A Model of Sustainability and Circularity
Today's innovative lead batteries are key to a cleaner, greener culture. They're also the most environmentally sustainable battery technology and a stellar example of a circular economy,
Storing Renewable Energy and Supporting Green Technologies
The lead battery industry is fostering global sustainability by evolving to meet the world's growing energy demands. In transportation, lead batteries reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles with start-stop engines and help cut fuel consumption in those vehicles by up to 10%. In the renewable energy sector, lead batteries store wind and solar power, to ensure a steady supply of electricity, regardless of nature's fluctuations.
Lead battery life has increased by 30-35% in the last 20 years. Collaborative research by Argonne National Laboratory and Missouri University of Science and Technology will further improve battery performance for green applications.
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Sustainable Closed-Loop Infrastructure
An established recycling infrastructure gives lead batteries a nearly 100% recycling rate. This steady supply of recycled lead battery components means a typical new lead battery is comprised of more than 80% recycled material. Furthermore, the lead from these batteries can be infinitely recycled with no loss of performance. That greatly reduces the use of virgin materials, a key goal of the circular economy model.
A Circular Economy Leader
The lead battery industry is a leader in creating a circular economy. In comparing sustainable practices across all life stages, no other battery chemistry equals lead batteries' closed-loop and remanufacturing success.
Another component of a lead battery's circular economy model involves designing for recycling, efficiency and remanufacture. As lead battery manufactures innovate and design new batteries, they collaborate with others to design batteries for recycling and resource efficiency. This helps streamline the recycling of the battery's key components (lead, plastic, acid) for reuse.
Lead batteries are a model for other battery chemistries – and industries – in how to responsibly design, make, use, recycle and remanufacture materials.
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Lead Battery Industry Energy Roadmap
The U.S. lead battery industry recently released an innovation roadmap to advance lead battery technology performance in ways that will help meet future energy needs and decarbonization policies established by Governor Newsom and California policymakers.
The industry's innovation roadmap illustrates 13 areas of opportunity for the lead battery industry to collaborate with California on research and development projects that will contribute significantly to energy storage capacity and grid resiliency.
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Essential Energy Everyday (EEE) exists to increase awareness of the critical importance of lead batteries in powering our daily lives. It encourages continued investment in sustainable lead battery technology to store and provide energy on demand. The initiative is supported by the global trade association that represents the lead battery and recycling industries, Battery Council International (BCI). To learn more visit the EEE website.