An academic from the University of Sheffield in the UK has been awarded over £100,000 (US$124,000) from the Engineering Physical Sciences and Research Council (EPSRC) to investigate ways of improving the efficiency of lead acid batteries for EVs.
Although used in typical fuel cars, lead acid batteries have not been used in conventional electric cars over fears that the electrodes do not age evenly.
The project, led by Dr James Green from the University of Sheffield, will look at the design of the battery electrode to make the electrode age more evenly and therefore increase efficiency.
Green said, “There is little appetite among battery manufacturers to move away from a conventional design because it is believed that the cost of production will increase or that production will be more difficult and expensive.
“However, CO₂ targets are now at such stringent levels that every effort must be made to maximize the use of renewable energy sources or secondary energy sources like rechargeable batteries.”
This research will also investigate the feasibility of manufacturing more complex electrodes to ensure that the output of the work has practical value. The team will also consider how this research can work with lithium batteries.
January 18, 2017
