Battery developments for the outside plant environment-an overview

This paper discusses the benefits and potential drawbacks of some of the alternatives to valve-regulated Pb-acid (VRLA) secondary batteries for storage plant applications. These include nickel-cadmium pocket plate, nickel-cadmium sintered/PBE, nickel-metal hydride, lithium-ion and lithium-polymer. The last three of these categories include many variants on their respective electrochemistries, so there is a limit to what can be covered in this review. However, the aim of the paper is to give an overview of the ongoing battery development work, and to give an idea of the timeframe for commercial availability. Fortunately for those in need, the stationary battery industry stands to gain from the high level of funding for electric vehicle battery research. While some of the necessary battery characteristics for the two applications are dissimilar, there is a core of common requirements. This makes it quite likely that the next generation of stationary batteries will emerge from these research efforts.