Are lead-acid batteries a good choice for energy storage?

Lead–acid batteries have been used for energy storage in utility applications for many years but it has only been in recent years that the demand for battery energy storage has increased.

What is a lead acid battery?

Lead–acid batteries may be flooded or sealed valve-regulated (VRLA) types and the grids may be in the form of flat pasted plates or tubular plates. The various constructions have different technical performance and can be adapted to particular duty cycles. Batteries with tubular plates offer long deep cycle lives.

Are lead batteries sustainable?

Improvements to lead battery technology have increased cycle life both in deep and shallow cycle applications. Li-ion and other battery types used for energy storage will be discussed to show that lead batteries are technically and economically effective. The sustainability of lead batteries is superior to other battery types.

What is the difference between Li-ion and lead-acid batteries?

The behaviour of Li-ion and lead–acid batteries is different and there are likely to be duty cycles where one technology is favoured but in a network with a variety of requirements it is likely that batteries with different technologies may be used in order to achieve the optimum balance between short and longer term storage needs. 6.

Are lead batteries safe?

Safety needs to be considered for all energy storage installations. Lead batteries provide a safe system with an aqueous electrolyte and active materials that are not flammable. In a fire, the battery cases will burn but the risk of this is low, especially if flame retardant materials are specified.

How to choose a lead-acid battery membrane?

For lead–acid batteries selection of the membrane is the key and the other issue is to have reliable edge seals around the membrane with the electrodes on either side. The use of porous alumina impregnated with lead has been trialled without success.