Lead Carbon: Rising upto the challange
Automotive battery market is heating up. Last week, the state of Michigan approved investments by four battery producers amounting to US$1.7 billion . Lithium-ion battery technology, which is often touted as the most mature technology for the automotive use dominated the investment space in the state. However, the week also witnessed a rather unusual deal between battery major Exide Technologies and relatively unknown Axion Power International . Axion is a small company focusing on Lead Carbon battery technology. The company is working on the similar lines as Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in developing the activated carbon battery. Axion Power is taking a slightly different approach with its battery technology replacing the negative electrode with microporous activated carbon. The company is confident that by doing so it will be able to overcome major drawbacks of lead acid batteries namely high weight and low energy density. Whil...