon, a crosslinked, acid functionalized polymer, and an aliphatic acid or derivative thereof, wherein the aliphatic acid comprises a C.sub.6-30 aliphatic carboxylic acid.

Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of improved separators for lead acid batteries, improved lead acid batteries incorporating the improved separators, and systems incorporating the same. A lead acid battery separator is provided with a porous membrane with a plurality of ribs extending from a surface thereon. The ribs are provided with a plurality of discontinuous peaks arranged such as to provide resilient support for the porous membrane in order to resist forces exerted by swelling NAM and thus mitigate the effects of acid starvation associated with NAM swelling. The separator is also provided to be capable utilizing any motion experienced by the battery housing such a separator in order to mitigate the effects of acid stratification by facilitating acid mixing. A lead acid battery is further provided that incorporates the provided separator. Such a lead acid battery may be a flooded lead acid battery, an enhanced flooded lead acid battery, and may be provided as operating in a partial state of charge. Systems incorporating such a lead acid battery are also provided, such as a vehicle or any other energy storage system, such as solar or wind energy collection. Other exemplary embodiments are provided such as to have any one or more of the following: a lowered electrical resistance; increased puncture resistance; increased oxidation resistance; increased ability to mitigate the effects of dendrite growth, and/or other improvements.

Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of improved separators for lead acid batteries, improved lead acid batteries incorporating the improved separators, and systems incorporating the same. A lead acid battery separator is provided with a porous membrane with a plurality of ribs extending from a surface thereon. The ribs are provided with a plurality of discontinuous peaks arranged such as to provide resilient support for the porous membrane in order to resist forces exerted by swelling NAM and thus mitigate the effects of acid starvation associated with NAM swelling. The separator is also provided to be capable utilizing any motion experienced by the battery housing such a separator in order to mitigate the effects of acid stratification by facilitating acid mixing. A lead acid battery is further provided that incorporates the provided separator. Such a lead acid battery may be a flooded lead acid battery, an enhanced flooded lead acid battery, and may be provided as operating in a partial state of charge. Systems incorporating such a lead acid battery are also provided, such as a vehicle or any other energy storage system, such as solar or wind energy collection. Other exemplary embodiments are provided such as to have any one or more of the following: a lowered electrical resistance; increased puncture resistance; increased oxidation resistance; increased ability to mitigate the effects of dendrite growth, and/or other improvements.

An apparatus for separating battery plates comprising a work surface for receiving a stack of battery plates, and an alignment mechanism for aligning the battery plates on the work surface. The work surface is movable between a first position in which it is angled with respect to a horizontal plane and a second position in which it is substantially aligned with the horizontal plane. When the work surface moves between the first and second position adjacent battery plates of the stack are displaced relative to each other.

An apparatus for separating battery plates comprising a work surface for receiving a stack of battery plates, and an alignment mechanism for aligning the battery plates on the work surface. The work surface is movable between a first position in which it is angled with respect to a horizontal plane and a second position in which it is substantially aligned with the horizontal plane. When the work surface moves between the first and second position adjacent battery plates of the stack are displaced relative to each other.