Development of titanium-based positive grids for lead acid batteries with enhanced lightweight, corrosion resistance and lifetime

Lead acid batteries suffer from low energy density and positive grid corrosion, which impede their wide-ranging application and development. In light of these challenges, the use of titanium metal and its alloys as potential alternative grid materials presents a promising solution due to their low density and exceptional corrosion resistance properties. We present a titanium substrate grid with a sandwich structure suitable for deployment in the positive electrode of lead acid batteries. This innovative design features a titanium base, an intermediate layer, and a surface metal layer. The grid boasts noteworthy qualities such as being lightweight and corrosion-resistant, which confer enhanced energy density and cycle life to the lead acid batteries. The research results show that the titanium substrate grid functions well as the positive current collector in lead acid batteries, exhibiting great integration with the positive active material. Under 0.5 C discharge rate at 100 % depth of discharge (DoD), the titanium-based positive grid displays a remarkable cycle life of 185 cycles, as 3 times long compared to the reported data. This surpasses the performance of other lightweight grids, establishing the titanium substrate grid as a promising avenue for developing high-performance lead acid batteries and improving their specific energy.