Lead-acid battery and its chinese exportation
2008-08-15

                                           Lead-acid battery and its chinese exportation

Lead-acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having the second lowest energy-to-weight ratio (next to the nickel-iron battery) and a correspondingly low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large power-to-weight ratio. These features, along with their low cost, makes them attractive for use in cars, as they can provide the high current required by automobile starter motors. They are also used in vehicles such as forklifts, in which the low energy-to-weight ratio may in fact be considered a benefit since the battery can be used as a counterweight.

classification

Lead-acid battery can be divided in several classes. In the part of production technology, it includes two kinds: Flooded/Wet cell batteries and Valve Regulated Lead Acid batteries (VRLA). And the VRLA also can be divided in three kinds: AGM: Absorbed Glass Mat batteries, Gel cell batteries and Carbon Foam Lead Acid batteries. By application, Stand-by (stationary) batteries, Motor vehicle starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries and Traction (propulsion) batteries are existed.

Application • Wet cells designed for deep discharge are commonly used in golf carts and other battery electric vehicles, large backup power supplies for telephone and computer centers and off-grid household electric power systems.

• Gel batteries are used in back-up power supplies for alarm and smaller computer systems (particularly in uninterruptible power supplies) and for electric scooters, electrified bicycles and marine applications. Unlike wet cells, gel cells are sealed, with pressure relief valves in case of overcharging. In normal use they cannot spill liquid electrolyte.

• Absorbed glass mat (GM) cells are also sealed and used in battery electric vehicles, as well as applications where there is a fairly high risk of the battery being laid on its side or over-turned, such as motorcycles.

Historically, lead-acid batteries were used to supply the filament (heater) voltage (usually between 2 and 12 volts with 6 V being most common) in vacuum tube (valve) radio receivers in areas where no mains electricity supply was available. Such radios typically used two batteries: a lead-acid "A" battery for the filament voltage and a higher voltage (45 V–120 V) "dry" non-rechargeable "B" battery for the plate (anode) voltage. Lead-acid batteries are generally used in emergency lighting in case of power failure.

The technology of maintenance-free and sealed storage battery has achieved great progress after more than 20 years' development, and the Lead-acid storage battery has been widely used in such fields as transportation, military national defense, solar PV generation, wind generation, communication power source, railway, ship communication, and UPS power supply etc. The technology improvement has driven the rapid development of storage battery industry, which makes it become one of the sunrise industries. Chinese lead-acid storage battery export Now, the lead-acid storage battery industry in China is developing rapidly, intensifying with an annual growth rate of over 30%.As for the largest export volume to worldwide, China has become the largest lead-acid storage battery export countries in the world. According to a report release on the internet, there are about 1500 lead-acid storage battery manufacturers in China, and the output increases rapidly at a pace of about 20% year-on-year. And the output of lead storage battery in China occupied 1/3 of the world, playing a critical role in the global market. The import of lead-acid storage battery showed an increasing growth in 2000-2006, though it declined a bit in 2005 with an import of 20.32 million units, down 5.39% year-on-year. In 2006, China's import of lead-acid storage battery was 23.15 million units in 2006, up 13.96% from a year earlier. The import amounted to 5.55 million units in Jan.-Jun. of 2007. The export has increased since the year of 2000, from 36.90 units to 1.78 billion units in 2006 with an annual growth rate was 30%. The export volume increased to USD 11.47 billion from USD 1.82 billion in 2000, and the annual growth rate was 36%.